Tourism Peace Conference seen as run-up to World Summit

The first African Peace Through Tourism Conference to be held in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga from March 3-7, is expected to generate about R3,5m in revenue for the city and province at large, with the long term financial benefit nearing around R40m.

This was announced at a media briefing at the Sandton Convention Centre by conference organiser, Fiona Martin. Ms Martin said the conference will be outcomes based and will assist in developing strategies which will be put on the table at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August/September.

“This conference will be used to promote tourism as a catalyst for peace. Not only will it look at developing rural and community-based tourism projects, but will also showcase successful projects such as the Transfrontier Peace Parks, which are models for the entire world.”

Responding to a question raised about whether the money spent on the conference (the budget is roughly R1,8m) is warranted, and whether the message has got through to people especially in light of continued attacks on tourists, SA Tourism’s chief operating officer, Moeketsi Mosola responded as follows: “This conference can be used exactly to highlight the benefits of tourism to the people. In fact tourism is at the heart of recovery in Africa. We are working closely with provincial tourist authorities locally and broader with the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (Retosa) to spread the message that tourism can create opportunities aimed at alleviating poverty and creating jobs.”

Fiona Martin was also asked about whether the conference would not be overshadowed by the elections in Zimbabwe, also in March. She responded that the dates for the conference were set as early as mid 2000, but emphasised that the conference was an excellent opportunity to report positively on Africa, and efforts being made to resolve conflict and bring peace and stability to the continent’s people.

The main sponsor of the event is the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) which has granted some R5m to tourism projects in southern Africa.

Says DBSA project manager, Neels Vermaak: “We contribute to development by mobilising and providing finance and expertise to develop infrastructure in order to improve the quality of life of the people of South and southern Africa. We therefore believe that tourism, if correctly managed, can build bridges of peace, culture and prosperity through sustainable community tourism and thereby improve socio-economic development.”

The conference is expected to draw around 600 delegates, half of which will come from Africa and further afield.

(Miguel de Sousa)
Information supplied by TravelNewsNow