Minister of tourism officially opens 18th session of ICE, says Africa should tap into cultural tourism

Abstract

The 18th Session of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts (ICE) was officially opened this morning by the Minister of Tourism and Leisure. The meeting organized by the ECA southern Africa office under the theme ‘Harnessing natural resources for sustainable development: opportunities in the tourism sector in southern Africa’ will serve as a forum engage member States to discuss and review socio-economic conditions in the sub-region. Tourism offered an opportunity for countries to diversify from commodity export activities and add new pillars to their economic structure. It noted that the region had a unique opportunity to explore and promote regional tourism in light of its diversity of coastal resources, fauna, luxuriant flora, wild life and a vast gamut of cultural and artistic resources.