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| Business |
| ‘Malawi tourism at best in 10 yrs’ |
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by
Ephraim Munthali, 02 December 2005
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02:55:54
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Malawi’s tourist industry is in a much more healthy position now than at any other time in the last 10 years, a global tourism promotion and marketing group said this week.
The United Kingdom based Geo Group & Associates, which also runs a marketing and promotion service for Malawi Tourism Marketing Consortium (MTMC), was speaking to Nation Business Review in an e-mail interview.
The MTMC—whose director is Geo Group and Associates’ John Douglas—comprises about 30 companies in Malawi that are involved in in-bound international tourism.
Douglas said that after years of stagnation, there has been a notable upsurge in interest shown by tour operators in the country’s tourism industry, especially in United Kingdom and across Europe.
“Some [Malawian] companies have reported that 2005 has been their best year on record and the general feeling is that the Malawi tourist industry is in a much more healthy position now than at any other time in the last ten years,” said Douglas.
While noting that there are few reliable statistics available to justify the view, Douglas said numbers are certainly rising as evidenced not only by reports from companies in the sector but also by the confidence now being shown by the private sector.
He said the establishment of two charter flight companies in the last few years in the country would not have been viable in the past and described the development as a demand driven response.
The marketing group largely attributed the recent up-turn in the industry to private sector marketing which, he said, could yield better results if it were well funded.
He called on government to effectively play its role of facilitator by encouraging and recognising the fact that the private sector is the key to development.
“After all, government does not always have the experience or expertise (or funds) to do what is needed. Currently there is a need for further marketing and a well organised cost-effective advertising strategy.
“A way ahead has to be with more co-operation between the government and private sector to have a cost-effective structure. There is no room for duplication or re-inventing the wheel. What is seen to work should be encouraged,” said Douglas.
Asked to comment on the potential for the growth and development of tourism in Malawi, Douglas said although the sector has grown very little in the last 10 years, its potential is, even now, nowhere near realisation.
He noted that the local tourism sector is still relatively small by Southern and East African standards and that while it may never grow to as large as its game-rich neighbours, it is still in its infancy.
To realise its full potential, he said, there is need for further investment not only in the sector itself but also in the infrastructural base on which it relies.
Although roads have improved, the tax system is still somewhat not supportive to the industry while the absence of direct flights from Europe remains the single greatest weakness inhibiting the sector’s growth.
“At the moment, tourists cannot board a plane in Europe and stay on the same aircraft all the way to Lilongwe or Blantyre. This disincentive to travel cannot be over-estimated. It requires government intervention to remedy this handicap.
“There was a time when at least three European airlines flew directly into Lilongwe. It has also to be recognised that Malawi is not a well-known country. Raising awareness is a part of marketing but that is under-funded,” said Douglas.
Commenting on the impact of the Tourism Development Plan on the local industry, Douglas said there is little or no evidence that any of the variety of plans have had anything but the most peripheral effect.
He said the problem is that most of the plans—including the present one—are over ambitious, assume unrealistic funding, fail to understand the country’s special circumstances and seem to have been devised by “well paid consultants who are strong on theory but ill-informed.”
The Ministry of Information and Tourism admits that the much touted Tourism Development Plan—launched over three years ago for implementation from 2002 to 2007—is not being executed due to lack of funds, a situation that is hampering the sector’s growth.
The plan singles out the development of eco-tourism as a unique product that Malawi can use to attract tourists, boost forex earnings, create employment and contribute to the attainment of the six percent growth target that technocrats say is ideal for cutting poverty.
The strategy replaced the old plan in use since 1990, according to tourism officials, who say the previous text failed to develop the sector, and led to loss of revenue due to mismatched marketing strategies and the leakage of tourism income.
Tourism is one of the four priority sectors together with agriculture, mining and manufacturing that government—through the Malawi Economic Growth Strategy—identified as one of the so called economic growth areas.
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