The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) needs to support Africa with a ‘Marshall Plan’ to boost the speedy recovery of the travel and tourism sector from the effects of COVID-19 pandemic.
This was the submission of the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, during the 63rd Meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa (CAF), hosted virtually by Seychelles on Monday.
Africa’s travel and tourism sector is set to lose between $30 billion to $50 billion in revenue to the pandemic.
Speaking during the meeting, Mohammed explained that the UNWTO’s support for Africa would be in terms of technical assistance, capacity building and grants.
He noted that the fastest way for Africa’s travel and tourism sector to recover from the effects of the pandemic is to focus on domestic and intra-Africa tourism.
Sharing the experience of Nigeria’s creative and travel sector, Mohammed said his Ministry moved promptly to mitigate the pandemic’s devastating effects by establishing a 22-person committee to work out immediate short and long term economic stimulus.
He said, “The travel and tourism sector and indeed the entire Nigeria Creative Industry is large, diverse, dynamic and critical for economic growth, development and diversification. It is the biggest creator of jobs after agriculture. Also, the industry contributes between 2.5 and 3%to the nation’s GDP.”
The Minister further disclosed that work has commenced on rejigging the National Endowment for the Arts to align it with the current realities.
The Ministry is also studying the new set of guidelines/recommendations by the UNWTO as well as the ‘Safe Travel Protocols’ designed by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) to domesticate them.
Mohammed also cited the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) N50 billion stimulus package to help mitigate the impact of the pandemic on households, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the creative industry as measures to aid post-COVID-19 recovery.
He said as Nigeria gradually opens up, new protocols including training of personnel on security and safety measures, infection control, adherence to government protocols, enhanced hygiene measures, use of personal protective equipment and facility sanitation would be put in place.
Mohammed also commended the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), which has pledged US$500 million for the Creative Industry in Africa.