Tourism Minister Rodney Sikumba has directed the Tourism Council of Zambia and Zambia Tourism Agency to start reporting the sector’s economic contribution in 2024 away from the traditional international and domestic tourist arrivals.
Speaking at the Tourism Stakeholders engagement cocktail at CEILA Resort in Chongwe last night, the Minister said Government has shown its commitment to supporting the tourism sector by a continuous increase in the annual budgets from ZMW400 in 2022, ZMW500 in 2023 and jump to ZMK700 million in 2024.
Mr. Sikumba for this reason the players have no excuse but to report positive contribution to taxes, employment contribution and investment contribution to motivate Government to pump in more money in the sector.
He pledged continued Government support as long as the said indicators are met to confirm that the sector is of economic nature now similar to mining, agriculture, energy and manufacturing.
The Minister urged all sector players to join the Tourism Council of Zambia for effective collaboration and growth.
And Tourism Council of Zambia (TCZ) Chairperson Yusuf Zumla appreciated the dedication shown by Government in policy formulation that has seen the sector grow.
He said there have been decisive actions to propel the industry and that the state has shown commitment grow investment and help in job creation through the tourism industry.
The operator that other cooperating partners like the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for supporting TCZ with extra manpower to effectively carry out its mandate.
Mr. Zumla said there is need to remain steadfast to the commitment of sustainable tourism practices, community engagement and empowerment to ensure that the benefits of tourism are shared in equity and responsibly.
Meanwhile, Zambia Tourism Board Chairperson Daniel Brink applauded the initiative by sector players tome up with Marketing Plan that will help in the quest to make destination Zambia attractive to tourists.
He said the two-day initiative has brough together various sector players from different tourism associations in the country.
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