Lancement du processus d’élaboration du code du tourisme

Mame Mbaye Niang, Ministre du Tourisme

Le Ministre du Tourisme, Mame Mbaye Niang, a procédé, le 18 janvier 2018, à l’ouverture de l’atelier de lancement du processus d’élaboration du code du tourisme au Sénégal.

Spécifiquement, il s’agissait d’informer les participants sur les motivations du projet de mise en place de la première loi d’orientation touristique du pays, de présenter les activités prévues et convenir des modalités d’échanges d’informations, de fixer les modalités, le calendrier de réalisation et les stratégies de mise en œuvre du projet.

Cet atelier a permis de recueillir les meilleures pratiques en vue de leur benchmarking, d’identifier les parties prenantes du projet et leur rôle, de définir une méthodologie et une feuille de route, de créer un cadre de concertation et de réflexion sur les droits et les obligations de tous les acteurs directs comme indirects.

AU SENEGAL, LE TOURISME BALNÉAIRE MENACÉ PAR L’ÉROSION CÔTIÈRE

Les côtes sénégalaises sont menacées par le réchauffement climatique avec son lot de problèmes dont l’érosion côtière qui, au fil des temps, a fait disparaitre les plages qui faisaient la renommée du Sénégal dans le domaine du tourisme balnéaire, a souligné le ministre du Tourisme, Mame Mbaye Niang.

‘’La station de Saly a eu sa notoriété grâce au tourisme balnéaire, mais aujourd’hui, cette station touristique est confrontée qui fait qu’on ne peut plus parler de balnéaire dans les conditions actuelles’’, a-t-il dit, faisant allusion au phénomène de l’érosion côtière.

Le ministre s’exprimait, le 17 décembre 2017, au premier jour d’une visite sur la Petite Côte.

Il a relevé que l’Etat du Sénégal a consenti beaucoup d’efforts pour redynamiser le secteur touristique, puisqu’après la période difficile consécutive à l’apparition de l’épidémie à virus Ebola et son impact négatif sur la fréquentation de la destination, des ‘’mesures courages’’ ont été prises par le gouvernement dans plusieurs domaines du tourisme et de l’hôtellerie.

Journée du Tourisme à la FIDAK : le tourisme interne au menu

A l’occasion de la Foire Internationale de Dakar/FIDAK  qui s’est déroulée du 16 au 31 décembre 2017, le Ministère du Tourisme a organisé une « Journée du Tourisme », le 23 décembre 2017. Un panel réunissant fonctionnaires du ministères, experts, membres du secteur privé s’est tenu sous le thème : « le Sénégal à l’heure de la promotion du tourisme interne ».

Le ministre du Tourisme, Mame Mbaye Niang, a invité les parties prenantes à « ne pas confiner la promotion et la commercialisation du tourisme interne à de simples opérations ponctuelles comme ce fut le cas ces dernières années ».

Il faudra surtout, dira-t-il, « en faire un instrument de politique de développement du tourisme spécifiquement ».

Crédit hôtelier et touristique : 12 opérateurs obtiennent des financements

Debout au centre : le Premier Ministre Mahammad Dionne et le Ministre du Tourisme Mame Mbaye Niang

Le Premier Ministre Mahammed Boun Abdallah Dionne a présidé en présence du Ministre du Tourisme Mame Mbaye Niang, la deuxième cérémonie de signature des conventions de financement du Crédit hôtelier et touristique avec les nouveaux bénéficiaires, le jeudi 4 janvier 2018 à Dakar.

Douze entreprises du secteur hôtelier et touristique ont bénéficié du Crédit hôtelier et touristique de prêts d’un montant total de 946 millions de FCfa.

Une bonne bouffée d’oxygène pour le secteur touristique. Comme il l’avait fait au mois de juin 2017 en octroyant un financement de 1,203 milliard de FCfa  à quinze entreprises du secteur hôtelier et touristique, le Crédit hôtelier et touristique vient, à nouveau, d’accorder des prêts à douze autres opérateurs touristiques pour un montant de 946 millions de FCfa. En six mois, ce nouvel instrument de financement de soutien à l’investissement touristique et hôtelier d’une dotation initiale de 5 milliards de FCfa a mis 2,16 milliards de FCfa à la disposition des professionnels du secteur. Le Crédit hôtelier et touristique est la concrétisation de la promesse qu’avait faite, il y a deux ans, le président Macky Sall aux acteurs du tourisme, lors de la Journée du tourisme organisée à Saly, de les accompagner à relancer ce secteur.

Official working visit of Hon.Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to UNWTO, Friday 16 February 2018

PR No.: PR

In the framework of the preparation of the 61^st Commission Meeting for Africa and “Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development” Seminar to be held in Abuja, Nigeria from 4 to 6 June 2018, Hon. Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture of Nigeria paid a courtesy visit to UNWTO  whose objective was to officially sign two cooperation agreements with the Organization and discuss further areas of collaboration on the positioning of Nigeria as a tourism destination in the international scene. The cooperation agreements that were signed were on the 61^st UNWTO Commission Meeting for Africa and the Strengthening of the National Statistical system of Nigeria and the Development of a Tourism Satellite Account.

As a prelude of the meeting, H.E.Mrs Susan Folarin, Ambassador of Nigeria to Spain presented her credentials to Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary-General in her capacity as the permanent Representative for Nigeria to UNWTO.

Hon. Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture of Nigeria congratulated Mr. Zurab Pololikshavili on his election and thanked UNWTO for its support to Nigeria on the tourism sector. He expressed his gratitude to UNWTO for being enthusiastic on the celebration of the 61^st CAF Meeting in Abuja in June 2018 and the very useful meeting which has permitted to share the political and technical angle of the events. The 61^st UNWTO CAF Meeting is an excellent platform to engage his fellow colleagues from ministries e.g. trade, mines and finances to showcase the importance of the sector and to raise awareness of the transversal nature and extended value chain of the tourism sector. 

He also expressed his appreciation toward the upcoming UNWTO Technical Mission on Tourism Statistics fully funded by the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, an institution within the Ministry to conduct a fact-finding mission scheduled on April 2018. Some of the main objectives of this mission are to identify the gaps and constraints of collecting the tourism data, to evaluate institutional collaboration among stakeholders of statistics for the country and prepare a project proposal for the development of an efficient tourism statistic system in Nigeria. The minister commented that “Tourism statistics are not only paramount for decision-making for the sustainable tourism development but also key for better planning and unveil the contribution of the tourism sector to the economy. He said further that Nigeria is well-known for its creative industries in films, fashion and culture.

Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, thanked Hon. Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture and Ambassador Susan Folarin for their presence and strong commitment to the tourism sector. He assured the full support of UNWTO to help Nigeria to position itself as a preferred destination in Africa due to his significant role in the region and to seize the opportunity during the 61^st CAF Meeting to meet with the leaders of the private sector. The UNWTO Technical support mission on tourism statistics will serve to set the tone for the tourism seminar and the half-day workshop. He encouraged the Minister to share timely information on positive developments regarding visa upon arrival and other subjects that could enhance the image of the country.

To conclude, an interview was conducted together with Hon. Lai Mohammed and Zurab Pololikashvili in front of Nigerian Media present to share their views and thoughts on the points discussed during the meeting.

PR No.: PR18015

The project funded by Peace Parks Foundation, the implementing agency of the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area Programme (KAZA), funded by the German Development Bank, had four objectives:

1. Improve the Tourism Statistics Database
2. Implement an improved Inbound Visitor Survey
3. Provide in-depth training to ensure ongoing data collection and analysis
4. Update the Botswana TSA (last one was prepared in 2011 for reference year of 2009)

Mr. Jimmy R. Opelo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism of Botswana, officially presented the updated Tourism Satellite Account for Botswana for the reference year 2016. The main results show that tourism contributes 4.9% directly to the Botswana GDP, up from 3.9% in the previous TSA exercise.

This is the third time that Botswana has prepared a TSA - all three times in collaboration with the UNWTO.

In 2016, Botswana received 1.9 million visitor arrivals which generated USD 1.5 billion. Tourism employed about 18,670 people in Botswana.

Related links:

Tourism Satellite Account

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / mrisi@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

PR No.: PR18012

UNWTO is committed to developing tourism measurement for furthering knowledge of the sector, monitoring progress, evaluating impact, promoting results-focused management, and highlighting strategic issues for policy objectives.

On the occasion of the meeting between UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, and the Minister of Information and Culture of Nigeria, Mr. Lai Mohammed, the agreement to host the Sixty-First meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa and the Seminar on ‘Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development’ in Nigerian capital, Abuja, from 4 to 6 June 2018, was signed.

The meetings will be open to the participation of UNWTO Member States and Affiliate Members, as well as invited delegations and representatives of the tourism and related sectors. Officials of immigration departments, national statistics bureaus, central banks and other relevant stakeholders will be invited to join.

Useful links:

The 61st UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa

Register here

About the Tourism Satellite Account

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / mrisi@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

Location: 

Madrid Spain

Amadeus IT Group.

When it comes to social responsibility our long-term goal is to contribute towards inclusive development in the countries where we operate. One of the key ways we do this is through knowledge and skills transfer. Amadeus has a wealth of expertise in the travel and technology sectors that we can tap into, to support two of the UN-led Sustainable Development Goals: quality education, and decent work and economic growth. In 2017, a year that was declared International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, we took special pride in supporting and driving travel industry-related initiatives in 61 countries, to shape an inclusive and sustainable future for all.

So, what did that look like?

Addressing the skills gap in the global travel and tourism industry

Amadeus country offices, in collaboration with educational institutions in their countries worked to train more than 2,600 young people in global reservations skills through our long standing commitment to global travel-related education.

In a pilot to support young people earn an income through travel and tourism, we also worked in Kenya with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Ministry of Tourism in Kenya and stakeholders in the local tourism industry, who were critical to steering the project. Through this type of public-private sector collaboration, we want to see beneficiaries earning an income from what they have learnt, or continuing with further training related to global travel & tourism. A deeper assessment of the impact and value of this pilot will be reported in the first quarter of the year and the learnings will be reflected in Amadeus’ evolving CSR Knowledge & Skills Transfer programme.

Economic empowerment of people living with disabilities

Amadeus, the Argentinian travel agency association (FAEVYT), and Incluyeme, a non-profit focusing on people with disabilities, collaborated in a pilot to train young people with disabilities to work in travel reservations. Nine people with disabilities received training in travel reservations and soft skills to ease their inclusion in the workforce. We also contributed to the launch of a landmark report, Voyage of discovery: Working towards inclusive and accessible travel for all, that looks at the barriers to accessible travel.

Lastly, we advocated widely on the potential of travel and tourism to contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Amadeus representatives spoke at forums in Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. They voiced our belief that true long-term business sustainability requires a strategic combination of commercial, social and environmental considerations – at local and global levels.

These preliminary achievements, demonstrate that there is real potential to bring positive change to many people experiencing social and economic exclusion, when technology and the reach of global travel and tourism, are combined.  You can find out more about our projects worldwide by visiting our social responsibility map and our Social Responsibility website.

For more information please visit  the link: