The Economic Community of West African States has called on stakeholders in the tourism sector to collaborate in bolstering sub-regional tourism for economic growth.
This appeal was made by ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Massandje Toure-Litse, during a four-day workshop held in Abuja. The workshop aims to strengthen sub-regional cooperation and improve capacity and operations within the tourism sector.
Speaking through Dr Tony Elumelu, ECOWAS Director of the Private Sector, Toure-Litse emphasised that the workshop also seeks to harmonise the regulatory framework for tourism in the region. “It will also build a sustainable foundation for growth and unparalleled regional collaboration,” she said.
Toure-Litse highlighted ECOWAS’s vision of integrating tourism into the African Continental Free Trade Authority trade-in-services agenda, which would position West Africa as a leading tourism destination. “This will go a long way to promote regional integration, foster innovation, and drive economic resilience across the bloc’s member states,” she added.
The workshop also focuses on improving compliance with tourism regulations and policies, enhancing regional cooperation, and building the capacity to implement the ECOTOUR 19-29 programme.
According to Toure-Litse, the event represents a landmark effort to elevate the tourism sector, build the capacity of tourism officials and regulators, and align with ECOWAS’s strategies for intra-regional tourism promotion.
“This will enable them to identify and work with the visions and strategies of promoting ECOWAS intra-regional tourism, and a holistic understanding of policies, standards, and instruments that shape tourism,” she stated.
