Africa is seeking innovative ways of fostering development on the continent and initiatives on peace through tourism are a major priority towards addressing socio-economic challenges.

An integrated tourism sector is an essential element of peace-making and is critical in all efforts to sell regional blocs in Africa as prime tourist destinations, according to delegates attending the third International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) conference held in Lusaka, in February.

The conference theme, "Tourism: Pathway to a Prosperous Africa", captures the vision of Africa's founding leaders. One of those who spoke at the conference, former Zambian President, Kenneth Kaunda, said he and his colleagues joined hands to mobolise their people to rise against colonialism and apartheid in order to build a peaceful and prosperous continent.

“In this day and age, where travel has become much easier, tourism can be an effective tool for bringing people together, irrespective of their nationality, ethnicity, colour and religion,” he said.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has in its regional strategic plan a target to facilitate the implementation of the Tourism Protocol by all member states in 2005.

The benefits of peace in the region have been expressed through the huge tourism investment finance offer by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA).

DBSA announced that it will finance infrastructure and marketing development of the tourism industry in the region in a bid to help accelerate economic development and prosperity that is essential for conflict prevention.

Safety and security in SADC needs to be highlighted in the overall package to sell regional tourism, said DBSA executive director De Villiers Botha.

"Tourism contributes to the better understanding between people of the world. Peace creates an environment for investment and development," he said, adding that tourism can also help create awareness and an atmosphere of reconciliation.

Within the broader framework of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), tourism is one of the high points of investment and its relationship with peace is critical.

In 2001, NEPAD was adopted as a programme of the African Union which has been making extensive efforts to encourage peace and reconciliation in African countries that are affected by war.

In his keynote address to the conference, the African Union (AU) chairperson, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo told the meeting that in 2002 alone, worldwide receipts from tourism amounted to US$474 billion and that the sector is now responsible for one in every ten jobs in the world.

"For developing countries therefore, tourism represents one sure way to resolving the challenge of underdevelopment and unemployment," said President Obasanjo.

As a way of entrenching values of peace, the conference honoured former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda, former South African President Nelson Mandela and the late former United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammerskjoeld, for their outstanding contributions to peace in Africa.

Tanzania's Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism, Zakia Meghji, also noted that peace remained the most precious commodity in global tourism and that it represents the first step on the road to development, social order and fulfilment.

SADC countries, she noted are among the leading tourist destinations. The World Tourism Organisation (WTO) named six SADC nations among the nine major African destinations between now and 2010.

South Africa tops the list whilst the other five SADC countries are: Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. The three non-SADC states on the list are: Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia.

Kaunda also stressed the importance of local tourism and called for the elimination of visa requirements for Africans travelling within the continent.

"Sorting out issues of visas can play an important role in contributing to peace among our people. Peace is not the absence of war alone but also relates to absence of insecurity,'' he said.

Airlines play a vital role in the development of tourism. Marcia Cannon, Regional Manager of Air Zimbabwe, called on governments to relax visa requirements within the SADC region so that there is a uni-visa to benefit travellers.

"This will make the region more attractive. Passengers planning multi-destinations holidays within the region may stay away from our region because of the visa requirements," she said. (SARDC)

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