The East African Community (EAC) Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management has approved the EAC Regional COVID-19 Tourism Recovery Plan that seeks to revive the sector negatively impacted by the killer virus.
The Ministers, who met virtually under the chairmanship of Kenya's Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Najib Balala, noted that some EAC partner states had already instituted measures such as the formulation of stimulus packages aimed at reigniting the sector and supporting tourism investments in the region, including the Small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs). The Ministers agreed that there was a need for a collective and coordinated approach towards tourism recovery that entails interventions that are aimed at reinforcing the measures being developed and implemented at national levels.
"The COVID -19 pandemic has taught all of some really important lessons. For instance, domestic and regional tourism markets are really key and they can help in making the tourism sector resilient in case of future disasters and pandemics. The pandemic has revealed that we can use technology to connect with each other and have meetings such as this. It is therefore really important that we invest heavily in infrastructure and connectivity," said Mr. Balala.