One-Day Tourism Dialogue Calls For Enhance Measures

By Domingo Dargbeh

Participants and stakeholders at the just ended Governance Commission (GC) organized one-day Public Policy Dialogue on Tourism have called for enhanced measures to boost the tourism sector.

The gathering also observed that for the country to reap maximum benefits from the multibillion industry, government must popularize the sector from the grassroots to enable counties become part of the sector.

Participants also expressed their opinions during the public-private partnership, and tourism financing’s panel discussion on keys issues to include government role in developing the tourism sector under the Arrest Agenda.

The Agenda, which was presented by the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), spoke of the banking sector role in promoting tourism, also presented by the Liberia Banking Association (LBA).

Other presentation: The Prospects and Challenges in the Tourism Sector.

This was done by the Liberia National Tourism Association (LNTA) as well as strategies for effective partnership in the tourism sector. The presentation was led by ‘independent experts.’

Among interventions during the dialogue, were government leadership, and capacity-building in tourism, tourism tax regime, and digitizing of tourism sector. It was also presented by key public sectors, including the Ministry of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA), Liberia Institute for Statistics and Geo Information Services (LISGIS) and the Liberia National Tourism Authority (LNTA).

The dialogue under the theme: “A Review of Liberia’s Tourism Sector for Sustained Economic Growth” was organized by the Governance Commission in collaboration with MICAT and the LNTA. It was held at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Congo Town, outside Monrovia.

The dialogue identified tourism attraction sites, which many do not have knowledge about.

For example, the Providence Island in Montserrado County, the Sand Beach, Grand Kru County, and the Sarpo National Park, Sinoe County.

GC Acting Chair of the Board of Commissioners, Alaric Tokpa, encouraged government and development partners to meaningfully invest in the tourism sector.

Mr. Tokpa said the tourism policy is not a minor issue, but a central pillar of national reawakening, and a key to unlocking development potential, only if, it is properly developed.

GC Acting Vice Chair of the Board of Commissioners, Sianeh S. Juah said, paramount to the discussion was what government and actors can do to remove the challenges, and or barriers for further enhancement of tourism.

Madam Juah, also exercised an oversight of the Public Sector Reform Mandate Area, the key organizer of the public policy dialogue.

In 2014, the GC drafted a Bill for the proposed LNTA, which was a landmark effort of the GC in collaboration with MICAT.

Even though the LNTA was not established then, however, consultations continued with various actors to build consensus for its establishment.