By: Aaron Bundu Lahai
The Honourable Vice President of Sierra Leone Dr Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh on Tuesday 29th October 2024 delivered the keynote address at the first women in tourism regional congress at the Bintumani Conference Center in Freetown. The three days congress is organized with the theme: “Beyond Empowerment to Education, Innovation, and Finance Access” The Vice President in his highlights informed the audience about the massive transformation that has taken place over the years in the tourism sector. He disclosed about the 2018 overwhelming social, democratic, and development aspiration manifesto that the Bio’s Presidency assumed office with, adding that the New Direction Government believed human capital development as the pathway. He stated that the Government has invested money in the social sector like health, even though the Government has realized the importance of unleashing the potential in the productive sector.
He explained that to unleash the potential in the productive sector means looking for an innovative way to generate resources to spend in the social sector. He revealed that the tourism sector is one of the productive sectors the Government has identified that can generate additional revenue for development; noting that the tourism sector can generate enormous economic benefit and create jobs, as well as unleash the potential of the hospitality industry, entertainment and cultural heritage. He referred to the tourism sector as one of the key rising sectors that can bolstered the revenue and job opportunities for Sierra Leone.
He also disclosed that tourism stands as one of the enablers to the big five initiative of President Julius Maada Bio, adding that women play a pivotal role at the core of the eco-tourism system. He elaborated on the involvement of women in the entire tourism ecosystem chain such as small and medium size enterprises. He noted that the involvement of women creates jobs and bolster the economy.
Vice President Jalloh believed that women in the tourism sector can do more if Africa Governments can support them. He said that because the Government of Sierra Leone has realized the potential of women’s capacity to contribute to development, it has passed into law the Gender Equality and Women Empowerment (GEWE) Act. He explained that the GEWE Act is meant to achieve the following: To increase the representation of women along the nominative and elective models, and to enable women access finance. He noted that the progressive actions would impact the role of women and active participation in all sectors including tourism.
Dr Jalloh noted that the theme of the tourism congress speaks more to the challenges and the opportunities for women in the tourism sector. He said that the best way to transition out of empowerment is through education, by providing the key sets to function adequately, progressively, and sustainably in the sector. He maintained that the critical elements that support the three sets and allowed women to be independent and be able to provide sustain development.
The Honourable Vice President described empowerment as giving power and authority to somebody. He maintained that the congress should transition beyond giving power and authority to women but the congress should look at opportunities for women. He named innovation as one key element that is vital for the empowerment of women, stressing that innovation and technology provide endless opportunities for small and medium size businesses. He called for support to women with innovative ideas in the tourism sector with the aim of improving the operational efficiency of their businesses. The second element which he referred to as critical is finance. He told the audience that the tourism sector is a service driven sector that takes time to grow and involved risk financing. He encouraged banking institutions to support businesses in the tourism sector, while emphasizing on the need for governments to take proactive steps to ensure there is a design financing models that can respond to the challenges and the opportunities in the tourism sector.
Vice President Jalloh opined on the share regional opportunities and infrastructure that can help the tourism sector including transportation. He explained that transportation is vital to the tourism sector, especially shared-transportation supported by regional institutions such as ECOWAS (Economic Community of West Africa States). Investment in shared-transportation according to Vice President Jalloh lowers the cost of transportation, and enhanced connectivity especially by road that allowed people to move freely. He named energy as the second vital infrastructural shared-opportunities for the tourism sector, noting that energy is a serious challenge within the West Africa sub-region. He thanked the guests from Africa countries and other parts of the world for traveling to Sierra Leone to attend the congress.
The Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs Nabela FaridaTunis described tourism as a major source of economic diversification and job creation for the youths and women in Sierra Leone. She disclosed that the tourism conference is the first congress organized in Sierra Leone, and the congress is meant to chat the way forward for actionable and inclusive agenda for women in tourism at the continental level. She revealed that the principal objective of the women in tourism regional congress is to move beyond empowerment by equipping women in tourism with the requisite access needed, actionable insights, multifaceted supports, and enviable opportunities.
Ms. Seraphine Wakana, United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sierra Leone says that women account for 54% of the total employment in the global tourism and travel industry, according to recent research conducted by the World Travel and Tourism Council (2024). She informed about plans to procure two coaches to increase the efficiency of travelers to and from the airport with ease, as a support to the Ministry of Tourism from the United Nations Development Programme. She pledged the United Nations unwavering commitment to Sierra Leone, standing by the country in its journey to build a thriving tourism sector where women lead, innovation flourishes, and sustainable growth benefits all.
