Tourism investment plan launch today

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife says the 20-year Malawi National Tourism Investment Masterplan, which President Lazarus Chakwera is set to launch today, will help in marketing the country to the world.

Briefing journalists in Lilongwe on Friday ahead of the launch, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife Michael Usi said the ministry noted that Malawi’s international tourism market share was low despite the country having various attractive sites.

He said: “The plan will guide how we will manage the tourism sector so that we are competitive globally. It will also unlock Malawi’s tourism sector, to be relevant to both local and international markets.”

Usi said the masterplan will also help the country to come up with various projects to promote tourism.

Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Wildlife Principal Secretary Chancy Simwaka said the plan, aligned to the country’s long-term development plan, Malawi 2063, has about 104 projects.

“So far, we have worked hard to come up with feasibility studies for 10 priority projects. And we will now be at a stage to market these projects, once the masterplan is launched,” he said.

According to the document, some of the proposed projects include a transport facility at Songwe in Karonga, river boardwalk in Lilongwe, integrated cable car resort on Mulanje Mountain and Shire River waterfront in Liwonde.

Usi said some of the projects will be totally implemented by government, while others would be implemented by the private sector as projects would fall under the public private partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors in the world and plays a significant role in Malawi’s economy.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the sector directly contributes about K158 billion annually, representing 3.5 percent of the total gross domestic product, pre-pandemic.

The sector directly supports direct and indirect employment of 524 500 jobs, representing 6.7 percent of total employment.

It also contributes about K25 billion to foreign exchange earnings annually through visitor exports.  This represents about 2 percent of total exports.

Malawi attracts about 800 000 visitors annually.