Background
The Government of the Republic of Namibia recognises the importance of tourism as a driver for economic growth and a tool for alleviating poverty in the country. The National Vision for tourism is to build “a mature, sustainable and responsible tourism industry contributing significantly to the economic development of the country and the quality of life of all her people, primarily through job creation and economic growth”.
The importance of tourism as a driving force towards economic growth and inclusive development cannot be overemphasised.
The Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT) is working towards developing a sustainable and responsible tourism industry buttressed by an effective statistical framework to assess its performance.
The TSA provide a mechanism for compiling a comprehensive set of statistics outside the conventional national accounting framework. The resulting statistics enable informed decisions about tourism as an industry and its linkages to other industries in the economy.
The 1st training workshop is being organised in collaboration with UN Namibia and MEFT to be held in Swakopmund from 20 to 25 May and will be preceded by the ‘Project Launch’ scheduled for the 19th of May 2022 in Windhoek, Namibia.
Objectives of the Project Launch and the 1st Workshop
The major objectives of the Project Launch, which will be officiated by Honourable Pohamba Shifeta, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism; include informing the populace on the collaboration between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and the UN Community towards the development of the tourism industry in the country, raising awareness on the importance of tourism as well as the need for timeous and reliable statistics to support accurate accounting, planning and development of the industry in the country. The training workshop will extend further to provide an overview of tourism in Africa, share best lessons of best practice from Eastern and Africa and beyond, and introduce participants to the UN International Recommendations for Tourist Statistics and TSA recommended methodological framework.
Contacts
Further information on the meeting and any other related matters should be addressed to:
Contact Person
All correspondence regarding the meeting should be directed to:
Mr. Abner Nambahu
Chief Statistician
Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism
Windhoek, Namibia
Email: abner.nambahu@meft.gov.na
With copy to:
Ms Voronica Mufudza
Junior Consultant-EA
Inclusive Industrialization Section
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa
Sub Regional Office for Southern Africa
Lusaka, ZAMBIA
E-mail: voronica.mufudza@un.org
Annie Tembatemba
Team Assistant
UNECA-SA
Lusaka, ZAMBIA
E-mail: tembatemba.uneca@un.org
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