Members of the OACPS share ideas to relaunch and revitalise the tourism industry following COVID-19

Brussels, 29 September 2020/OACPS: In the context of observing World Tourism Day and in order to share experiences related to the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism industries of Members of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS), the OACPS hosted a webinar on 25 September, titled “Jointly Addressing the Challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism industry of the Members of the OACPS”.

Organised by Business-ACP, the virtual event gave the mike to speakers from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific to share their perspectives on the challenges to their tourism product and the socio-economic fallout resulting from the measures taken to contain the pandemic.

Session I of the webinar was dedicated to Regional Perspectives and explored mechanisms of support to the tourism industry to counter the effect of the pandemic with respect to employment and the overall competitiveness of the industry.

In Session II, speakers concentrated on best practices in the private sector at national levels to contour the effects of COVID-19 across the tourism sector.

The recommendations and strategic actions arising out of the webinar are as follows:

Restore the confidence of consumers and travellers to visit tourist destinations in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific
Develop eco-tourism, rural tourism, community-based tourism; involve women, youth and indigenous peoples
Encourage local and regional tourism
Establish linkages between tourism hospitality and food suppliers and other suppliers
Establish requirements for harmonised international travel rules
Encourage investment and diversification of the tourism industry
Support private sector involvement in tourism
Improve business climate/reforms to relaunch job creation throughout the OACPS regions and countries.