Govt prioritizes tourism as GDP rises

Wed, 03 May 2017 10:38:32 +0000

By MAILESI BANDA

TOURISM is one of Zambia’s priority sectors that must contribute more to the Gross Domestic Product of the country, Tourism and Arts minister Charles Banda has said.

The minister said during the last few years the tourism sector had grown and this could be seen by the increase in contribution to the GDP from 2.9 percent in 2012 to 3.4 percent in 2015.

He said this was due to the fact that the Government had provided a conducive policy environment for the growth of the tourism sector.

“Government has set tourism as a priority economic sector along with mining and manufacturing and we hope the sector will improve its contribution to the GDP; and as Government we will continue to implement measures to stimulate the tourism sector in the country,’’ he said.

He said the commitment shown by the Government was yielding results, adding that this was reflected by the number of people visiting the country and the huge contribution the tourism sector has made to the economic growth of the country.

He explained that in 2016 Government transferred the tourism enterprise regulation function from the Ministry of Tourism and Arts to the Zambia Tourism Agency, adding that improving efficiency in tourism regulation would improve the quality of products offered, thereby increasing customer satisfaction.

The minister announced that the modernization of the new Kenneth Kaunda International Airport (KKIA) was progressing well with the construction of the rescue and fire services expected to be completed this year.