Preparations in high gear for 2nd East African Regional Tourism Expo in Burundi
The East African Community [EAC] will hold the 2nd EAC Regional Tourism EXPO [EARTE’22] in Bujumbura, Burundi from September 23-30, 2022.
According to the organisers, the main objective of the EXPO is to promote EAC as a single tourism destination, provide a platform for tourism service providers’ business-to-business [B2B] engagements, create awareness on tourism investment opportunities and address the challenges affecting the tourism and wildlife sectors in the region.
The theme for this year is “Rethinking Tourism for Social Economic Development in the East African Community”. It resonates with the United Nations World Tourism Day theme that provokes tourism destinations and stakeholders around the world to remodel tourism following the devastating impact of COVID-19 in the Sector.
The EXPO will kick off with the registration of exhibitors and a networking event on September 23, 2022, followed by three days of exhibitions, seminars, and investment forum from September 24-26, 2022 at Cercle Hippique de Bujumbura grounds and World Tourism Day Celebrations on September 27, 2022.
The hosted buyers comprising international travel agents and travel trade partners will be taken on familiarization trips to different tourism sites in Burundi from September 27-30, 2022.
Speaking ahead of the EXPO, Christophe Bazivamo, EAC Deputy Secretary General in Charge of Productive and Social Sectors said that there are strong signs of tourism recovery in all the EAC Partner States.
“We have noted that the tourism business is coming back and we are confident that by 2024 the region will have fully recovered. We have all it takes including unmatched scenery, abundant wildlife, rich culture and opportunities for business to ensure that tourism in the region is vibrant,” added Bazivamo.
He further noted that, “The upcoming EXPO will undoubtedly play a very instrumental role in tourism recovery as it provides an opportunity for Partner States to tell potential travellers from all over the world and within the region that all EAC Partner States are ready to receive them and they can indeed enjoy multi-destination tourism packages.”
In addition, the EAC official disclosed that the preparations by the Burundi National Organising Committee with support from the EAC Secretariat and Regional Steering Committee are in high gear and the Government of the Republic of Burundi is really committed to ensuring that the 2nd EXPO is held successfully.
Bazivamo encouraged all tourism service providers in EAC to take advantage of the EXPO to showcase their offerings and engage with buyers from the region as well as from around the world”.
The 2022 EXPO is expected to attract over 250 exhibitors from over 10 countries, 120 international and regional travel agents and buyers as well as 2500 trade visitors.
The 1st EAC Regional Tourism EXPO was held in Arusha, Tanzania in October 2021 after the decision to have the EXPO an annual event was made by the Sectoral Council on Tourism and Wildlife Management in July 2021. About 185 exhibitors participated at the EXPO against the projected 150 exhibitors and the event attracted over 2,700 trade visitors.
The tourism sector is one of the most important areas of cooperation for EAC owing to its contribution to the economies of our Partner States in terms of GDP [about 10 percent], export earnings [17 percent], and jobs [about 7 percent]. Its multiplier effect and linkages with other sectors that are instrumental in our integration such as agriculture, transport, and manufacturing are quite immense.
As demonstrated by the international tourist arrivals, tourism in the EAC had steadily been increasing over the years, although at varying rates in each Partner State, with total annual arrivals reaching 6.98 million in 2019. It was projected that this would increase to about 14.05 million in 2025. However, this anticipated growth was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and dropped by about 70 percent in 2020 compared to 2019.
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