After meting with his Excellency, Dr Bakili Muluzi, the President of Malawi, he expressed his full support of this project and was in agreement that the future focus of development would be concentrating on the tourism Sector. With this in view, how can you best describe the outlook of the tourism policy for the next Five years?
The Ministry is divided into to departments: Tourism and Parks & Wildlife. We are pleased that the President and his cabinet have raised our ministry to play key role in the economic buoyancy of Malawi not only because of the potential of tourist development but also that of a destination. On the side of Tourism the policy will be the improvement of infrastructure, at present it is not adequate. We hope that the near future will see the improvement of the roads- many of the roads leading to tourist destinations are not up to the necessary standards. Power and Telecom also need to move in sync with the essential infrastructure developments. Accommodation, the construction of 4 & 5 star hotels, in the city and on the lake as well as the construction of High-end market camps in the National Parks and the Forestry Reserves. Thirdly, we have the lake as an asset. The beauty of the vast mass of water is beyond description. So far, we have only a few structures on the lake. As the lake becomes more developed for tourism, we will introduce cruise ships. When I go to the lake, I can see the potential of leisure facilities on the coast - line especially, the improvement of our cultural heritage so that those traveling by boat can enjoy their stopovers at various places along the shore. We have created zones in many areas of the country split into different phases of development. We need high caliber staff to run the hotels and the department of tourism. One of the most important things that is at the top of the agenda is the need to promote and advertise the country. We see the importance of bringing much more tourism to Malawi. Tourists come here not only because of the beauty but also the African experience. They would be interested in seeing the wildlife as well as our rich cultural heritage that we are very proud of. The pleasantness of the people, we are among some of the most openly friendly people in the world.
The future of regional integration will mean much more in alliances and segments of tourist operators working much close together. Have you outlined a strategy? What is the potential of the region as a whole?
We have a regular grouping in the area of tourism. Our umbrella organization is RETORSA - Regional Tourism Organization of Southern Africa, Where the group comprises the 14 member states of SADC. This promotes us as a group but we as individual countries ourselves must ensure that we promote our country as well. The packaging of tours is not strange to us because each individual country offers its own unique features. Malawi is unique seen from the fact that no other country has a lake similar to ours. The other members have their own features of interest. We are working now on tour packages between ourselves and Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa- To the east with Mozambique and Tanzania. Some of these countries offer bigger wildlife populations but we will offer some of the most unique and beautiful scenery and Lake Malawi. The tour operators are very eager to organize trips. For example, Club Makakola in Mangochi also has an interest in Zambia, where visitors stay both at the lake and then at the property in Zambia. They are also arranging packages from Tanzania and Zimbabwe: The packaging of tours will be of great interest for our future as a destination.
As far as Likoma Island is concerned, we are told this is your home, What can you tell us about the island and its developments as an international tourism destination?
The two islands have a beautiful history. On Likoma Island you will find the largest cathedral in Central Africa. It was built in 1875: A unique masterpiece of architecture. It is too big for the island. Its history stems from the British colonial period. The islands were originally from what was then known as Portuguese East Africa, now known as Mozambique. The British managed cleverly and strategically to obtain the islands under their administration. Likoma comes from the Chichewa word meaning " how beautiful is this piece of land". Once, the islands were heavily forested. Sadly, today they are quite bare! We are starting a reforestation program. The most inviting thing about the islands is the incredible beaches that are second to none in the SADC region.
The islands will also be developed as a tourist destination……..
So far, we have had a few investors looking for islands to invest in. This is of great interest to me but we have to make sure that the investors are environmentally friendly, we want to preserve the natural beauty of the islands and protect the indigenous population that inhabits the islands. The islands are going to open for investment and also be an ideal place for off-shore banking. Currently, the government is developing various options for the islands. If we can move smoothly with these plans, we will be competing with places such as Mauritius and the Caribbean.
The reports we do are not usually repeated within a five- year period. We keep the Countries that work with updated on the constant developments of the media and pin point the right timing for promotion. In five years time we, hopefully will be able to return to the "Warm Heart of Africa"- What would have been the most significant changes in tourism?
There will be substantial changes. We have realized that tourism is the hidden secret of this country. We can no longer rely on the success alone of the agricultural sector. Government feels that the time has come to advance the huge potential of tourism and the impact that it will have on the people of Malawi. The sooner that the infrastructure is in place, the sooner we will reap the benefits of a flourishing and exciting tourism sector. In five years time, when you return, the lake will not be as bear as it is today, it will be full of activity.
| Our national parks and reserves will have been re-stocked. We in the government expect Eco-tourism to be high on the agenda alongside cultural tourism. We are also constructing conference facilities so that Conference Tourism can also be looked at closely. The Ministry of tourism believes that conference tourism will, given the natural beauty of the lake, be an ideal place to conduct conferences. This year, we are looking forward to opening the lake Malawi marathon for the third time and hope that in the future will be a major international attraction. In July of this year, we are opening the first international golf tournament being held at Club Makakola in Mangochi. This area has a lot of potential. There are a number of investors eager to promote golf to international standards. Some of the investors we have spoken to are planning to see that the next 3 or 4 years will make golfing in Malawi a reality. There are also two other forms of water sports being developed. By the time you next come, the entire menu of your world wide web will have to be re-done. The information will be too outdated with the developments in the year 2004-5.
Tourism has changed immensely over the last decade, business tourism has developed as well as sport and eco-tourism which are also high on the agenda. What is the tourist profile like for Malawi?
Primarily our focus will be the well-heeled traveller, tourists with high spending power. We have to move cautiously with tourism expansion. We have seen our neighbouring countries bring in huge volumes of tourists, we will be doing almost the opposite. Everyone is welcome to this country. Back –packers also provide an interesting segment of the market. They are young, dynamic, and have a vision for the future. Eventually, they will be older and have responsible lives. They are important to us as the have advertised Malawi throughout the world. In short, the back packer, the industrialist, the academic, the businessman, everyone is putting us on the map.
Image as a tool is essential for a country to be seen as having the climate to accommodate the tourist. There were human rights issues in the past casting a less positive image but now things are very different, the country is stable. What kind of image is perceived of Malawi internationally?
When we introduced democracy in 1994, it was not easy for us to be accepted within the region and abroad. I think that to a large extent, the impact that the President has made on the international scene has been tremendous. His emphasis in making the country an ally and a country that is striving hard to shake of the chains of poverty and transform old perceptions, has earned a lot of respect internationally in every continent. The image has changed a lot. We are making a good contribution to our region and hope that our Ministers continue to contribute to this. Our neighbors now look forward to coming here on conferences and developing their relationship with us. This also creates awareness of our culture and stability. After only six years of democracy, we are making a lot of progress. This is more significant as we are one of the countries in the region that has not been able to rely on mineral wealth to develop. We still have so much to do and tourism will help create that prosperity.
Within the region itself, what makes this country as far as image is concerned known for its friendliness? What is it about Malawian people that foreigners enjoy?
As people, we are very special. The British administration provided an excellent platform of education. Early in our history, people from Malawi were fortunate to be well educated and traveled a lot to our neighbors and we were seen very well. The zeal for education has not been surpassed by any of the countries around us. This has been an important impact on our development. We are known as hard working and friendly people.
What would you like to consider being your most notable achievement throughout you term of office?
I would have like to have sown the seed of the tourism sector. Out of 54 countries in Africa, we are now placed at number 20. We think that we are not doing enough to promote and develop tourism. We need to see the tourist as our friend. It is important that we invest well and invest in the continual growth of tourism for everyone. In Five to Ten years I will happy to see what we would have achieved. There is only one way to go, forward! I would like to be seen as someone who was dedicated to developing tourism successfully.
With our global readership, what type of message would you like to convey to the international decision makers community?
We are inviting them to come to Malawi. It is a peaceful country, somewhere to relax and have a wonderful time surrounded by beauty. This is the Warm Heart of Africa and we want to build it as the warm heart of the world. Everyone should come and enjoy themselves. Tourism in Malawi should have taken of some time ago but it is welcome now for all to enjoy. |
