By Abubakarr Harding
The National Tourist Board (NTB) is an important appendage of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs as it is charged with the responsibility of developing and promoting quality tourism through the implementation of Government’s policies and to encourage active participation of the private sector with a view of enhancing socio-economic development and poverty reduction.
It is undoubtedly one of the major functioning public entities that have been contributing immensely and meaningfully to the nation’s economy but its activities are little known of which could be attributed to the fact that since it is just an arm of the Tourism Ministry, it is the latter that always eclipses the praises when major developments are achieved.
As a semi-autonomous body, it is the professional arm of the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, which is assiduously working towards promoting the country’s tourist industry in order to enhance socio-economic development, especially with regards eco-tourism.
It must be noted that the National Tourist Board, under the dynamic steering of its result-oriented and highly professional General Manager, Fatmata Carew, has been working tremendously over the years to position the country’s tourism sector at a vantage position by making it very much attractive to foreigners who in the past showed and now have interests in exploring the potentials of the tourist industry. In that direction the NTB has made meaningful inroads in making Sierra Leone very conspicuous.
The Board has been working closely with the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, to ensure that the Government’s programmes, agendas and strategic plans and policies are successfully rolled out.
Through the stewardship of the General Manager, her passion to see things done the right ways, her networking and her sense of patriotism the National Tourist Board has been hugely contributing to rebranding the country.
Worthy of note is the symbiotic relationship that exists between the Ministry of Tourism and the National Tourist Board as an Agency of the former. Together, these two female personalities have been working harmoniously with nationalistic fervor, putting ideas together, exploring avenues, establishing the right contacts and pulling strings behind the scene to ensure that tourism takes centre stage in not only rebranding the country but to make it a big changer.
Working in synergy with the Minister of Tourism and her Deputy, Madam Fatmata Carew has demonstrated leadership in repositioning the sector, now making headway in terms of product development, with nine touristic sites under development by the EIF and the World Bank.
Under her leadership style and regardless of the constraints militating against its performance, the National Tourist Board has been engrossed with the implementation of the UNDP and Enhanced Integrated Framework (EIF) programmes and their international programmes.
She was very instrumental in making Domestic Tourism fashionable in the country and in that respect the Board has been very proactive in building the infrastructure to support it.
Successfully, through her relentless strides, the National Tourist Board has participated in setting up both local and international platforms geared towards marketing Sierra Leone as a tourism destination.
The General Manager of the National Tourist Board, Fatmata Carew, joined NTB in April 2005 and served as Marketing and Public Relations Officer and in 2009 Marketing and PR Manager. She became Deputy GM in 2015, following public recruitment process. She holds a post-graduate degree from the Institute of Public Administration & Management (USL) – Msc, Development Management – 2009 – 2011 and a BA Honors, Political Science from FBC – 2000 – 2004.
Her industry knowledge covers the fields of: Marketing, Public Relations, Management, Marketing Strategy, Social Media Marketing, Customer Service, Leadership. She also acquired a Diploma in Destination Marketing in 2008 and a Diploma in Sustainable Tourism Development and Promotion in 2013.
