At a dinner held on Wednesday 3rd April 2019 at the Radisson Blu Hotel at Aberdeen, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Memunatu Pratt, disclosed that in barely 3 months, twenty thousand tourists have visited the country. This, she maintained, is due to her Ministry’s relentless efforts to woo the International Community to Sierra Leone backed by the political will of President Bio to rebrand the industry.
Addressing her audience, which was made up of personnels of airlines, Ministers of Government, Members of Parliament, a team of tourist journalists from the UK headed by Tim Henshaw, a Tourist Marketing Executive, distinguished guests and members of the Sierra Leonean Press, she stressed that tourism is the turnaround mechanism for the economic development of the country. Recalling the visit recently to the UK, she maintained that their engagement with other tourist bodies has resulted in the development of a keen interest in the touristic destination of Sierra Leone. She expressed satisfaction for the tourist Press, who are slated to tour for 9 days the various touristic sites of the country and tell the real story of Sierra Leone. She expressed hope for a conspicuous rise in the influx of tourists to the country after the reports of these experts. Sierra Leone, she said, is open for tourism.
In her own statement, Madam Fatmata Abe -Osagie, who is the Ag General Manager of National Tourist Board, described the gathering as historic as all the stakeholders of the industry are present. She expressed optimism for the growth of the industry with the cooperation of the stakeholders. She also recalled their visit to the UK, where they met and engaged Tim Henshall, the Chief Executive of Kamageo Africa Destination Marketing, of which his presence in the country with his team of journalists is a testimony of their desire to promote the industry in the international market. She admonished the team to make good use of the visit and see all the beautiful sites the country has to offer tourists.
Tim Henshall, in his brief statement, expressed appreciation to the Ministry and the Board for the invitation and hospitality showed them, adding that he is wide eyed and boiling with excitement to see what the country has to offer and will ensure he markets them appropriately. He promised a doubling of the tourist number soon.
The gathering was climaxed with cultural performance by the National Dance Troupe whilst dinner was served.
