WTO hopes to help Africa ST-EP out of poverty

World Tourism Organisation (WTO) officials this week proposed a number of steps developing countries could take under the organisation's ST-EP initiative to eliminate poverty.

During the WTO Commission for Africa meeting, they said rural communities should be economically empowered to provide locally produced goods to visitors and to offer them services that would enable the populations to retain the income earned from tourism.

"ST-EP (Sustainable Tourism - Eliminate Poverty) intends to make tourism to work for the people and for communities in rural areas where most of the poverty is to be found," WTO deputy secretary general Dawid de Villiers said.

He said that although ST-EP is an ambitious programme, it is also based on small steps.

"We believe that many little steps put together can make a dent in poverty," he said, adding that tourism has what it takes to make it a most suitable industry for Africa.

"It fits naturally into the African cultural and natural environment because most countries on the continent have unique, abundant, diverse and fascinating flora and fauna," he said.

He said these represent great natural wealth that can be managed, preserved and utilised in a way that could contribute significantly to the long term development of tourism and poverty reduction.

"However, Africa can make better and more efficient use of its great tourism potential.

"Although tourism is an export industry, the product is consumed at the point of production. You don't take away the pristine beach or the game park. Instead, the consumer has to travel to the destination," he said.

This, he said, provides many new opportunities to sell additional products and services to the visiting customers.

He said the problem of market access, which is a serious one for  developing countries which cannot export their products into the markets of developed countries does not exist with regard to tourism.

Yet, he said, many travellers when asked if they spent all their money or as much as they intended to often answer that there was nothing they could buy where they went.

"There are therefore opportunities for entrepreneurs both in the metropolitan and rural areas to sell their own products and services to the potential customers," he said.

"Product development and assistance to small entrepreneurs is therefore an area that needs further attention," he said, adding that the design, diversity and quality of products offered to tourists can be greatly improved.

He said there is need for training in handicraft development, basic manufacturing skills and selling techniques to give tourists something they can buy, leaving the money in the right hands.

"Potential sellers must understand what would appeal to the tourists. The market is quite diverse and flexible, calling for products like fruits and vegetables to handicraft," he said.

He said tourism offers market for small, micro and medium enterprises which, nevertheless, call for "small but hard to get amounts of money which governments and organisations can garner the necessary political will to provide."

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