Tourism's role in development drive

Delegates attending this week's World Tourism Organisation (WTO) Commission for Africa meeting have agreed that African governments need to find space for tourism at the heart of their development plans.

Some 30 countries participated in the two day seminar, 23 of them represented at ministerial level, in addition to numerous international organisations, all of whom agreed upon the potential of tourism to play a prominent role in African development.

Speaking at the close of the conference, Deputy Secretary General of the WTO, David de Villiers, said, "We believe tourism , as such a giant industry, can be better harnessed to assist countries in their development."

Despite the current down turn in visitor arrivals, Mr de Villiers complimented Seychelles on its use of tourism as an economic catalyst, calling it a "very good example, which we want to repeat in the least developed countries."

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