Malawi to play host to Sadc arts festival, conference

ALL Sadc member countries have registered to participate in the inaugural Regional Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference to be held in Lilongwe, Malawi next month, the Regional Tourism Organisation of Southern Africa (Retosa) said. Retosa is a Sadc institution responsible for tourism growth and development in the region through sustainable development initiatives and effective destination marketing.

The organisation works together with member tourism ministries, tourism boards and private sector partners.
“Preparations for the inaugural Regional Youth in Tourism Arts Festival and Conference slated for 12-13 December 2013 have reached an advanced stage with 15 Sadc countries having registered their participation,” Retosa said in a statement.

“The Retosa, who are the organisers of the event, have confirmed that its 15 member states and youth drawn from youth tourism entrepreneurs who are below 30 years of age as well as students at universities and colleges who are doing courses in tourism or interested to go into the tourism industry will be participating at the event.”

The Arts Festival and Conference is aimed at facilitating the mainstreaming of tourism into the education system across the region and to involve the youth in the development of tourism.

It also aims to espouse the use of tourism as a vehicle for creating employment and wealth, in the process contributing to poverty alleviation in Retosa member states and also to promote regional integration and a Southern Africa single destination vision among the youth.

Officials from ministries of tourism, education, youth, arts and culture in the region have also been invited to officiate at the event.
Retosa is also mandated to develop effective tourism initiatives in the Sadc region in order to make Southern Africa a regional destination of choice by 2027.

It is also tasked with facilitating and promoting the development of equitable and ethical tourism throughout the Southern African Region taking due consideration of the overall development of the people, vis a vis the region’s natural and cultural resources. – New Ziana