Issa Yusuf
ZCT Executive Director Ms Hafsa Mbamba said that her office
is working in partnership with Zanzibar Investment Promotion Authority (ZIPA)
and the Department of Museum & Antiquity of the Ministry of Tourism &
Heritage to organise ZTITE.
She explained that the purpose is to bring tourism
professionals & stakeholders, tourism investors, conservationists and
like-minded stakeholders from both public and private sectors in a conducive
environment to trade and discuss sustainable tourism practices, and current
movements and share knowledge.
The ZTITE-2024 will serve as a platform to showcase the
expected sustainable tourism vision of the Zanzibar tourism sector and
investment climate along with business networking opportunities and solutions
to existing challenges in the tourism ecosystem," Ms Hafsa said.
She said that ZTITE starts on February 17 to 20th next year
and that it aligns with the "Zanzibar Declaration on Sustainable
Tourism," an informal statement of intent and a rallying cry for the
Zanzibar tourism industry to take real strides towards sustainability, in
support of people, planet and prosperity.
Hafsa said, "The Zanzibar Declaration recognises and
contributes to global sustainable tourism actions adopted by international
institutions and world leaders; this includes the One Planet Network Glasgow
Declaration: Climate Action in Tourism with which this declaration is aligned,
and many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
The executive directors pointed out that the summit next
year also aims to promote investment in sustainable tourism projects in
Zanzibar and comply with the global sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which
emphasises the protection and sustainable management of 30 per cent of the land
and sea in the world by 2030.
She noted that the meeting is an important step towards
achieving and implementing the vision 2050 in the tourism sector, which is
based on ensuring that the Tourism Commission coordinates and manages to ensure
that Zanzibar Tourism is sustainable and environmentally protected.
The ZCT executive director mentioned key topics for
discussion at the summit as 'sustainable food and waste management in the
tourism sector'; 'biodiversity and environment protection'; 'cultural
protection and promotion'; and 'reducing use of fossil fuels in tourism.'
"We selected these topics because, internationally,
tourism seems to contribute a lot to pollution, loss of biodiversity and
changes in the environment due to emission of greenhouse gases," she said.
She said that in 2019, tourism was rated to be the second
fastest-growing sector in the world accounting for an average of eight per cent
of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Ms Hafsa said Zanzibar is doing what it can to promote
tourism as its leading economic sector contributing 30 percent to GDP and more
than 35,000 people directly employed in the industry.
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