Home | Business | INTEREST IN ESWATINI’S ‘SAFE TRAVELS’ STAMP

INTEREST IN ESWATINI’S ‘SAFE TRAVELS’ STAMP

06/09/2020 13:31:00 BY MBONGISENI NDZIMANDZE

Font size:

welcome@times.co.sz

MBABANE - By being one of the first countries in the Southern Africa region to receive the World Tourism Council’s Safe Travels stamp, the Kingdom of Eswatini has drawn the interest of the international community.

WTTC represents the private travel and tourism sector globally and designed the stamp to enable travellers to make safe travel choices in the wake of COVID-19. Some are even wondering if international visitors are now allowed into the kingdom despite the global COVID-19 pandemic which has greatly limited travelling and led to the closure of borders.

This prompted Channel Africa, an international radio station that aims to contribute to the development of Africa, to interview Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Moses Vilakati to find out the meaning of this stamp. On social media network Twitter, others were also asking all sorts of questions, including the opening of the country’s borders so they could come for a visit.

An excited Minister Vilakati said the stamp is good news for Eswatini, in particular the tourism sector as this meant the country has positioned itself to attract tourists and be assured that it has followed all the protocols needed to ensure that when tourists come to visit, they would be safe and guaranteed of a warm reception.

He said this stamp has cemented Eswatini’s position among the top 10 travel destinations in Africa in the time of COVID-19. “Above all, in all the accommodations, they (visitors) will be assured of the safety protocols as per the health standards of the world,” he said.

The minister noted that the lockdown has affected the tourism sector badly, particularly because the borders were closed, and since the country is landlocked, that means it cannot attract international tourists.

promoting local tourism

He said the country’s was ready to welcome international visitors but the challenge was that borders were still closed. “What we’ve done is to promote local tourism because some of emaSwati haven’t been able to travel countrywide; so we have launched a huge internal or domestic tourism drive where we are saying ‘go all out there and be aware of what Eswatini has to offer’,” the minister said,

He said this was very important because once the borders are opened and international tourists start coming in, emaSwati should be the ones to become ambassadors and lead those tourists to the various areas of interest.

“We hope that with the igniting of the domestic tourism, once our borders are opened, then our tourism flow will spur like it was before. Usually, the country receives almost a similar number of people to the population but due to COVID-19 we are not getting any of the international tourists.

“But local tourism is now coming up and starting to show that people can visit places and enjoy themselves. To that extent, what we have done to the festivals that attract international tourists, like the Swazi Rally, we have done it as a country by following social distancing and people were excited about it,” Vilakati said.

The minister said Eswatini has got one of the best sceneries on the continent and boasts of wildlife like the big five, which can all be seen in one day, within three hours of driving around. “We also pride ourselves in cultural heritage that has existed for over 400 years,” he said.

He encouraged people to visit the kingdom’s website to get all information on tourism and said a one-stop tourism website was being designed to showcase all that Eswatini has to offer.

first step to recovery

On the WTT website, the minister’s statement expresses pleasure that the kingdom has joined other destinations in being part of the globally recognised WTTC Safe travels protocols and applauds the initiative by WTTC.

“These protocols will ensure consistency in tourist expectations and experience globally. COVID-19 has shifted customer expectations to, not only service excellence, but safety has become an imperative for all travellers. It is in this vein that Eswatini has put safety as a priority, as we adapt to the new normal.

“COVID-19 has not only had devastating effects on people’s lives but also people’s livelihoods. The pandemic has also ravaged economies globally, therefore regaining market confidence is the foundational step towards reopening and reviving the tourism sector in a safe, responsible and organised way,” reads the statement.

In it the minister also thanks WTTC, Eswatini Tourism Authority and the Tourism Industry of Eswatini for collaborating in reaching this key milestone.

“Implementation of these protocols is part of our message to tourist far and wide that Eswatini is open for tourism business, we are ready to receive tourists warmly and safely to the Kingdom of Eswatini,” he says.

According to WTT, the specially designed stamp allows travellers to recognise governments and companies around the world which have adopted health and hygiene global standardised protocols – so that consumers can experience ‘Safe Travels’.

Eligible companies such as hotels, restaurants, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators, attractions, short-term rentals, car rentals, outdoor shopping, transportation and airports, will be able to use the stamp once the health and hygiene protocols, outlined by WTTC, have been implemented.

WTTC says it works alongside members, governments, health experts and other industry associations to achieve effective recovery protocols by developing meaningful action plans that optimise sector-wide recovery efforts. It says these protocols include providing the public and private sectors with the insights and toolkits for interaction and implementation to ensure that people are and feel safe.

It, however, warns that WTTC, its members and the sector cannot guarantee 100 per cent safety. “It is paramount to have common rules. Ultimately, we envision a future of travel which is safe, secure, seamless and provides an authentic and meaningful experience to the traveller across the journey; one which supports the livelihoods of millions and contributes to sustainable economic growth,” WTTC says.

WTTC is publishing the protocols in phases and for at least eleven industries, including; hospitality, attractions, outdoor retail, aviation, airports, short term rentals, cruise, tour operators, convention centres and MICE, car rental and insurance.