There is a proposal that should go from theory to practice, the construction of schools specializing in tourism. Not that this idea is not being applied, after all we have examples from the Escola Superior de Hotelaria e Turismo at Eduardo Mondlane University, in the province of Inhambane.
However, this is not sufficient, and there is a need to start tourism education at the base, in primary education. This is at least one of the ideas defended by participants at the 67th Session of the United Nations Regional Commission for Tourism in Africa.
The session takes place in the city of Livingstone, Zambia, where Mozambique is represented by a delegation led by the deputy minister of Culture and Tourism, Fredson Bacar, as a member of the Executive Council of UN Tourism.
At that meeting, which brings together 23 delegations from several African countries, tourism was highlighted as one of the key elements when it comes to the economic development of a country. This is one of the reasons why the United Nations insists on the idea of intensifying investment in this area, which faces several challenges on the African continent.
According to participants, tourism in Africa faces many challenges ranging from the promotion of tourist destinations, air connectivity, training and capacity building of human resources, investments and sustainability projects.
It is in this sense that they defended investing in tourism education through actions such as the creation of tourism schools and inclusion in teaching curricula at all levels (primary, secondary, secondary and higher) of tourism themes, as well as construction tourist infrastructure and destination security.
The discussions are, in short, centered on three themes, namely investing in people: education and skills development; strategic investment in tourism; and security of destinations: fundamental role of the tourism police.
(By MozaVibe)
