The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs and its agencies, the National Tourist Board (NTB), Monument and Relics Commission (MRC) have held the formal launch of the year-long Tourism for All Campaign at Galliness Paradise, Bo, Southern Sierra Leone. The launch of the campaign went simultaneously with the Salone Festival, a cultural event that showcased performances from different cultural groups for audition into the National Dance Troupe.
The Salone Festival was coordinated by the division of Culture, Creativity and Innovation of the Ministry together with partner stakeholders in Bo
The on-going Tourism for all campaign which started in January with (Explore and Discover) and is in its fourth month of (Gateway to Freedom and Liberation) sought to share knowledge, encourage movement, demonstrate the value of Tourism through a year-long portfolio of tourism centric activities and also demonstrate the value of inter-ministerial multi-stakeholder collaboration to unlock the full potential of the campaign.
In his opening remarks, Permanent Secretary, Edward Kwame Yankson intimated that the launch of the campaign and the Salone Festival in Bo was in line with the Ministry’s intentions to diverse the sector by taking the tourism for all campaign to every district of Sierra Leone. He explained the significance of the launch and encouraged the audience to embrace tourism by preserving and protecting their rich cultural heritage.
Launching the Tourism for All Campaign, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs Mrs. Nabeela Farida Tunis stated that the initiative was built on the foundation of bringing tourism to the people as a relevant enabler for them to engage in domestic tourism and also showcase what they have. She applauded the impressive cultural performances displayed by the different cultural groups, which she said was a demonstration of the vast talents that Sierra Leoneans possessed.
She emphasized that it was the responsibility of those present to cascade the campaign messages to their neighborhoods and encourage others to engage in tourism centric approach in their endeavors.
She concluded by emphasizing on the relevance of partnership, peace, unity and harmony amongst Sierra Leoneans for tourism to strive, while also encouraging people of the Southern region to continue to protect and preserve their cultural and touristic assets.
The Deputy Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Kadijatu Grace Kamara, the Director of Culture, Foday Jalloh, the Director of Tourism, Mohamed Jalloh, the General Manager NTB, Fatmata Hamid Carew and the Administrative Manager of MRC, Ann-Marie Kamara all premised their statements on encouraging people to protect their rich cultural heritage for the furtherance of domestic tourism in their region.
MTCA Communications
