Destinations will increasingly need to strike a balance between attracting foreign investment and ensuring benefits for local economies and communities, tourism ministers believe.
Speakers at the International Tourism & Investment Conference at World Travel Market said the Covid-19 pandemic had created an opportunity for developing nations to reset their approach to attracting investment and developing tourism infrastructures.
But they warned that governments and communities themselves would need to see proof that the investment was reaping wider benefits.
Taleb Rifai, former secretary general of the UNWTO and chair of ITIC, said governments had become increasingly aware of the value of tourism to economies following the enforced shutdown driven by Covid-19.
He also said the pandemic had demonstrated the value of balancing international and domestic tourism offerings, and the scope of technology to enhance experiences.
But he warned that former models of foreign tourism investment which would see “five-star hotels constructed in two-star communities” were no longer sustainable, with consumer sentiment also driving change.
Edmund Bartlett, Jamaica’s tourism minister (pictured), said there needed to be a “trade-off” between generating investment and returns for overseas investors and regenerating and delivering benefits for local communities.
He said the retention of revenue from tourism investments in Jamaica had risen from 19 cents in the dollar when he took on his current role to 40.5 cents in the dollar prior to the pandemic, thanks to the provision of financial and training support for small and medium-sized tourism firms and those in the local supply chain.
He added: “The advent of Covid slowed the [investment] process but Jamaica retained 90% of foreign direct investment and construction on a range of projects has now started.”
Najib Balala, cabinet secretary for Kenya’s ministry of tourism and wildlife, agreed there must be investment in supply chains and human resources to ensure foreign investors saw value in retaining economic benefits locally.
He added that the pandemic had relegated tourism’s importance to Kenya’s GDP, but said he was targeting a full recovery by 2023/24 and hoped to capitalise on the opportunity to build a “more innovative and caring” industry with broader opportunities for investors including beach destinations and high-end safari lodges.
Amr El-Kady, chief executive of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Board, said his country was also diversifying its tourism product, while developing opportunities to link distinct beach and cultural product including the introduction of a direct flight between Sharm El-Sheikh and Luxor which could be included as an add-on.
He added that he was “proud of the resilience” shown repeatedly by Egypt’s tourism industry and insisted investment opportunities were growing as the country had not reached saturation point on either hotel development or airlift.
Nayef Al Fayez, Jordan’s minister of tourism and antiquities, said the size, safety and stability of his country was attractive to investors, both from overseas and locally.
He added: “Investment in Jordan never really stopped. Tourism development is still relatively new so there remains great areas of opportunity.”
Areas of focus will include coastal areas and parts of the country away from established tourist sites, he said, with a focus on sustainable development and limits on all-inclusive properties.