By NDUBI MVULA –
THE tourism industry in Zambia is one sector with great potential for growth and employment creation.
Having recognised that poor infrastructure and uneconomical routes were hampering  growth of the industry, the Patriotic Front (PF), upon forming government in 2011, embarked on a massive infrastructure development.
According to the 2016-2021 party manifesto, this includes construction of the new international terminal at Harry Mwaanga Nkumbula International Airport in Livingstone and the new works going on at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka.
The manifesto also unveils  construction of the new road to Sioma-Ngwezi National Park in Western Province which is now completed, the new Mongu-Kalabo Road leading to Liuwa National Park which is nearing completion, the Chipata-Mfuwe Road that is completed and the Chama –Matumbo Road which is nearly complete.
Others are the Lusaka National Park, which has already been officially opened and has good access roads through the Lusaka Multi-Facility Economic Zone (MFEZ); the Lusaka-Chiawa Road, which is near completion; with the Michael Chilufya Sata Road also completed and the Mulobezi rail line has been overhauled.
The railway is now allowing access to the southern section of the Kafue National Park.
To address the poor marketing of Zambia as a tourist destination of choice, Zambia co-hosted the 20th General Assembly of the UNWTO in Livingstone in 2013 thereby making the country more visible.
It can be noted that this has been augmented by marketing efforts at international tourism fairs such as the FITUR (Spain), ITB (Germany), World Travel Market (UK) and the Tourism Indaba (South Africa).
Zambia has also earned recognition from the global tourism fraternity and has been elected as a member of the UNWTO Executive Council.
Further, the PF Government has successfully negotiated an end to the Yellow Fever Certificate problem with South Africa.
“In order to facilitate an enabling environment for the provision of better services and a regulatory framework that will ensure sustainability as well as contribution of the sector to national development, the Patriotic Front Government has repealed the old Tourism Policy and replaced it with a new one,” reads part of the manifesto.
Further, Government has repealed the Tourism and Hospitality Act of 2007 and replaced it with the Tourism and Hospitality Act number 13 of 2015, resulting in the transfer of standards and inspection mandates to the new Zambia Tourism Agency (formerly Zambia Tourism Board).
To improve management of the country’s wildlife resource, the Government has repealed the Zambia Wildlife Act of 1998 and replaced it with the Zambia Wildlife Act number 12 of 2015.
“As a result of the conducive policy environment and increased investments in the last five years, tourism contribution to the gross domestic product(GDP) has increased from 2.1 per cent to 4.7 per cent. The sector has attracted an average of over US$3 million per annum in foreign direct investment,” reads the manifesto.
In the last five years, Zambia has received over 4.5 million international tourists. This had made it possible for the tourism sector to grow in terms of direct employment from 31,900 in 2011 to 57,337 in 2013.
In order to further grow the tourism sector, the PF Government shall in the next five years encourage and facilitate Public Private Partnerships, promote private sector investment and local community participation in the development of tourism and tourism related services.
It will also promote well targeted infrastructure development in order to open up new tourist sites in the country.
In addition, the PF administration will promote cultural and ethno-tourism in all provinces in order to create job opportunities in rural areas, collaborate with the private sector so as to enhance the marketing of the sector both locally and internationally.
It will also introduce regulations to address the human-animal conflict in game management areas (GMAs) so as to protect wildlife and local communities.
Further, the PF Government intends to establish a wildlife research institute as well as enhance the capacity of the two training schools at Chunga in the Kafue National Park and Nyamuluma in the South
Luangwa National Park, enhance community benefits from wildlife resource and enhance the employment of village scouts to increase rural employment.
And in partnership with local communities, the PF Government will share the responsibilities of management in community partnership parks and  Game Management Areas (GMAs) and ensure that growth in resource based tourism is environmentally sustainable and should be accessible to future generations.
As if the above is not enough in enhancing the development of tourism, the PF Government is very keen about the development of Arts and Culture.
That is why in the last five years, the PF Government has made significant strides in promoting the arts and cultural sector.
And prominent among these has been the creation of the Ministry of Tourism and Arts, which was meant to mainstream arts into tourism development as well as the creation of the Ministry of Chiefs and
Traditional Affairs for cultural heritage preservation and strengthening of traditional governance systems.
“In 2015, the Patriotic Front Government enacted the Protection of Traditional Knowledge, Genetic Resources and Expression of Folklore Bill. In the same period, not only was the Hologram, for the protection of audio/visual products against piracy, introduced, but Zambia Reprographics Society for the Protection of Artists’ Work from Un authorised Reproduction was also launched,” reads the manifesto.
Therefore, the creation of the Arts, Culture and Heritage Commission to unify the sector has led to the updating and harmonisation of several pieces of legislation, including the National Arts Council of Zambia Act, the National Museums Act and the National Heritage Conservation Act.
Since 2011, the increase in budget support to the arts and culture sector has resulted in a marked increase in the number of arts and culture activities, including the construction of various infrastructure such as the Maramba Cultural Village in Livingstone, Masala Cultural Village in Ndola,  Livingstone Art Gallery and Mwandi Cultural Village in Mwandi District of Western Province.
Also, under construction are the arts and culture centres in Solwezi, Kasama, Mongu, Mansa, Chinsali and Kabwe.
New cultural products have been and continue to be created in this sector, including the Pamodzi Carnival, festivals in music, theatre and film which have helped create new job opportunities.
However, in the next five years, the PF Government will construct a national cultural centre, complete the construction of provincial arts and culture centres and promote investment in the creative industry through the PPP model.
Also, the PF administration will promote the export of creative industry products, enhance job creation in the sector through decentralisation, upgrade new media technology and promote research in the arts and culture.
Nevertheless, tourism is travel for pleasure,  It can either be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country’s balance of payments.
Today, tourism is a major source of income for many countries and affects the economy of both the source and host countries which are in some cases of vital importance and Zambia cannot relax, what with the rich and abundant flora and fauna.