2024 Tourism Expo-MITE to leverage on strong partnerships

By Gift Chiponde

Minister of Tourism, Vera Kamtukule says the 2024 Malawi International Tourism Expo (MITE) will focus on leveraging strong partnerships which the ministry has created with the global travel trade to embrace the growing tourism.

Kamtukule made the remarks during a press briefing at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe on Tuesday.

She said the expo, which will run from 25 – 27 April, 2024, will not just be about welcoming international buyers and travel media from key source markets like the United Kingdom, Germany, Netherlands and USA but work on embracing growing tourism markets such as India, China, Italy and France among others.

She said the ministry is also focusing on engaging East African countries such as Kenya and Tanzania.

\”This is not only because these are growing economies or markets, but also because they receive a lot of tourists from our key source markets. We would like to work with them to extend their visits to Malawi,\” said Kamtukule.

Kamtukule mentioned that these regional markets promise vibrant exchanges, potential partnerships and the chance to showcase Malawi\’s unique charm to fellow African travelers.

She said bilateral agreements that Malawi signed with these countries in the field of tourism have been operationalised and also practically facilitates joint marketing efforts between the countries.

The Minister emphasised that success in tourism development requires strong collaboration across government agencies and different actors at local and regional levels hence the need for a strong partnership among stakeholders in this year\’s MITE.

\”This is why we have decided that for this year’s expo, we would like to do things a little different. We are not looking for sponsors; we are looking for partners, institutions and individuals who will work with us not just to deliver the expo but also look at the bigger picture of promoting tourism development in the country,\” she said.