The minister said this sector could be doing more was e-government in use.
She noted that tourists were put off by the lack or fewer communication modes through the use of the internet. Again, the fact that every material on offer was in English was another setback to economic development as it meant translators had to be sought for the tourists.
“Through the good work done by our sisters in neighbouring South Africa, we’ve been able to market the country which has seen tourists crossing over to Swaziland now and again. The challenge should be that Swaziland is made the preferred destination instead of being an after-thought just because the tourists are able to exploit the advantage of close proximity with SA, close to three hours drive,” she said.
Speaking at the Royal Swazi Convention Centre’s banqueting hall yesterday, the minister also noted that tourists had seen the hassles undergone whilst trying to secure bookings in the hotels.
On that note, she applauded the Swaziland Tourism Authority (STA), headed by Enock Maseko, for its commendable job in coming up with a website that has allowed tourists to make bookings at the different hotels through it.
“As a country, we’ve noted that tourists are put off by the lack of the internet (e-tourism) for them to make on-line bookings,”.
The minister said it was vital for the tourism sector viewed as the engine of economic growth to have on-line reservations and a centralised system of operating that could see opening of a call centre as well for the tourism sector. On the English language, she bemoaned the lack of translators which saw most of the publications for the tourism sector in the Queen’s language.
“There are tourists who come from Sweden as well as French speaking counties who hardly speak English yet are put off because we don’t have anything in their language loaded in our website.
“As well, we have the problem of visas between our African counties and the sooner these are scrapped completely the better for the tourism industry. We have a programme between the three states’ South Africa, Mozambique and Swaziland on the tourism but we’ve not exploited the benefits of e-tourism to the fullest”.
She said having e-tourism will enhance tourism growth as well as economic boom for not only Swaziland but the other SADC Region states to reap maximum benefits through it.
Her remarks were conveyed as a parting shot at the close of the three-day Sixth Pan African Summit on ICT in government held at the Royal Swazi Sun.
Seven ministers from different SADC countries were in attendance as well as ICT managers in private and public sectors as well as non-profit making organisations.
Responding to the minister’s concerns, Damain Cook, Kenya’s Web Consultant Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife, noted that e-government systems had to be up to date ahead of the 2010 World Cup not just in South Africa but the rest of the region as well.
He said hotel reservations and game tickets had to be on-line.
On the language barriers, Cook noted that there were agencies Swaziland could utilise who could assist in making the translations.
Autor(en)/Author(s): Njabulo Dlamini
Quelle/Source: The Swazi Observer, 10.05.2007
