Ouagadougou, The inaugural conference on the theme of the special edition of the Ouagadougou International Tourism and Hospitality Show and Showcase “Promotion of internal tourism: resilience factor” was delivered this Friday October 27, 2023 in Ouagadougou. Communicator Samuel Garané invited us to reconsider the tourist offer for better promotion of internal tourism.
The inaugural communication of the special edition of the Ouagadougou International Tourism and Hospitality Exhibition (SITHO) and the Ouagadougou International Tourism, Hotel and Catering Showcase (VITHRO) focused on the theme “Promotion of internal tourism: resilience factor”.
Communicator Samuel Garané affirmed that internal tourism remains the ideal form and effective means for development.
However, he clarified that we can only move towards the development of internal tourism if we reconsider the national tourism order and this requires strong actions to make tourism products accessible, attractive and innovative.
Regarding accessibility, he explained that it is about developing products that are accessible to the purchasing power of the average citizen.
The national tourist order must also be attractive, that is to say, arouse interest, give the desire to discover and this requires a good communication strategy, he underlined.
Mr. Garané also noted that the tourist offer must be innovative by using new information and communication technologies such as Facebook to stimulate views and encourage populations to visit.
He also recommended good communication around tourist sites to eliminate any psychosis in view of the difficult security context and with a view to presenting the interest of the visits to the populations.
For the development of internal tourism, Samuel Garané recommended that the administration instill the culture of internal tourism in the populations.
“To do this, we must present the cultural potential to the populations so that each Burkinabè knows what is in their area, what is there at the national level,” he said.
He also spoke of the education of the youngest to instill in them a love of national culture.
“If they grow up with this spirit, they will practice tourism. We must make each Burkinabè an ambassador of culture.
Everyone must be able to raise awareness, invite others to visit tourist sites,” he said.
To also enable the development of internal tourism, Samuel Garané suggests looking into the Burkinabè diaspora estimated at around 11 million who live in Africa, Europe and the United States.
Among the latter, he noted that there are those who were not born in the country, who do not know it, who have never visited it.
“It's an opportunity to bring the diaspora to visit the country. This can be done through several channels: associations, cultural activities, etc. “, he indicated.
Source: Burkina Information Agency