Delegates from the Common Markets for East and Southern Africa (COMESA) have made plans to reduce the cost of regional tourism among their member states. Speaking during the organisation’s first Regional Sustainable Tourism Forum at the Windsor Hotel in Nairobi, delegates discussed policies for the recruitment of a skilled labour force that would spear-head the operation.

The seminar, which ended yesterday, gave representatives a chance to discuss the responsibility of regional governments and air service providers in promoting tourism development within the COMESA trade block.

The organization plans to create affordable tourism packages for its member states. Fred Okeyo, Regional Marketing Manager for the Kenya Tourist Board (KTB) emphasized the need for branding COMESA as a single destination.

Representatives from member states agreed that this would help their governments create cheaper tariffs for domestic tourists within the region. They also mentioned establishing a common Visa as one of the steps needed to secure their proposal. If regional airliners and COMESA governments support the initiative, the move will see Kenyans paying less for flights to countries such as Seychelles, Mauritius, Malawi, Zambia and Madagascar.