📅 Date: 17 August 2026
📍 Venue: Virtual Meeting (Online)
Documents
About the Event
Tourism is one of the most important sectors for driving economic diversification, regional integration, employment creation and sustainable development across the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). With its rich natural, cultural and heritage assets, the region has enormous potential to position itself as a globally competitive and sustainable tourism destination. However, fragmented tourism policies, limited regional coordination, infrastructure constraints, and barriers to cross-border travel continue to limit the sector's contribution to regional economic growth.
To address these challenges, the COMESA Secretariat, in partnership with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), through its Subregional Office for Southern Africa and with technical support from the Subregional Office for Eastern Africa, initiated the development of the COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Framework, Implementation Plan and four regional tourism business cases.
The First Regional Consultation Workshop, held in Diani, Kenya, in April 2026, established the strategic priorities, identified key regional challenges, and agreed on the roadmap for developing the Framework. Building on those outcomes, this Second Stakeholders' Consultative Workshop provides an opportunity for Member States and key stakeholders to review the preliminary findings, validate the proposed strategic direction, and provide technical guidance before the Framework and business cases are finalized.
The workshop represents an important milestone towards developing a coordinated regional approach that strengthens tourism competitiveness, promotes sustainable investment, enhances regional integration, and supports implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Agreement and the COMESA Medium-Term Strategic Plan.
Objectives
The overall objective of the workshop is to provide a platform for consultation between the COMESA Secretariat, ECA, the consulting team and key regional stakeholders to review the preliminary outputs and build consensus on the strategic direction of the COMESA Sustainable Tourism Development Framework, Implementation Plan and regional tourism business cases.
Participants
The workshop will bring together representatives from the 21 COMESA Member States, with participation expected from:
- Government ministries and departments responsible for tourism planning and development.
- National Tourism Authorities.
- Investment Promotion Agencies.
- Private sector tourism associations.
- Civil society organizations working in tourism and sustainable development.
- The COMESA Secretariat.
- The United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA).
Contact Information
Ms. Bineswaree Bolaky
Economic Affairs Officer
United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA)
Subregional Office for Southern Africa
Email: bineswaree.bolaky@un.org
Mr. Tamanda Kaleke
Tourism Expert
COMESA Secretariat
Lusaka, Zambia
Email: tkaleke@comesa.int
For media inquiries:
Lavender Degre
Communications Officer
ECA Subregional Office for Southern Africa, Lusaka, Zambia
Email: lavender.degre@un.org