THE call by Tourism and Arts Permanent Secretary Stephen Mwansa to the private sector to help make local tourism affordable is a timely reminder of how the sector can rake millions into the economy as much from locals as the foreign arrivals.
Mr Mwansa’s call, especially that it was directed at the private sector, must be welcomed by all stakeholders in the tourism sector which ironically Government has set out to prioritise in the quest to diversify the economy.
It has been noted several times that most Zambians do not appreciate the tourism attractions that are around them. A typical example is how foreigners from as far as the United States, Australia and Europe have been to see the Victoria Falls more times than people within Zambia.
Like the Zambia Tourism Board (ZTB) director for Domestic Tourism, Doris Kofi said, Zambians need to appreciate tourism products that are right in their backyards, sometimes unknown to them.
“It is possible to take a bus and visit the Victoria Falls.  It all starts from there. We should not look at tourism as a lofty thing,” she said.
Ms Kofi gave an example of South Africa where domestic tourism was bigger than international tourism saying that could be possible for Zambia, as the country was endowed with tourist attractions like culture and wildlife.
The zoning of the tourism endowment that country has into the Southern and Northern circuits is one such move that will ensure that all parts of the country receive similar attention in terms of tending the tourist attractions.
Sadly, instead of appreciating local tourism, most citizens set out to degrade the attractions through indiscriminate, if not senseless, poaching of exotic animal and bird species that are now being threatened with extinction.
That is why the call by Mr Mwansa must be taken as a cross-cutting rallying cry to all stakeholders including those that are supposed to look after the tourism sites and those that are supposed to market them.
What does it help a country that has abundant tourism attractions that are not appreciated locally. Ideally, every Zambian is supposed to be their country’s tourism ambassador.
But how many people know, for example that the Victoria Falls is only but one of the many waterfalls the country is blessed with? Not even the longest at that.
Even the curios markets that are dotted around the country should not be left to foreigners only to sample. Every Zambian must posses one or two of the artifacts from the curios market so that if the foreigners see them from us, the too will be persuaded to have them.
Zambia’s cultural heritage can only be made popular by Zambians. Similarly, the story of Zambia’s tourism potential can only be told better by Zambians themselves. But they can only know the story if they know something about it.
It is mind-boggling to attend traditional ceremonies these days and see youths clad in various replica jerseys of international football teams. Where are the traditional attires of the various tribes of our country?
The hospitality industry particularly holds the key to the accessibility of tourism sites by their pricing of their hotels and lodges to the local people. There must always be a rebate for local tourists.
Apart from that, accommodation should now more than ever before come with incentives such as game-viewing, visitations museums and other tourism sites. These should be extended especially to schools that take field trips.
Most youths end at learning about in social studies that former United Nations secretary general Dag Hammarskjold died in Zambia yet when travelling between Ndola and Kitwe, all they know about the exact place where his plane crashed is that it is a bus stop.
We cannot agree more to the call by Mr Mwansa and Ms Kofi that local tourism should be appreciated by Zambians if foreigners are to be convinced to sample the local tourism attractions Zambia has on offer.