SESRIC organised a Workshop on “Sustainable Human Resources Management (HRM) Practices: Building Resilience in African Tourism Boards” on 10-11 September 2024 at its Headquarters in Ankara, Republic of Türkiye. This workshop was held within the framework of the COMCEC-funded SESRIC Project on “Strengthening the Capacities of African Tourism Boards through Sustainable Human Resource Management Practices”, and in line with SESRIC’s Tourism Capacity Building Programme (Tourism-CaB).

The workshop brought together 33 representatives from Ministries of Tourism, the African Tourism Board (ATB), and other relevant national institutions in charge of tourism promotion from nine OIC African countries as well as OIC Institutions and International Organisations; namely the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC), the Standards and Metrology Institute for Islamic Countries (SMIIC), UN Tourism, D-8 Organization for Economic Cooperation, among others. Participants discussed the main challenges facing the tourism sector in the OIC African countries and explored potential solutions and HRM practices to advance the sector’s resilience in the region.

The workshop commenced with opening remarks from representatives of SESRIC, the African Tourism Board (ATB) and the COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO).

During her opening remarks, H.E. Zehra Zümrüt SELÇUK thanked the COMCEC Coordination Office for its support and acknowledged the contributions of prominent speakers from various Turkish national institutions, OIC bodies, and International Organisations for their technical support and facilitation in the implementation of the activity.

H.E. SELÇUK underlined that in 2022, the OIC African countries hosted 41.4 million international tourists, accounting for 18.5% of the total international tourist arrivals in the OIC countries and 2.7% of global arrivals. “Although tourist arrivals yet recovered only 76% of pre-pandemic levels, we have seen a significant increase in tourism receipts of the OIC countries in Africa, from $137 billion or 57% of the OIC total tourism receipts in 2019 to $169 billion or 66% in 2022”, she added. She stressed the need for OIC African countries to prioritize tourism sector development through innovation and sustainable HRM practices, highlighting SESRIC’s efforts in statistics, research and technical cooperation.

The opening session proceeded with remarks from H.E. Dr. Cuthbert Simphiwe NCUBE, Executive Chairman of the African Tourism Board (ATB), who expressed his gratitude for the organisers for this important opportunity and briefed the meeting on the prospect of tourism sector in the African continent, which is renowned for its diverse landscapes and rich cultural heritage. He underscored the importance of sustainable practices to empower the African workforce, promote inclusivity, and drive positive transformation, towards achieving the envisioned objectives.

The opening session concluded with remarks from H.E. Selçuk KOÇ, Director General of COMCEC Coordination Office. He thanked SESRIC for the successful implementation of the project and emphasized the importance of the advancement of the tourism sector as a significant global industry and the main source of economic growth. He informed the delegates about the COMCEC Project Funding (CPF) mechanism and encouraged the relevant national institutions in the OIC African countries to utilize this valuable opportunity towards their development efforts in the area of tourism.

The workshop covered the following key topics:

• A Glimpse on the African Tourism Board (ATB)
• Tourism Industry in Türkiye
• ARDSI – Implementation of IPARD Programme and Rural Tourism Projects
• Building Resilient Tourism Boards: Human Resource Planning and Destination Management
• Capacity Development of Public and Private Sectors for Sustainable Tourism Management
• Tourism Education in Türkiye
• OIC/SMIIC Standard on Halal Tourism Services

On the second day of the project, a field visit to the Mogan Vocational and Technical Education Anatolian High School in Ankara was arranged with the facilitation of the Ministry of National Education of the Republic of Türkiye to provide hands-on experience and reflect the successful Turkish experience in the tourism vocational education.  A comprehensive presentation on the structure of the high school and its functions was delivered during the visit.

The workshop concluded with a certificate distribution ceremony and adopting a list of recommendations that would help the participating OIC African countries in their endeavours towards advancing the tourism sector in their esteemed countries.

The Project on “Strengthening the Capacities of African Tourism Boards through Sustainable Human Resource Management Practices” aimed to contribute to the development of a resilient, competitive, and sustainable tourism sector in Africa. By organising a virtual training course and a workshop for the benefit of the Ministries of Tourism and relevant national institutions responsible for tourism promotion in selected OIC African countries, the project facilitated capacity-building and knowledge sharing, ultimately strengthening the abilities of the participating delegates to drive tourism development in their respective countries.

The COMCEC Coordination Office (CCO) introduced in 2013 the COMCEC Project Funding (CPF), a funding mechanism that finances projects submitted by the Member Countries and relevant OIC Institutions to realize the strategic objectives and outcomes of the COMCEC Strategy. Funding is provided in the form of a grant through the Development and Investment Bank of Türkiye, which is one of the main bodies in the COMCEC Project Funding scheme. Since the initiation of the CPF, SESRIC has implemented numerous projects under various areas of cooperation and in accordance with sectoral themes determined by the CCO. For more details about SESRIC projects funded by the COMCEC, please visit: https://www.sesric.org/tcd-activities-projects-funded.php

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