Liberia Refuses To Tap Tourism

…But Minister Sieh Regrets Past Failure

Information Minister Cletus Sieh


The Minister of Information, Culture & Tourism, Mr. Cletus Abenego Sieh has disclosed plans to boost Liberia’s tourism, indicating that the Ministry will be discussing the tourism sector of the country and will establish a tourism, boar of Liberia to map out plans that would boost the sector.

The Information Ministry boss also spoke of plans for the will establishment of a tourism board that that would map out plans to boost the sector.

Minister Sieh spoke Monday on Carey Street when he addressed the CEMPID Hatai Club. Sieh who was accompanied to the CEMPID Hatai center by an array of office staff along with Deputy Information Minister for Public Affairs Jerilimek Piah say his trip was poaty of the Ministry’s public affairs strategy to bring the government to the people.

Answering a question from the Audience regarding Liberia’s tourism sector, the Minister responded with regret that Liberia has not been utilizing her tourism sector. According to him, Liberia is blessed with tourist attractions but noted that the country has not utilized its huge tourism industry.

“It hurts that those do not have more tourist attraction have used tourism as a huge industry while Liberia sits by without prioritizing its tourism sector,” he said He said

The Information Minister was apparently referring to our neighbors and sister countries such as Ghana and Ivory Coast, who have prioritized tourism.

Minister Sieh pointed to the Kpatawi Fall; the Sarpo National Park which he said contains 40 percent of the total forest land in West Africa with the appropriate wildlife, the major lakes in Liberia amongst others.

A lot of other natural beauties around the country and major hotels are also attractions that must be developed, according to the Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism.

An independent survey of sites paraded to the NEW VISION New Vision, such hotels like Four Seasons Resort Costa Rica at Peninsula Papagayo , Hotel Tropicana in Tamarindo, El Punto of 4 B&Bs / inns in Liberia, Boyeros Hotel & Conference Center, Hilton Garden Inn Liberia Airport ,Canon de la Vieja Lodge and El Sol Verde Lodge & Campground .

Others include Best Western Las Espuelas , Guanacaste Hotel, Best Western El Sitio Hotel & Casino,
Giardini di Papagayo Hotel, Posada del Tope, Hotel El Bramadero, Hostal Ciudad Blanca and Cabinas Michelle amongst others.

Minister Sieh added how the Ministry of Information, Culture & Tourism will be discussing the tourism sector of the country and will establish a tourism, boar of Liberia to map out plans that would boost the sector.

In his article Rebuilding Liberia’s Tourism Industry for Economic Growth, a Liberian researcher, Dr. Syrulwa Somah, enumerated challenges that were being faced by the Liberian Toursim industry. The Liberian elite found that in Africa, Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda stand out as tourism-driven economies. According to traveldocs.com, in 2003, tourism became Ghana’s largest foreign earner, about $600 million, while the BBC reports that tourism is a cardinal economic booster in Kenya, generating half a million jobs, which account for 12% of the Kenyan economy.

In Uganda, tourism is the second highest foreign exchange earner next to coffee, generating $276 million from 6,000 visitors between 1993 and 1996. Tourism is being developed and promoted elsewhere in Africa and other parts of the world, and we in Liberia need to exploit our tourism potential for the development and promotion of a fledging tourism industry in the 4th republic.

Recipe for improved tourism

Dr. Somah pointed to Liberia’s tourism Potential, saying that in spite of television images and news reports portraying Liberia as a country ravaged by starvation and the residual effects of a 14-year civil war, much of the roof of Liberia is fertile and well watered, with awe-inspiring scenery dominated by highlands and savannah grasslands are indicative of a potential useful tourist attraction.

“Liberia has tourist attractions such as shallow lagoons, islands, lakes, mangrove swamps, capes, rivers, colonial-styled wide porch homes and 350 miles white sandy beaches. Liberia’s unique history as the first black African republic and a haven for freed black American slaves in the 19th century can be great tourist attractions,” he said

The Liberia writer said in addition, palace of culture and ethnic Liberian kingdoms such as Bassa Kingdom, Belle Kingdom, Gola Kingdom, Klao (Kru) Kingdom, Grebo Kingdom, Krahn (Wee) Kingdom, Mende Kingdom, Sapo Kingdom, Kpelle Kingdom, Kissi Kingdom, Pleebo Kingdom, Gbii Kingdom, Via Kingdom, Dei Kingdom, Gio (Dan) Kingdom, Loma Kingdom, Mandingo Kingdom, and the Maih (Mano) Kingdom can be valuable tourist attractions once developed to host annual cultural history tours, rituals displays, etc.

“The majestic St. John River in Grand Bassa County, Cestos (or Nuon) River in Rivercess County, Yar River in Nimba County, St. Paul River and Cavalla (Youbou) River in Maryland County, and the Mano River that connects Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia are among a few of Liberia’s magnificent rivers for environmental tourism,” he maintained

He said Liberia has enormous tourism potential to generate revenue for economic development in the country if only we could tap into the resources we have, saying that Liberia enjoys good dry and sunny weather, coupled with a gentle breeze unique in West Africa.

“Hence, Liberia has potential for the following tourist attractions and recreation activities, which he said include fee fishing, skeet shooting, canoe livery, biking, bird watching, hiking, hang gliding and hot air balloon rides.

The challenges

Tourism as we know it today did not appear on the world page until the 19th century, as an outshoot of leisure travel, which has formed the larger part of the tourist industry. Naturally, as the vanguard of the Industrial Revolution, Great Britain set the pace for leisure travel by offering leisure time to factory owners, traders, and other pillars of the Industrial Revolution. France followed suit with launch of the French Riviera, one of the glamorous holiday resorts in the world.

To establish a separate Ministry of Tourism detached from the Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism for efficient management and coordination of the revamped Liberian tourism Program, he said is a challenge, noting that another one lies in financing the plans with respect to general infrastructure, tourism facilities, attractions, marketing and delivery of quality tourism services.
He suggested therefore, four funding sources below to be considered, government funding, establishment of a Tourism Development Fund, international donor assistance and , private sector investment.

I don’t think we in Liberia need to sit around and cry about the kind of infrastructure developments and standards of living we should have been enjoying instead of begging for handouts from others. But we are not the only nation playing catch up in terms of our development.

The great nations of Europe had to count on the generosity of the Americans through the Marshall Plan to rebuild their societies. We can do the same. We can start with developing a tourism program that rivals Ghana and the Caribbean countries with respect to natural beauty, adventure sports and hiking, excursion tours and safaris up our mountains, traditional villages, and open fields.

He called for the political will to rebuild Liberia for the better by choosing the kind of national leaders that will hold our country together. We must show our moral empathy or courage as lawyers, doctors, journalists, farmers, students, market women and men to rebuild our country.

“ We must endeavor to build a new malaria-freed 4th Liberian Republic endowed with capital cities with technological innovations in communications and transportation to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, people, and information across Liberia in the faster and cheapest ways,” he said. Dr. Somah disclosed that the country needs an integrated transportation system and new national capital city that include with Planned airports, Sport Stadiums—around which Liberia should design and develop (West Africa Major Soccer WAMC) which will be first of its kind on the Continent, recycling plants, public and private buildings, colleges and universities and a four four-lane superhighways such as a new Liberia Highway and specific lanes for trucks only.

Recreation Parks, Bus stations, Buildings with postal zip codes for efficiency mail delivery and zonal location, rail systems are all considered recipe for a viable tourism, but Dr. Somah added, “We also need an Integrated Ferry System connecting ports of Harper in Maryland County, Greenville in Sinoe County, and Buchanan in Grand Bassa County to one another and to rivers and lakes adjacent to these ports for the free movement of people in these communities. We should develop our tourism industry to include not only traditional canoe safaris but also other non-vehicular mode of transportation.”