The Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with the Sierra Leone Economic Diversification Project, has officially announced the launch date for the bidding process on newly developed tourism sites. The announcement was made during an exclusive information session held at the Bintumani Hotel, highlighting three world-class tourism developments.
In his address, the Minister of Finance Sheku Ahmed Fantamadi Bangura noted that the project targets three sites—Tacugama Sanctuary, Bureh Beach, and Leicester Peak—and that it underscores the transformational power of Tourism not just as an engine of economic diversification but also as a primary enabler of President Bio’s ‘Big 5 Game Changers’.
He underscored, the bidding process will be open and fear and that the best businesses will win without the government’s interference.
On her part, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs Nabeela Farida Tunis stated the event was organised to formally present the newly developed sites to the public and to pitch the sites’ commercial value to prospective investors, and to set out a coherent roadmap for their long-term management. This, she maintained, paves the way for local ownership and for private-public sector partnerships, which neatly aligns with her Ministry’s strategic vision of a private sector-led Tourism Industry. She further noted that the facilities have been meticulously curated to meet the diverse needs of visitors: education, cultural enrichment, education, to name a few.
After an insightful presentation of the sites by the Director of Tourism Travel and Exchange Programs Mohamed Jalloh, the event succeeded in whetting the appetite of prospective investors to latch onto the initiative. The success of the project reiterates the potential that can be unlocked when partners unite around a singular vision.
