The overall objective of the Sustainable Tourism Development and Promotion Project is to create an enabling environment for sustainable growth of the tourism sector, thereby rebranding the image of the country, creating jobs, conserving the environment and reducing poverty.

Results

• An Ecotourism Policy and Action Plan was formulated by the company Planning Green Futures. It was validated by stakeholders in July 2015 and approved by the Cabinet in September 2015.

• The review of the Tourism Development Act 1990 was put on hold pending the formulation of the National Tourist Policy, which was developed by the Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs in 2015. The review of the Tourism Development Act will now be included in the reformulated project proposal. 

• Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESHIA) were carried out and management plans were developed for the five ecotourism sites. Public disclosure was conducted in a participatory manner in July 2015 involving presentations, discussions, brainstorming, dialogues and practical inputs into the ESHIA and Ecotourism documents. The beneficiaries included representatives from the community, district council, the private sector and other Ministries, as well as women and youth.

• All the five targeted communities have completed their proposals and submitted to the National Tourist Board (NTB) for onward appraisal by the Small Grant Programme Appraisal Committee.

• Preliminary field investigations and a study report on the refurbishment of the Hotel and Tourism Training Collegebuildings was carried out in August 2015.

• The NTB/Ministry of Tourism and Cultural Affairs, in collaboration with the private sector, hosted a Press Conference during ITB Berlin in March 2015. This was the first step to reviving Sierra Leone as a tourist destination after the Ebola outbreak.