To enhance professionalism: Tourism ministry set to open training school in Bertoua.

The Minister of State, Minister of Tourism and Leisure, Bello Bouba Maigari, made the announcement Friday January 12.

The government official has described the creation of the school to be hosted in Bertoua in the East Region, as a bold move by government to boost the hospitality industry and combat unemployment. 

Minister Bello Bouba was speaking during a New Year wishes ceremony organised in Yaounde. He said the school is the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure’ priority project for the year 2024. 

The member of government said the school will enable the ministry to attain its goal of completely transforming the tourism and leisure sector into a major development tool.

The putting in place of the school, the minister noted, will give way for an improved level of professionalization through the proper training of personnel and other actors in the field which will serve as leverage in ensuring the services provided in the tourism and leisure sector meets international standard. 

“To be able to meet the objectives assigned to it by the National Development Strategy SND 2020-2030 plan, the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure will in 2024, focus on the quality of services and the good management of hotel and leisure structures. For that to happen, we need a training school for hotel management and all the other leisure structures,” Minister Bouba Maigari said. 

“The quality of services and ‘improving the quality of services and stepping up other sectors to the international standard is very important to us,” he added.

He said when opened, the Bertoua higher training institution in tourism and leisure is going to be the first of its kind put in place by the government to boost the hospitality sector in the country.

The institution was created by a presidential decree over two years ago. Construction works began at the school’s base in Bertoua in the Lom and Djerem Division of the East Region last year.

2023 was successful

Minister Bello Bouba said the year 2023 for the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure, as reviewed at the ceremony by the Secretary General of the Ministry, Ndioro A Mamoum, was a groundbreaking year for the institution.

He expressed satisfaction for the successes attained including the organisation of multiple tourism promotion activities nationwide and the continuation of construction and renovation works in several tourism and leisure spots. 

Despite that, Minister Bello Bouba said the ministry will be working hard to ensure more projects are executed during the year 2024 besides the opening of the training school which is the overall priority project. 

He said the ministry will take a completely new result-oriented dimension in marketing Cameroon’s touristic potentials in the course led by the improvement of promotional activities on the internet and social media.

He said the ministry looks forward to collaborate with influencers and other change-makers in the society to ensure the nation’s tourist sites and potentials are marketed in full scale on the social media and other key platforms.

He said construction and rehabilitation works will also be carried out in several leisure and tourism spots in the country notably at the Ayaba Hotel in Bamenda where reconstruction activities are going on and at the Kribi Ocean Hotel where expansion works are taking place. 

Staff challenged to work hard

To ensure the ministry meets its 2024 objectives, Minister Bello Bouba, encouraged staff, other officials and service providers attached to the ministry to be hard working and selfless.

He especially urged the staff to be assiduous, respectful and work for the interest of the users they serve for the continuous growth of the tourism and leisure sector in the country.

The event was also marked by the handing over of labour medals to outstanding staff of the ministry recently adjudged by the Head of State, Paul Biya. it also featured the installation of the new Inspector General of the Ministry, Zomekou Ateba Joseph Charles. 

Before the New Year wishes ceremony, the ministry held the annual conference of its centralised and decentralised services.

The gathering chaired by the scribe of the ministry focused amongst others on the innovations contained in the reference texts of the decree implementing the 2016 law which is based on the need to set up an effective management dialogue in the various departments of the ministry. 

It also focused on a strategy to promote domestic tourism.  Minister Bello Bouba said he will do everything in his powers to ensure the effective follow up of points agreed at the conference which was rich in suggestions and recommendations.