In an effort to boost West Africa’s tourism sector, the ECOWAS Directorate of Private Sector convened a three-day workshop in Lagos, Nigeria, from November 25-27, 2024. The event brought together stakeholders from the private sector, policymakers, and industry leaders to tackle challenges and opportunities in regional tourism.

The workshop, organized in collaboration with the Directorate of Industry, aims to create a unified framework to enhance the competitiveness and sustainability of the West African tourism industry. To achieve this goal, experts are delivering presentations on key topics, including standardizing tourism businesses, facilitating free movement of people, hospitality industry growth, and visa regimes and accessibility.

These presentations are designed to address inconsistencies in service delivery and infrastructure quality across the region, explore solutions to ease intra-regional travel and enhance connectivity, highlight the role of standardized practices in improving guest experiences and fostering regional pride, and discuss streamlined visa processes to encourage tourism and investment across borders.

At the workshop’s conclusion, the private sector is expected to present a comprehensive framework for standardizing tourism practices in the ECOWAS region. This framework will undergo validation by ECOWAS to ensure alignment with the region’s goals of economic integration, cultural preservation, and sustainable development.