Durban – The Minister of Tourism & Environmental Affairs in Eswatini, Ms Jane Mkhonta-Simelane told hundreds of delegates at the Africa Tourism Indaba in Durban that the Kingdom is ready to host the next edition of this year’s Bushfire Festival in Manzini.
The festival which attracts thousands of music lovers from countries as far as South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique will feature prominent musicians including some from the southern African countries.
Announcing the event, the minister says that the event provides not only an opportunity to view international and local artists performing, but it also has a significant beneficial impact on the local economy and tourism.
The minister said she was confident that this year’s festival will continue to boost the tourism industry in the country, which enables citizens to benefit through leisure, accommodation, entertainment and fostering of cultural exchange.
The coming weekend of the 31 May-02 June 2024, will see the next edition of the highly rated festival in Eswatini, which is considered the largest lifestyle festival in the country and a major draw card on the Kingdom’s social calendar.”
The Bushfire festival offers the Kingdom a chance to showcase its immense tourism tapestry and wield significant economic influence, acting as potent driver of revenue and foreign exchange, contributing substantially to the Kingdom’s GDP.
“The Minister said the Bushfire festival has grown year-on-year and has firmly established itself as a globally recognised event, currently attracting over 20 000 people.
“Drawing both local and international visitors, the festival provides an additional boost for tourism in terms of revenue for the country and the facilities that the festival attendees make use of such as local hotels and restaurants. This in turn, then also results in job creation.”
Mkhonta-Simelane says that the capital generated by the festival flows directly into the tourism industry, which is very encouraging.
She added that in addition to the economic boost, events of this scale also promote the country as a tourist destination, as well as to allow the country to showcase its ability to host world class events.
“We are very much excited as a country to host such an attractive event and we call upon all music lovers in and outside Eswatini to come in their numbers to witness classic performances from well-known musicians.
She said the country is busy putting up plans to renovate and upgrade the country’s road infrastructure to make it easy for tourists coming into the country to drive on safe roads. This, she said include the upgrade and maintenance of the Matsamo-Piggs Peak Road and others.
“The maintenance of our road infrastructure is paramount important especially to us as a ministry. We want to make the country attractive to tourists hence the reason to be part of the Africa tourism Indaba.”
The Africa Tourism Indaba is held every year in KZN, and it attracts thousands of delegates from different countries around the world.
It exists to provide the ideal platform for African Tourism exhibitors to showcase their offerings to international and local buyers, destinations marketing companies and leisure tourism services partners.
Africa Tourism Indaba is the most formidable platform on the continent and provides face-to-face meetings with the most influential buyers in the world.
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