The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) took a significant step towards enhancing its regional tourism strategy by launching a four-day technical meeting in Cotonou, Benin. The gathering brought together specialists from across ECOWAS Member States to assess six proposed classification standards for tourist accommodation facilities.
The proposed standards, covering hotels, motels, inns, ecolodges, aparthotels, and holiday villages, are the result of multiple workshops organised under the ECOTOUR framework, which forms part of the region’s broader tourism policy. The event is being coordinated through the ECOWAS Commission’s directorates for private sector and industry.
In her opening remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs Massandje Toure-Litse (represented at the event by Dr Tony Luka Elumelu, Director of the Private Sector) highlighted the Commission’s ambition to turn tourism into a powerful driver of both economic development and regional unity.
The strategy, according to the Commission, rests on five main pillars: improving infrastructure through investments in transport, accommodation, and tourist sites; easing visa requirements for travellers from third countries to enhance mobility and diplomatic ties; standardising regulations and travel norms across Member States; encouraging sustainable tourism to balance environmental, social, and economic needs; and strengthening cooperation among key industry players to share expertise and address shared challenges.
Mrs Toure-Litse reiterated the Commission’s dedication to promoting a tourism model that is both environmentally and socially responsible.
Representing Benin’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs Alimatou Shadiya Assouman, the Director General of the Standards Agency of Benin, Mohamed Nazif El-Hadji Alassane, praised the move toward harmonising regional tourism standards.
The meeting is seen as an important milestone in ECOWAS’s long-term vision to elevate West Africa’s profile on the global tourism stage.
