NATIONAL TOURIST BOARD

The National Tourist Board was established by an At of Parliament in 1990 and started operations in 1991. It is a semi autonomous body and the professional arm of the Ministry of Tourism and Culture.
The Board major objective is to enhance the development of Sierra Leone tourism product and market Sierra Leone Worldwide as an attractive destination offering diverse tourism products to its visitors. The natural, cultural as well as artificial attractions (products) available in the country are the package that the Board offers.

The composition of Board is as follows.

1. The Board of Directors-Provides policy guidelines and supervise the work of the management.

2. The office of the General Manager. This office oversees all the different Departments and all departments are answerable to this office.

3. The Finance and Administrative Sections. This department is the composition of the Board responsible for the Board’s finances and administrative matters.

4. Planning and Development Sections. This department is responsible in the research of potential tourism products and to develop these products.

5. Marketing and Public Relations Sections. This department is charged with the responsibility to promote and market our attractions both locally and internationally. It is also responsible for the collection and dissemination of statistical data for incoming and out going visitors.

6. Classification and Quality Control Sections. This is the regulatory arm of the Board, responsible for Licensing, Collection of levies/government bed tax on accommodation, Evaluation/Assessment and Classification of Tourist Establishments in the country.

MISSION STATEMENT

The mission statement of the Board is to: effectively develop and promote quality tourism through the implementation of government policies and to encourage the active participation of the private sector in the tourism industry with the view to enhance socio-economic development in Sierra Leone.

STRATEGIES

• Implement Government Tourism Policies

• Develop and promote sustainable Tourism Products

• Develop appropriate marketing campaigns

• Designing and disseminating promotional materials

• Facilitate private investment for the Tourism Industry

• Assessment, Licensing, Classification of all Tourist Establishments

• Monitor the operations of all tourist establishments to ensure quality services in compliance with ECOWAS Standards of classification of Tourist Establishments.

WORK PLAN/GOALS FOR 2008

• Monitoring and Supervising the Lumley Beach Development Project.

• Support to eco-tourism driven projects. (i.e., the construction of a visitor’s centre and Watch Towers at the Tiwai Island wildlife Sanctuary).

• Research- identification, assessment and documentation of tourist assets nationwide.

• Training seminars and workshops on beach safety, security and other related activities.

• Monitoring and supervision of all hotels and similar facilities operation countrywide for the collection of licenses and levies and to ensure guest safety.

• Establishment of regional offices as focal points for sensitizing the local community and operators on the potential value of tourism to their localities.

• Participation in International Trade Fairs.

• Establishment of a Tourist Information Desk at Freetown International Airport.

• Collection and dissemination of visitors Statistics.

• Organizing Familiarization Tours of International Tour Operators.

• Design and Printing of Posters centering on eco-tourism, Banners and Tourist Attractions clip on CD- ROM.

• Design and Printing of an Updated Visitors Guide 2007 to Sierra Leone.

PROJECTS

The Board is the implementing agent of the Integrated Framework Tourism Project under the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This Project is aimed at contributing to the achievement of the Governments’ objectives, as set out in the Diagnostic Trade Integration Study (DTIS) of 2005 as well as contributing to progress towards MDG 1 - the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger by 2015.

The DTIS was prepared under the Integrated Framework (IF) for Trade Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries in response to a request from the Government of Sierra Leone. The ultimate objective of the study was to build the foundation for accelerated growth in Sierra Leone by enhancing the integration of its economy into regional and global marks. The Action Matrix was developed to sequence and prioritize the detailed recommendations of the individual chapters of the DTIS. These components were prioritized in the Tourism section of the Action Matrix.

OBJECTIVES

In line with national priorities, and to contribute to achieving the Integrated Framework Goal of expanding Sierra Leone participation in the Global economy by enhancing their economy growth and poverty reduction strategies, this proposal has three Objectives:

• Objective 1: Develop and understanding and road map for future tourism 2007-2015, that will review, formulate or promulgate relevant regulations and legislations that enhance sustainable tourism development and will identify shared strategic issues that the industry can resolve together.

• Objective 2: Influence the image of Sierra Leone as a tourist destination.

• Objective 3: Address the lack of unique tourist attractions.

KEY ACTIVITIES:

To achieve these objectives, the project strategy focuses on the following three components base on the situation analysis elaborated in Part 1:

Component 1: To develop, within 6 months, a seven year (2008-2015) strategic plan for relaunching the tourism sector;

Component 2: To develop and implement tourism marketing programme over a period of 36 month in order to revitalize the tourism industry in Sierra Leone;
Component 3 : To design and implement a Tour Guide Training Program with a view of increasing the number of qualified tour guides by 100% within 24 months.

The Youth Employment Scheme under the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (MEYS) is a scheme by government in collaboration with International Organizations to encourage employment of youths with a view of empowering them towards nation building. The scheme is multi-sectarian comprising all government ministries and the private sector.

The Board is one of the implementing agents of the Youth Employment Scheme (YES) project along the Peninsula Beaches and Lumley Beach. The scheme was terminated in November 2007, but there are Plans to restart the program

TOURISM INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES

Quite a number of studies have been conducted on tourism development in Sierra Leone, the latest of which is the Diagnostic Trade Integrated Study (DTIS) on tourism development in Sierra Leone( December 2005).As reconfirmed in these studies, the country possesses a variety of tourist attractions and offers numerous opportunities to potential investors. As stated earlier, Tourism development in Sierra Leone is still in its embryonic stage; the tourism attractions in the country have been grossly under utilized. There is need for the development of adequate accommodation and other related facilities to meet the demands of the growth in international visitors to the country. In this regard, Sierra Leone will need significant private sector investment in tourism sector. Investment opportunities are eminent in the following area.

PENINSULAR AND OTHER COASTAL AREA.

Land could be provided for the construction of hotels; restaurants; water sport-jet ski, marinas yachting, tapoon fishing; co-lodges e.t.c

WILDLIFE SANCTUARIES AND PARKS

Outamba Kilimi National Park. Mamunta Mayoso wildlife sanctuary, Tiwai Island Wildlife-tent camps .Eco-lodge, research and educative centre could be erected in these areas. Related accommodation facilities etc could be established on and around these areas.

BEAUTIFUL AND EXOTIC ISLANDS- (Similar to that of Maldives & Seychelles) –Bonthe Island ( Christmas Island). Turtles islands, Bunce Island (historic slave deport) etc exclusive tourist facilities like hotels, tourist village, water sporting facilities etc could be established on and around these area Islands.

MOUNTAINS, WATERFALL AND LAKES- All theses attractions areas need necessary infrastructure –like eco-lodges, campsites, canopy walkway, inns etc.

LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES OPERATIONS- Airlines transport, especially to the rural areas is another opportunity area for investors.

CRUISE TOURIST BOAT, MARINAS, YACHTING, AND WATER SPORT-These are all virgin area awaiting development and promotion.

It is believed that, the potential of the tourism industry in Sierra Leone can be harnessed only with the intervention of genuine investors from the private sector. As an emerging destination, we offer a pristine product laden with exciting possibilities and enticing opportunity.

AREA OF OPERATIONS
The Board under the 1990 Act of parliament is mandated to cover within it operations, in the area of assessment, auditing, inspection, registration/licensing of all Tourist Establishments in the country. These include Hotels, Guest Houses, Restaurants, Casinos, Nightclubs, Tourism Handling Agencies and Travel Agencies.