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Cameroon: Country Could Develop an Eco-Touri= sm Haven - Expert


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The Post (Buea)

29 August= 2008
Posted to the web 1 Septem= ber 2008

Ernest Sumelong

Cameroon could move a step ahead from just being A= frica in miniature to becoming a real eco-tourism country, says American= eco-tourism expert, Jon Kohl.

Jon, who was o= n a brief visit to Cameroon, was speaking to journalists in Buea, Friday= , August 22.The Costa Rica based eco-tourist, on an American Government = sponsored trip to Cameroon, will jumpstart high level discussions with o= fficials of various Government Ministries, private operators and the loc= al people on how Cameroon could take advantage of her rich potentials an= d not only become a tourism destination on the continent, but also devel= op eco-tourism.

Jon is one of several strategic speakers the US = government is inviting to Cameroon to discuss on issues, which the US co= nsiders as global priority areas for its government, according to Yoland= a Kerney, the Social and Cultural Adviser at the US Embassy in Yaounde.<= /p>

She stated that economic development and envi= ronment and conservation are priority areas for the US government.

"Eco-tourism is one of those areas which could eas= ily touch both. Jon is here at the invitation of the US because we hope = that he would be able to spark a discussion between the Ministries of Cu= lture, Forestry, the Environment and Tourism and the people of Cameroon = to see whether eco-tourism might be or might not be of Cameroonian conte= xt and to see what might and might not work here," she said.

Coming from Costa Rica, considered being one of the most= developed eco-tourism countries, Jon said he believes that Cameroon sha= res many similarities with this country, in terms of peace, hospitality = and natural endowments. "One thing that immediately strikes me that was = important for Costa Rica to develop and that seems to be present here is= political stability.

Though I have just been= three days here, Cameroon seems to have this stability, especially when= you compare with some surrounding countries. This is an important facto= r because the government, in its international marketing, could take adv= antage of that fact. Like Costa Rica, Cameroon has so much natural and c= ultural diversity and the government is already taking advantage of that= through the country's slogan 'Cameroon; Africa in miniature'. Also, Cam= eroon has a large amount of forest reserve."

= Eco-tourism, going by Jon, goes beyond the cultural and natural endowmen= ts, which tourists would consume. He posited that eco-tourism entails in= vesting in and conserving natural endowments for the benefit of the loca= l communities.

The US Embassy is identifying = eco-tourism after recent efforts by the Ministry of Wildlife to protect = and conserve natural resources, especially national parks, endangered sp= ecies and other forest reserves. Presently, Cameroon hosts some of the m= ost rare animal and bird species on the globe, while some of its parks a= nd forests have been ranked among the richest worldwide.

However, the Cameroon Government has bungled conspicuous opp= ortunities to invest in its wealthy tourism potentials and make Cameroon= the best tourist destination in Africa.

Acco= rding to Jon, in order to develop tourism, Government must build tourism= policies and also make the country friendlier to tourists. "Provide acc= urate information and a good website. I don't know if Cameroon has touri= sm offices in other countries.

I don't know i= f Cameroon has strategic alliances with other tour operators. Those thin= gs are very helpful for people to know more about Cameroon. When people = come here, there should be policies and efforts to make the country user= friendly; road signage, maps, good roads, tourism guides, directory of = where the good hotels are etc. then if we talk about eco-tourism in part= icular, certainly you want to have protected areas, park fees that could= help to provide better quality."

Relevant Links

Central Africa
Cameroon
Ecotourism
Sustainable Development<= /a>
Travel and Tourism

The US Embassy's role is to provide information,= invite specialists who initiate discussions on issues which they identi= fy, but it is for government and the Cameroonian people to pick and prob= ably act on them.


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