"Tourism & development in Africa & the Middle-East, contribution of the private sector"

This conference was organized under the high patronage of H.E. Jean Félix-Paganon, French Ambassador to Egypt, and six months on from the “Arab Spring” provided an opportunity to reaffirm the important role that the tourist industry plays in the economic development of the region and, more broadly, in developing countries.

“We believe that the tourist industry is a tool for development as this sector can be a source of foreign currency, income and employment. The role of a development finance institution like PROPARCO is to select the right projects, offer an appropriate range of tools and make its financing conditional on compliance with social and environmental requirements. These are the guiding principles for our action”, explained Etienne Viard, Chief Executive Officer of PROPARCO.

Agence Française de Développement’s (AFD) private sector financing arm consequently gathered experts, economists and economic actors from all over the world in Egypt to debate issues related to the economic, environmental, social and cultural impacts of the tourist industry in developing countries during two roundtables.

This was the topic addressed by the first roundtable – “Tourism & social, environmental and cultural impacts” –, which was introduced by Luis Monreal, General Manager of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture. His presentation of tourism development in the Cairo parks, Al-Azhar Park and the Bamako biological park in Mali was followed by a debate led by Jonathan Mitchell from the prestigious British think tank, Overseas Development Institute (ODI). This roundtable, made up of Michael Opondo, Regional Marketing Director of the hotel chain Serana Hotels – TPS East Africa, Mossadeck Bally, President of the pan-African hotel group Azalaï, Mounir Neamatalla, Managing Director of the Environmental Quality International (EQI) institute and Julius Kipng’etich, Director of the Kenya Wildlife Service, the public manager of Kenya’s nature reserves, addressed the issue of the conditions for sustainable tourism and the role of the private sector in both mitigating environmental impacts and training local staff.

The economic impacts of the tourist industry were debated during the second roundtable on the topic of “Tourism & Economic Growth”. It was introduced by Samih Sawiris, Chairman and CEO of the regional hotel group Orascom Hotels & Development, who presented the example of the El Gouna hotel resort in Egypt before joining the other panelists - Grégory Lanter, Sustainable Development Director of the French Club Méditerranée, Frédéric Pierret, Executive Director at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Rachid Jdidi, Ministry of Tourism of the Kingdom of Morocco, Director of Strategy and Cooperation –, to address the conditions in which the economy and local communities can benefit from the tourist industry, particularly craft industries and the agricultural sector.


For PROPARCO, the aim was to reaffirm its commitment to support this industry, but also to reflect further on the best way to do so. “In a sector as complicated as the tourist industry, PROPARCO’s objective is to finance projects that are exemplary from an environmental perspective, projects that promote energy saving for example, and aim to capitalize on the economic benefits of this sector for the fabric of local SMEs”, explained Stéphanie Lanfranchi, Head of PROPARCO’s Corporate Division.

Sustainable tourism has been one of PROPARCO’s strategic priorities since the end of 2010 and accounts for over 16% of its corporate portfolio. The institution supports the sector through long-term financing for tourist industry operators with profitable projects that comply with international environmental and social standards. For example, in 2010 PROPARCO financed the regional development of TPS Eastern Africa by taking a EUR5.4m equity stake in this company, which is listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. These resources allowed it to develop an extensive environmental and social program, which includes reinforcing local small and medium-sized enterprises. In 2010, PROPARCO also supported the construction of a hotel complex in Egypt, the Club Med Sinai Bay, with a EUR23m loan allocated to Orascom Hotels & Development. This project will develop this region by creating employment and strengthening the local economy. PROPARCO aims to demonstrate through its financing that it is possible to implement tourism projects that are both profitable and sustainable.


About
PROPARCO is a Development Finance Institution jointly held by Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and public and private shareholders from the North and South. Its mission is to catalyze private investment in emerging and developing countries with the aim of supporting growth, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). PROPARCO finances investments that are economically viable, socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and financially profitable. PROPARCO is one of the main bilateral development finance institutions in the world. It invests on four continents encompassing the major emerging countries and the poorest countries, particularly in Africa, and has a high level of requirements in terms of social and environmental responsibility.
www.proparco.fr