BY MBONO MDLULI
MALKERNS – The MTN Bushfire Festival was dominated by domestic tourists last year.
This was said by Minister of Tinkhundla Administration and Development Sikhumbuzo Dlamini when making his remarks about the importance of the festival in tourist attraction, preservation of the environment, and economic development. Dlamini was making the remarks on behalf of Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Jane Mkhonta-Simelane during the launch of the 18th edition of the MTN Bushfire Festival.
Dlamini said 46 percent of the participants of last year’s Bushfire Festival was attributed to international tourists, while the remaining 54 percent was attributed to domestic tourists. Together, these participants of the festival enabled the festival to generate E100 million annually last year.
The minister mentioned that some of the tourists last year gave themselves an opportunity to explore other tourist attraction sites in the country after the Bushfire Festival. According to the minister, Bushfire is one of the good examples of the Public-Private Partnership (PPP), a collaboration between the public sector (Government) and the private sector (private businesses) to ensure a better life for Emaswati.
Dlamini said Bushfire worked closely with Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA), which conducted surveys on the Bushfire Festival attendance, among other things. The minister mentioned that the Bushfire Festival was able to recycle 76 percent of the waste that was generated from the fair. The festival also saves water and is energy efficient, according to the minister.
Meanwhile, European Union (EU) Ambassador Karsten Mecklenburg, who was speaking for the first time at the MTN Bushfire Festival launch, said the EU was committed to supporting civil society and it would continue to supports events such the Bushfire Festival because they wanted to improve social cohesion. He also liked the fact that the Bushfire Festival also put the interests of the youth at the forefront.
He said the youth were sources of energy and new ideas which could go a long way in making lives better, if well implemented. The envoy commended the festival for giving young artists an opportunity to shine and improve their skills. He said his continent also believed that the youth should be given an opportunity to work on their skills. He wished continued success for the festival and pleaded with the country to continue to empower the youth for a bright future.
