African journalists urge governments to invest in maintenance of historical sites
African governments should invest in the maintenance of historical sites to attract both local and foreign tourists to boosts economic developments in the various countries.
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The proposal was made by African journalists attending the 2017 seminar for renowned editors in Africa in Beijing, China.
According to them, even though Africa is endowed with a lot of tourist sites which could attract huge patronage from tourists to generate income, these sites have been left in ruins with little consideration to its economic benefits.
It was a pleasant feeling for the journalists when they climbed the famous Great Wall of China last Monday. The Great Wall, which is part of the Seven Wonders of the world has become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world.
However, these journalists believe Africa hasn't exploited fully it's tourism potentials which have been a disadvantage to selling the rich culture and famous historical sites to the rest of the world.
Joseph, a journalist from Malawi said he was impressed with the patronage of Chinese locals to the site.
" I'm really impressed at the turnout of Chinese locals here. It tells you how much they appreciate the site which contributes greatly to the history of the country.
Isaac Gregory of Zambia was rather disappointed at how Africans didn't value their history which were depicted in various historical sites spluttered across the continent.
" The Great Wall was built by the founders of China thousand years ago to protect their territory from enemies. Today, this building has turned out to be a great historical site. I'm sure those who built this wall are very happy in their graves, " he said.
For Keram Akmu from Ethiopia, Africans can learn from the exploits of the Chinese in using tourism to sell the history of the continent.
"Let's develop those historical relics and encourage our own people to visit them. We can make a lot of money from tourism and reduce the quest to seek for foreign aids to develop our respective countries," he said.
Martin Paul of South Sudan was of the opinion that the tourism potentials of Africa were great and must be fully exploited to bring huge benefits to the people.
The Balding Great Wall located in Beijing is the most prominent representative of China's ten thousand miles Great Wall. In 1961, it was listed as the first protection units of cultural relics and in 1982, it was proposed to be a national scenic are by the Chinese Star Council.
So far, the Balding Great Wall has husker more than 200 million visitors from China and around the world.
