CTBC at the Cameroon International Tourism Fair
The CTBC was present and exhibited at the CITF that held in Limbe from November 03-05, 2022 during which the President of the CTBC and Honorary Consul of the Republic of Türkiye in Douala-Cameroon – (Nfon) Mukete IV Ekoko graced the event with a keynote address.
Also key at this event was the closing address on Day 3 which was delivered by the Ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye in Yaoundé Cameroon – H.E Mr. Volkan IŞIKÇI.
Limbe is green and ready for investment and the Turkish are willing and able to jump on the opportunity to develop the tourism industry. Not only tourism, but manufacturing, construction, hospitality, areas they already have a forte in.
Medical care is top in Türkiye and Limbe needs hospitals. Türkiye can work with the population of Limbe to develop this. Nfon Ekoko Mukete during his speech said excellent health care goes hand in glove with tourism as it’s usually the retired who go on a holiday and they will need to be assured of well-equipped medical facilities in the event something went wrong during a vacation abroad.
In the words of the Ambassador, H.E Volkan IŞIKÇI, Tourism is the main reason for Türkiye’s development and this industry continues to see improvements every so often. Türkiye is number 6 in World Tourism and Travel and Turkish Airlines, now one of the world’s renowned airlines travels to over 300 destinations worldwide with daily flights to and from Cameroon. Do you see an opportunity for tourism then in Cameroon?
It is no wonder Mrs. Agatha IYOK, CEO of Floral Travel & Tours founded this noble initiative – The Cameroon International Tourism Fair, to not only showcase what the country and region in particular has to offer in terms of culture, artwork, crafts and talent but to also allow investors to zoom in on the opportunities for investment in Limbe and Cameroon at large.
With the Tiko Airport rumoured to be an international airport, we may actually see tourists flocking into Cameroon and Limbe if decisions taken during this second edition of the Cameroon International Tourism Fair are put into effect.
Plans are underway to setup a vocational training center in the South West Region in the Republic of Cameroon – most probably to reinforce the Technical College in Ombe. Nfon Ekoko reiterated the importance of training in areas and specialities that are needed rather than fancy and popular domains where after graduation the youth cannot get jobs. “We always need a reliable and meticulous tiler, plumber, carpenter, and bricklayer” he said. This vocational center will train very many youths in this area and create employment for many.
We have seen the number of Turkish companies go from zero to about 22, it will only continue to increase. This is because the Turkish are not only implanting industries here, but they are transferring skills and technology, creating employment for many Cameroonian youths (graduates) and offering a more cost effective option to development and sophistication.
The CTBC exists to bridge the business and economic gap between Türkiye and Cameroon. Our goal is to see the transfer of skills and technology to Cameroon and especially get our youth transforming our raw materials to semi-finished and finished goods. We (Cameroon) are embedded with very many natural resources and we want to be able to transform and process them locally and become exporters of fine things.