The ECOWAS Commission has kicked off a pivotal four-day technical meeting in Cotonou, Benin, bringing together tourism experts from across its Member States. The event, which began on July 8, 2025, focuses on the review and validation of six draft classification standards for tourist accommodation establishments across the region.
Developed under the ECOWAS Tourism Policy (ECOTOUR), these proposed standards will cover hotels, motels, inns, ecolodges, aparthotels, and holiday villages — aiming to align the region’s hospitality sector with global best practices while preserving West Africa’s unique cultural identity.
Jointly organised by the ECOWAS Commission’s Private Sector and Industry Directorates, the meeting underscores the bloc’s commitment to transforming tourism into a powerful tool for economic development, job creation, and regional integration.
In her opening address, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Mrs. Massandje Toure-Litse, represented by Dr. Tony Luka Elumelu, Director of the Private Sector, highlighted the region’s ambition to become a world-class tourism destination. She outlined a comprehensive strategy anchored on five key pillars:
Upgrading infrastructure and tourism sites
Easing regional visa policies to promote people-to-people connectivity
Harmonising tourism regulations to enhance cross-border travel and investment
Promoting sustainable, eco-friendly tourism practices
Fostering collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders
Dr. Elumelu also reaffirmed ECOWAS’s dedication to responsible tourism, emphasising the importance of minimising environmental, cultural, and social impacts while maximising benefits for local communities.
Representing Benin’s Minister of Trade and Industry, Mrs. Alimatou Shadiya Assouman, the Director General of the Standards Agency of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Mohamed Nazif El-Hadji Alassane, commended the initiative. He noted that harmonising tourism standards would not only boost tourism flows and public revenue but also position West Africa as a unified and attractive tourism market on the global stage.
The four-day gathering marks a significant milestone in ECOWAS’s efforts to modernise its tourism sector and foster regional economic growth through an integrated, competitive, and sustainable hospitality industry.