Kinshasa, April 13th, 2021 (CPA) .- The provincial minister in charge of Decentralization, tourism and planning of the city of Kinshasa, Didier Tenge te Litho, on Tuesday launched a pilot mission to check the operating conditions of tourist units in the town from Limete. This mission, he said, is a prelude to a vast monitoring operation aimed at improving the quality of these units in the capital city of Kinshasa.
Its mission in the field, among other things, to control the operating conditions of tourist units in the municipality of Limete, verify the administrative documents in their possession, and make them aware of the payment of the tax of the Tourism Promotion Fund (FPT) by endowing with three important official documents.
This is, he said, the law on fundamental principles relating to tourism in the DRC; the Order determining the operating conditions and setting the criteria for classification and approval of accommodation and catering establishments in the DRC; and the ordinance-law establishing the nomenclature of taxes, duties, taxes and fees of the province and the Decentralized Territorial Entity as well as the practical modalities of their distribution.
For the provincial Minister of Tourism, only the rigor of the law encourages the inciviques to put themselves in order, and consequently the tourist units of Limete will increase in value. « If Limete is cleaned, all of Kinshasa will soon have clean, attractive and welcoming tourist units, » he said.
3,000 insufficiently exploited tourist units
According to Minister Tenge, the tourist nature of the city of Kinshasa with its 3,000 tourist units including various accommodation establishments, restaurants, tourist sites, travel and tourism agencies, museums, animal and botanical parks as well as that monuments and public places abound with an insufficiently exploited tourist potential. For their efficient use for the benefit of the Kinshasa population in particular and the Congolese in general, the Provincial Government of Kinshasa has included in its program initiated by Governor Gentiny Ngobila, entitled « Kinshasa-Bopeto », a tourism which must become a creative sector of wealth and jobs (especially for women and young people) while respecting the environment and cultural diversity. With regard to his sector, the provincial Minister of Tourism has opted for two priorities in the 2021 action plan, namely, maximizing revenue and improving the quality of tourist units. For these two objectives, he recommended to the agents and executives of this sector to first ensure the conditions under which these units are operated.
« Failure to meet the standards means giving up the quality of service and comfort that tourists are entitled to as soon as they seek entertainment, » he said.