Region Three is redirecting its economic focus toward tourism, with business leaders positioning the sector as the primary driver of commercial expansion over the coming years. Bibi Meligat, Secretary of the regional Chamber of Commerce and Industry, has been at the centre of the push, working to align entrepreneurs, farmers and hospitality workers around a shared visitor economy. The shift is already producing opportunities across these groups, according to those involved in the initiative, and is expected to reshape how the region positions itself commercially.

The transition has not happened without institutional backing. The regional Chamber has been working closely with the Ministry of Tourism to build the infrastructure and human capital needed to sustain growth in the sector. Training has featured prominently in this effort. More than a hundred local residents have completed hospitality-focused upskilling programmes in recent months, a figure organisers point to as evidence of grassroots interest in the industry. The training has covered areas such as customer service, food handling and accommodation management, giving participants credentials that can be applied across the region's growing number of guesthouses, restaurants and tour operations.

Tourism officials and Chamber representatives argue that the sector's benefits extend well beyond hotels and attractions. Independent entrepreneurs are being encouraged to build businesses around the visitor economy, supplying services that support the core tourism offering. Catering firms, transport operators and small tour guides have all been identified as areas where local business owners can enter the market with relatively low capital outlay. Meligat has described these ancillary businesses as essential to the sector's staying power, since a visitor economy dependent on a narrow set of large operators tends to be more fragile than one distributed across many smaller enterprises.

Agriculture forms a further strand of the strategy. The Chamber has set out a vision in which farmers supply produce directly into hotels, restaurants and other hospitality businesses, rather than relying solely on traditional markets. Meligat has framed this as a way of keeping more of the value generated by tourism within the local economy, since food purchases represent a significant and recurring cost for hospitality operators. The approach would give farmers a steadier and potentially more lucrative outlet for their produce.

Achieving that integration is not straightforward. Hospitality businesses generally require consistent volumes, reliable delivery schedules and food that meets certain quality and safety standards, conditions that many smallholder farmers in the region are not yet equipped to meet. Storage facilities in much of Region Three remain basic, leading to spoilage and inconsistent supply. Packaging standards vary widely between producers, and traceability systems that would allow hospitality buyers to verify the origin and handling of food are largely absent. Addressing these gaps will likely require investment in cold storage, training on packaging and handling, and the development of simple tracking systems that farmers can realistically maintain.

The cultural dimension of the strategy has also shifted in emphasis. Rather than marketing the region primarily around its physical landmarks, tourism promoters are now placing greater weight on immersive experiences rooted in local culture, including food, craft traditions and community life. Officials involved in the initiative say visitors increasingly seek engagement with local ways of life rather than passive sightseeing, and that the region's tourism offering needs to reflect that preference to remain competitive.

Taken together, the initiatives reflect an attempt to build a visitor economy that reaches beyond the tourism sector itself. Chamber officials describe the aim as creating conditions in which residents across multiple sectors, from hospitality workers to farmers to small business owners, can draw a sustained economic benefit from tourism growth. Proponents also argue that closer links between agriculture and hospitality could strengthen the region's food security, reducing dependence on imported goods while giving local producers a more stable market. Whether the strategy delivers on that scale will depend largely on how quickly the logistical and infrastructural gaps identified by Chamber officials can be closed.

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