BY MBONO MDLULI
MBABANE – New Eswatini Tourism (ETA) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Vusi Dlamini has been mandated to help Eswatini generate E2 billion by 2027.
This mandate was given by ETA Board Chairperson Dudu Nyembe-Dlamini. Nyembe-Dlamini gave the mandate today at Hilton Garden Inn, Mbabane. This was when the new CEO was unveiled to be the one leading parastatal. Vusi was unveiled by Minister for Tourism and Environmental Affairs Jane Mkhonta-Simelane.
Speaking about the new CEO, Nyembe-Dlamini said she was confident that the former Eswatini Revenue Services (ERS) Director of Communications would take the ETA to greater heights. “The Board of Directors is confident that Mr. Dlamini’s leadership will elevate the ETA to even greater heights. He possesses the vision, dedication and collaborative spirit necessary to achieve the ambitious goals outlined in the ETA’s Corporate Strategy to increase our visitor numbers to 2 million and tourism receipts to E2 billion by 2027,” Nyembe-Dlamini said.
The board chairperson expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs for its unwavering support throughout the recruitment process. “Their guidance and collaboration was instrumental in securing such an exceptional candidate to lead the ETA,” she said. Nyembe-Dlamini told the gathering that the selection process was rigorous and comprehensive. “We were fortunate to have a strong pool of candidates and the collaborative efforts of the ETA Board, alongside the Ministry, ensured we found the perfect fit for this crucial role,” she said.
She had no doubt that Vusi would settle in very well in his new environment. She told him that they would stand ready to help him whenever he needed their assistance. Vusi has been ERS Director of Communications from the time the organisation was established in 2011, serving under two Commissioner Generals (Dumisani Masilela and Brightwell Nkambule) in the process.
Vusi is replacing Senator Linda Nxumalo, who has been occupying the ETA CEO position before she was elected as a Senator by Members of Parliament (MPs) last year. Presently, the country is making around E138 335 003 (USD 7 300 000.19) from tourists, according to Macrotrends (www.macrotrends.net). According to the 2023/24 annual performance report of the Ministry of Tourism and Environmental Affairs, the country received 663 699 tourists in 2023 from 427 690 tourists that were received in 2022.
