Minister responsible Dr. Michael Usi said in Lilongwe that despite talking about tourism as one sector with a high potential of contributing to the country's Gross Domestic Product, there has been lack of belief and action by locals due to knowledge gaps.

“The country is not yielding desired results because of certain behaviors that are counter-productive to the growth of the industry,” he said.

He cited the use of one language for marketing Malawi's tourism and prohibitive prices in among behaviors that are failing the country to advance the industry.

“It has been shown that most Malawians do not patronize the tourist attraction areas because of finances and two, they don't know. We have marketed these areas using a foreign language and as such many people have thought tourism is a foreign phenomenon,” observed the minister.

He said promotion of the industry in the country demands coordination among sectors whose services are crucial in tourism.

Meanwhile, as the country is observing tourism month this September, the ministry has asked players to introduce special packages for domestic tourism to increase patronage.

The ministry designated September as national tourism month as one way of fostering awareness of tourism's social-economic contributions to the country's economic growth.

This year, the ministry says the focus will be on the promotion of domestic tourism under the theme “Tourism for inclusive growth."