Worse is the case for businessmen’s interactions with the customs authorities. Since very little of the necessary goods and services for tourism can be produced locally at the moment, the government has announced generous trade policy provisions where all construction materials imported to build premises for tourism-related services are declared duty-free. However, administrative procedures for duty drawback certifications are extremely cumbersome. Three of every five businessmen interviewed said that they have not received duty drawback on several of their eligible imports. There is a necessity for Sierra Leone to undertake comprehensive regulatory reforms to solve this problem.

# **Tourism in Sierra Leone is entirely based on basic factor conditions and advanced factors**

**are almost nonexistent.** Sierra Leone has excellent natural endowments as exemplified by its pristine beaches and islands, mountains and rich biodiversity, interesting wildlife, local histories, culture, market proximity and climate. But when it comes to resources that are necessary for exploiting these resources to move up the ladder, it has several binding constraints.  Local labor is cheap and abundant but not proficient in delivering tourism-related services.  Tourism-related personnel lack essential knowledge and skills for their professions although this is improving with time.  There are few public vocational schools and private training institutes which offer training on housekeeping, catering and hygiene, landscaping and interior designing, marketing, contracting, safety and security, etc, but both graduate students and local businesses agree that there is a serious mismatch between the training provided and the skills required for tourism development. The problem is worse when it comes to managerial and technical skills required for tourism -- the Fourah Bay College, the oldest university in West Africa offers masters programs in generic management but they have made no efforts to adapt these courses for specific needs of tourism enterprises. Further, none of their courses are internationally accredited and top hotels in Sierra Leone send their employees abroad for training.

Land ownership is a uniquely problematic issue in Sierra Leone, and it alludes to a series of policy and institutional problems. First, Sierra Leone has never truly addressed the colonial legacy of having to maintain contradictory land ownership systems which generate policy ambiguities. Essentially, Sierra Leone practices a land leasing system within the protectorate where land can be leased but not sold. The freeholding system -- where land can be bought and sold – is practiced only in selected areas. Land management is generally placed under the jurisdiction of provincial bureaus but the Western Peninsula – one of the most promising sites for tourism development – is an exception and its land is placed under the jurisdiction of the central government. This arbitrary division of jurisdiction is a contentious issue among various groups of land owners, policymakers and politicians. This makes it difficult to develop ambitious spatial development programs in the Western Peninsula. Second, the system for keeping the land titling records has been long inadequate and there are rampant cases where land titles are disputed without being resolved for years. Third, there is an acute problem of land hoarding. For example, the entire land mass of the Western Peninsula is owned by less than ten individual owners and there are no ceilings on individual land ownership.

**The business environment suffers from major constraints that bar spontaneous**

**development of key supporting industries such as transport:** In essence, there is very little competition among the key firms because of the prevalence of strong monopolies both in international and in-country transport businesses.  As far as inter-country air transport is

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