Culture and tourism

Two things sit on this page because they work on the same thing from different ends. Tourism is an industry the Office promotes as an investment and trade sector. Cultural exchange is how a country becomes somewhere people will consider going, investing in, or working with at all.

Tourism as a sector

Liberia has roughly 560 kilometres of Atlantic coastline, tropical forest with substantial biodiversity, and a founding history that is unlike any other country in the region. What it does not yet have, at scale, is the accommodation, transport and trained hospitality workforce to receive visitors in the numbers that coastline could support. That gap is the investment case, and it is a long one rather than a quick one.

Where the Office is asked about tourism, it is usually about hotels and resorts, eco-tourism and lodges, travel and tour services, and the training that staffs all three. The relevant approvals, land arrangements and any incentive that might apply are decided by Liberian authorities and not here — tell us what you are planning and we will put those questions to the National Investment Commission and send you the answers in writing.

Cultural and people-to-people exchange

The Office supports exchange between Liberia and Canada in education, the arts, sport, and the professional and academic links that carry expertise in both directions. It is deliberately not a soft addition to the economic work. A Canadian institution that has run a programme with a Liberian counterpart already knows the place, and that is a materially different starting point from a cold introduction.

The Liberian diaspora in Canada is central to this and is treated as a partner rather than an audience. Most durable connections this Office has seen began with someone who had a personal reason to care whether they worked.

What the Office does here

The same thing it does everywhere else: identify the counterpart, confirm they are who they say they are, and make the introduction. It does not fund cultural projects, organise tours, or act as an agent for an operator.

If you are planning an exchange, a delegation, a festival appearance, an academic partnership or a tourism investment, tell us who you need to reach.