CONGRESS UPDATE

Africa Tourism Leadership Forum & Awards — to be hosted in Botswana

The Fifth Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) and Awards, scheduled to take place from 24-26 October in Gaborone, Botswana, will host a roundtable discussion amongst chairpersons, CEOs and executives of private sector tourism associations and bodies across the continent.

This leadership session is aimed at prioritising the role that national tourism private associations and bodies have in unblocking intra-Africa travel bottlenecks, especially given the decrease in non-African inbound travel as result of Covid-19.

To appreciate and strengthen the role being played by the African Tourism Private Sector, ATLF 2022 will host a Private Sector Roundtable Session as a meeting of African countries’ private sector tourism associations to craft an action-oriented and functional panAfrican private partnership initiative. The purpose is to intensify advocacy and promotion of intra-Africa travel inclusive of both inbound and outbound travel to a pan-African apex body or association. In line with this, all Chairpersons, CEOs and executives as well as technical persons of tourism boards/authorities and associations are invited to register, participate and contribute toward this landmark project as a collective and pan-African approach to boosting intra-Africa travel. Keynote messages at the session will be delivered by AfCTA Secretariat, UNECA, SADC Secretariat executives and others.

It is worth noting that participants of 2022 ATLF are set to benefit from one-on-one business-to business engagements, conversations and networking sessions as well as desktop exhibitions.

The ATLF 2022 programme will be delivered by renowned speakers from across the globe. These include H.E. Elias Mpedi Magosi – executive secretary, SADC secretariat; Hon. Dr. Ibrahim Awal, minister of tourism, arts and culture, Ghana; Hon. Heather Sibungo, deputy minister of environment, forestry and tourism, Namibia; Emily Mburu-Ndoria – director, trade in services, investment, IPR and digital trade, AfCFTA, Ghana; Senthil Gopinath – chief executive officer, ICCA, Netherlands; Dr. Rob Davidson, managing director, MICE Knowledge UK; John Friel, country manager, Travelstart, South Africa; Didier Scaillet, chief executive officer, Meeting Profile, Belgium; Michaella Rugwizangoga – chief tourism officer, Rwanda Development Board (RDB); Adefunke Adeyemi, secretary general of the commission, African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC); Moseketsi Mpeta, head, tourism and services, IDC; Elcia Grandcourt, director, Africa Department UNWTO and many more.

ATLF is a gathering of industry thought leaders that aims to advance intra-Africa travel, entrepreneurship, women and youth empowerment and recognise industry change-makers through the Africa Tourism Leadership Awards. As a Pan-African forum, ATLF and awards are used by African tourism industry leaders as a platform for doing business, advocacy, learning, sharing of experiences and knowledge, and ultimately devising firm implementable actions to stimulate intra-Africa travel growth and development.

About Africa Tourism Partners

African Tourism Partners (ATP) — www.africatourismpartners.com is a UNWTO-affiliated award-winning panAfrican tourism development and strategic destination marketing advisory firm. The firm specialises in tourism and MICE strategy formulation, investment facilitation and promotion, research, master planning and destination market development and capacity building across Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation and golf sub-industries.

Our clients and partners include, but are not limited to, UNWTO, World Bank, Mastercard Foundation, NEPAD, AfCFTA, South African Tourism, Ghana Tourism Authority, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Rwanda Development Board, Rwanda Convention Bureau, Rwanda Chamber of Commerce, SAACI, RwandAir, SAA, Ethiopia Airlines, Tanzania Tourism Board, Kenya Tourism Board, Uganda Tourism Board, Gauteng Tourism Authority, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Nigeria and more.

About UNWTO

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. As the leading international organisation in the field of tourism, UNWTO promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.

Contact details:

For more information about the awards partnerships, sponsorships, registration, and enquiries, please contact: Ms. Rejoice Chishamba

Email: rejoice@africatourismpartners. com

Tel: +27 (0) 11 318 1741 or +27 (0) 81 303 7030.