i. The journey of reopening business events tourism ii. Ensure the development of a crisis/emergency management plan iii. Relying on strong and established relationships iv. Focus on regional markets, partnerships and collaboration to grow the MICE sector

FOCUS AREA 2:

Setting out a collaborative framework for the reopening of continental borders for business events travel and tourism and its impact on the tourism supply chain.

i) Ensure greater cooperation and collaboration

Regional integration and cooperation is vital for the development of Africa in all sectors. According to the African Development Bank Group, countries on the continent, in order to support and promote intra-African trade require the creation of larger and more attractive markets which would facilitate linkages with the smaller landlocked countries including those in fragile situations to their international counterparts. These linkages will facilitate their participation and beneficiation from the increasingly connected global marketplace. The continent’s growing population, especially the middle class and youth, provides a potential target market for these goods and services. The success of this rests on availability of infrastructure,

appropriate skills, policies and leadership that advocate for better opportunities for all. The key tourism stakeholders note the importance of African countries to work in a more integrated way. This can be ensured by carefully adjusting the policies that enhance economic growth among countries. The World Economic Forum (WEF) stresses the need for African countries to work together in different ways such as efforts to address trade obstacles as well as promotion of peace and stability. According to the African Tourism Board (ATB), integration among African countries would enable the sector to operate in a better way whereby African governments come together as a block and assess the trends, and impact of the pandemic and develop their own collective recovery models that will then interpret the recovery emergencies that will then form the base-pillars of mitigating the economy impact of the pandemic. One area of collaboration should see countries working together with their neighbours to determine whether they arrive at workable solutions or protocols which could facilitate inter-regional travel and inter-destination travel. According to the African Development Bank, a borderless Africa is a foundation for viable continental trade

conditions, aimed at accelerating growth and allowing the continent to become more competitive in global trade value chains. This would allow tourism sectors within the continent to develop across borders, thereby creating economies of scale for potential investors as they mostly favour those markets which are integrated. The agenda towards an integrated approach to reopening rests on governments and policymakers’ readiness and willingness, as collaboration on this front requires a willingness from all stakeholders, governments, and policymakers in driving an agenda from a visa on-arrival to a free visa regional block. It is quite unfortunate that there is lack of integration among African countries which limit the opportunities which could be enjoyed when countries come together. Africa has the lowest percentage of intra-regional trade in the world, which shows opportunities exist to maximise on the benefits derived from continental integration. The current Covid-19 pandemic thus presents an opportunity to reflect on what can be done by countries in Africa to ensure that there is regional tourism growth.

ii) Careful planning and coordination of the sector

Government involvement in business events and tourism matters through regulation, providing guidance and coordinating how the sector operates remains critical. This is because the state is mandated to serve the interests of the public and ensure that there is equitable development in the country. Effective coordination of the tourism industry is best achieved when there is mutual cooperation by all stakeholders. During the Covid-19 period, the sector can gradually and safely phase-in reopening when stakeholders work with government, and there is commitment from industry to ensure that this happens. Here, industry’s effort will be focused on preparing tourism safety protocols which could be implemented to ensure public health and safety standards are adhered to. While the business events and tourism sectors are eager to open up the borders, the industry is committed, ready and capable to ensure all the official protocols are in place to safeguard against any possible Covid-19 infections. One way to mitigate any public health related concerns is by gradually phasing-in the sector, beginning with domestic tourism and gradually opening cross border continental business events in demonstration of the sector’s readiness for international business event travel and tourism.

Coordination among countries especially on how the business events and tourism sector is reopened is critical. Current evidence suggests that governments on the continent are fragmented in their approach and thereby missing out on a number of opportunities that they could harness by adopting a coordinated strategy. Governments are encouraged to adopt bilateral agreements ensuring that countries work on a well-coordinated approach to business events and tourism sector growth and expansion. People travel through different countries, but the lack of connectivity is causing the continent to sacrifice the vast socioeconomic benefits and growth opportunities that tourism may bring to the country. The continent’s tourism sector is perhaps the sector with the most potential to grow globally and can be sustainably increased when there is effective coordination and deliberation across regional destinations.

iii) Strong leadership from the various governments

One of the best understood phenomena in the world of business is that of leadership, strong leaders have vision and the ability to influence others to move into unchartered territory. Many African leaders are currently in a fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and at the same time trying to mitigate the socio-economic and public health impact of this on citizenry. Leadership in the current scenario requires both industry partners and governments to demonstrate an understanding and desire to revive the business events and tourism sectors to become sustainable again. A coordinated approach between all stakeholders and the governments needs to be pursued which is currently looking very uneven from a continental perspective. Such planning initiatives could include policy initiatives on how collaborations, shared value propositions and closer alliances between countries on the continent will be managed going forward.

Strong leadership in policy decisions would see the business events and tourism sectors reopening and operating again, under safe and sustainable conditions.

This involves leadership commitment to ensure that countries work together, limiting barriers that could restrict travel and tourism such as considering a visa-free approach, among other strategies.