On 24 January 2019, UNWTO, Casa África and IFEMA celebrated the 10^th anniversary of their flagship event, the Tourism Investment and Business forum for Africa (INVESTOUR) during the 39^th edition of the Tourism and Trade Fair of Madrid (FITUR). On this special occasion, more than 18 African Tourism ministers gathered to celebrate the achievements of the tourism sector in the region in terms of growth and development. The event welcomed over 350 participants from more than 59 countries, including 43 African countries, and participants from Brazil, China, France, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom and USA, among other countries.

This year´s 10th Anniversary opening ceremony of INVESTOUR was attended by H.E. Mrs. Reyes Maroto, Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism of Spain who joined Mr. López-Puertas, Director General of IFEMA, Mr. Padrón López, Director General of Casa África, Mr. Valenzuela Marzo, Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs Spain and Mr. Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary-General.

On this occasion, the organisers of INVESTOUR presented a recognition award to Rwandan entrepreneur Greg Bakunzi, for his commitment to sustainable tourism growth in Africa. Mr. Bakunzi has been participating in INVESTOUR since its inception in 2009. He commented that through his participation at the B2B sessions he has been able to take his company, Amahoro Tours and Red Rocks Rwanda, from a national level to an international level. “The   Award I just got from UNWTO/Investour showed me that being passionate and committed about something that you really like will always happen. It’s in this way that I would like to call upon my fellow stakeholders from the African Continent with the support from UNWTO, to make the African continent a sustainable tourism continent. There is so much we can do that can change the livelihood of our community through sustainable tourism,” he added upon being presented the award.

During the opening ceremony, participants also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of understanding between UNWTO and Tunisia; the agreement for the hosting of the 62^nd UNWTO Commission for Africa with Mali; and the signing of the agreement for the hosting of the First UNWTO/ICAO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air transport in Africa with Cabo Verde.