PR No.: 15004

Tourism is increasingly recognized as an important driver of socio-economic development in Africa, a region which has seen tourism demand jump from 26 million international tourists in 2000 to 56 million in 2014. A joint initiative of UNWTO, FITUR and Casa África (representing the Spanish Government), INVESTOUR is a yearly platform promoting business and knowledge exchange between African tourism projects and international partners.

The Forum will be opened by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism of Spain, José Manuel Soria, and Director-General of Casa África, Luis Padrón,. The Secretary of State for Tourism of Spain, Isabel Borrego Cortés, will close the event.

Debates during INVESTOUR 2015 will focus on investment in human capital and the impact of Africa’s image on foreign direct investment (FDI) in the tourism sector. The Forum will count on the participation of 22 Ministers of Tourism from Africa and the Middle East and experts from the African Development Bank and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Training and Development Institute, among others.

The Forum includes a business-to-business (B2B) segment, matching representatives of African tourism projects with potential international partners. Last year, the B2B session gathered 134 projects from 32 African countries, which met with 34 companies.

Useful links:
VI Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR)
Registration (open until 26 January 2015)

Investour 2014 video:
English
French
Spanish

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme
Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218