Swahili is a Bantu language of people residing along the East Africa Coast. It is spoken by people in the Great Lakes and other parts of South East Africa.

The Swahili International Tourism Expo is the Tanzania’s leading international indoor Tourism Expo, designed and developed with the objective of providing a platform for networking. This event takes place in October in Dar es Salaam, the Commercial Capital of Tanzania.

Since its inception, the Expo has gathered a number of international tourism buyers and sellers from all over the world. The number of exhibiting companies and international buyers has been increasing year after year.

The Expo has enhanced networking between buyers, sellers and businesses. Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises help connect businesses with international tourism markets.

Every year in February, Guinea-Bissau dresses up in its best festive clothes to celebrate its annual carnival. For the occasion, the locals revive their Afro-Portuguese traditions around colorful festivities. The four-day Guinea-Bissau Carnival takes place mainly in Bissau and on the Bijagos archipelago, where the different ethnic groups and inhabitants of the small villages and other towns of the country come together to present their culture and traditions. The first day of the Carnival of Guinea-Bissau is dedicated to the opening of the event.  A first parade of masks from each region to the sound of drums showcases the traditional and contemporary masks made by different ethnic groups. Most of these masks were for the occasion out of colored papier-mâché. The warriors wear crocodile-skin suits and parade waving arrows in the distance. This opening parade continues for hours in the streets of Bissau, in a deafening din. The lively atmosphere, the general excitement and the local music make this event the most popular festival in the country. 

The following days are devoted to parade floats, dance performances and traditional music concerts. Some costumes, masks and floats have been prepared months in advance by locals, a work so precise and meticulous that many of the achievements could be considered as true works of art.

The carnival is also an opportunity for residents of all neighborhoods to compete against one another. Each district of the capital prepares indeed its own giant mask, which will then be entered into the contest to determine the most beautiful and grandiose.

Following a 2017 assessment of the national tourism statistical system of the Seychelles, where a number of gaps were identified, the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine entered into an agreement with the UNWTO for strengthening the system of tourism statistics and subsequently developing a Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for the country.

The TSA, which is expected to be implemented between 2019 and 2021, commenced during the second week of January, 2019 and was led by UNWTO experts Mr. Pedro Aramburu and Mr. Kevin Millington. 

As part of the initial mission, a workshop was held on 17th January, 2019 where an overview of tourism statistics was provided to stakeholders, detailing the concepts, classification and definitions of each of the different parts which go into successfully developing a TSA. The UNWTO consultants also shared the results from the two-week mission where the country’s first Visitor Cruise survey was successfully developed and various adjustments made to the Airport Visitor Survey.

During 4-10 March 2019, Ms. Elcia Grandcourt, Director of the Regional Department for Africa attended the 61st Airports Council International (ACI) for Africa’s Board & Regional Committees meetings and Regional Conference and Exhibition in Luxor, Egypt.

The event was attended by, among others, members from ACI Africa airports, global airport operators, international organizations, aviation organizations, and global business partners.

Ms. Grandcourt was invited to participate as a panelist in the round table session on Open Skies and Tourism. The session was moderated by Mr. Kevin Caron, Director of Capacity Building Programmes and Airports Council International (ACI World). Joining the UNWTO Director for Africa as panelists were Mr. Miguel Southwell, President & CEO, Brakkam Aviation Management (Past CEO of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport), Mr. Khaled Chelly, Area manager, Austria and central Europe, Tunis Air, Mr.  Branlat  Guillaume, Président du Directoire, Aéroport de la Réunion Roland Garros.  

The round table session touched on the importance of both the tourism industry and the aviation industry and the pivotal relationship between the two sectors. During her presentation, Ms. Grandcourt explained that, according to the UNWTO Barometer, in 2018, international tourist arrivals increased by 6% to 1.4 billion. After the Middle East, Africa experienced the second-highest increase, with international arrivals up by 7% to 67 million tourists.

African Startups pitch their solutions at the IE Africa Center, Madrid, Spain, 15 July 2019

• Africa
• 15 Jun 2019

In the framework of  the successful competition of the first UNWTO/NEPAD Tourism Tech Adventure: Promoting African Tourism Innovation during the 10^th Anniversary of  the Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR) held on January 24, 2019 in Madrid two African tourism startups won a scholarship from IE University’s Africa Center in Madrid.

As such, Mr. David Gonahasa, representing the start-up Roundbob from Uganda and Mrs. Rekik Bekele representing RunAfrica from Ethiopia were sponsored to participate and undertake immersion training in a 1-week Social Innovators Retreat, organized by IE Africa Center from July 7-15, 2019.

The Social Innovators Retreat which took place at IE University’s Segovia campus welcomed a total of nine social entrepreneurs coming from Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria and Uganda.

Operating on an invite-only basis, the programme focused on offering instructive lessons ranging from Fundraising for Social Impact, to Digital Transformation and Measuring Impact in order to provide and enrich the entrepreneurs with the tools and techniques to scale up their work and businesses.

The 1-week intensive training concluded with a “Challenge day” where each start up presented their business ideas at IE University in Madrid, in front of a panel of mentors from MasterCard, Barrabés and IE University among others. Mr.Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary General attended the event with other UNWTO Officials representing the organization as one of the key partners of the event.

As a follow-up, The Social Innovators Retreat will offer a 4-week online course, where each startup will be paired with a mentor to further develop their businesses and ideas.

Today, the people of Africa are celebrating around the globe Africa Day. It is my honor and profound pleasure to congratulate our African member states of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) for their commitment to mainstream sustainable tourism in their political and economic agendas.

To this end, since I took office in early 2018 as the UNWTO Secretary-General, the organization through the Regional Department for Africa initiated a consultative process with member states of the region which concluded with the approval and presentation of the special UNWTO Agenda for Africa – Roadmap to inclusive growth. This roadmap now serves as a blueprint and a strategic framework to help unlock the tourism potential towards inclusive development.

This agenda, which is aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), fully reflects the seven aspirations of the Agenda 2063 of the African Union (AU) for a socio-economic transformation of the continent through sustainable tourism. Our  close collaboration with the African Union have strengthened over the years through the participation of institutional meetings such as our regional commission meetings, the AU Sub-Committee on Tourism and other tourism related projects undertaken in the region.

Furthermore, member states have unanimously pledged their support to the implementation of this strategic agenda and from the beginning of my mandate I have been encouraged to further express our commitment and support by being present on the continent where members have taken the leadership and organized activities leading to the realization of the agenda.

The UNWTO/ICAO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa held in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cabo Verde from 27 to 29 March 2019 and the upcoming Regional Congress on Women empowerment in the tourism sector-focus in Africa, Accra, Ghana from 25 to 27 November 2019 are concrete milestones of the Agenda with the strong support and commitment of the respective Governments.

Africa is the youngest continent of the world with 60% of its youth under the age of 25. This major human capital and demographic dividend need to be harnessed through concrete actions such as innovation and digitalization through start-ups, investment strategies and entrepreneurship, education and skills development.

This year, UNWTO has put a special focus on these areas and we have been channeling our efforts to make it a reality for the African member states. The newly rebranded UNWTO Academy will offer a wide range of online technical and leadership trainings and I invite all member states of Africa to take advantage of it in their effort to strengthen human capital.

Once again, I reiterate my congratulations to all African people on this great day and I am convinced that Africa’s immense and diverse potential can contribute positively to the sustainable development of the continent.

Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO Secretary-General

UNWTO Participates in the 9^th edition of the International Tourism Fair of Abidjan (SITA) and First Investment Forum for African Tourism (FITA).

The 9th edition of the International Tourism Fair of Abidjan (SITA) which took place from April 27th to May 1st 2019, was opened by the Minister of Tourism and Leisure of Côte d’Ivoire, H. E. Mr. Siandou Fofana. He welcomed international tourism stakeholders from 24 countries including Cabo Verde, Ethiopia, Gabon, Morocco, Niger, Senegal and South Africa, with the event hosting more than 200 exhibitors. During this edition, Burkina Faso was featured and was represented by the country’s Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism, H.E.Mr. Abdoul Karim Sango.

Through this forum, organized annually by Côte d’Ivoire Tourisme, one of UNWTO’s affiliate members, tourism professionals from African countries are able to meet to promote the different tourism products of their countries, encouraging domestic and intra-regional tourism.

This year’s forum focused on the “Synergy of Tourism in Africa, an economic force”, recognizing the important role of tourism as a tool for economic development and its potential to contribute to national economies.

As the event continues to grow, this year saw the introduction of the 1st edition of the FITA, the Investment Forum for African Tourism which took place from April 27th to April 30th, within the SITA. This new event highlighted the need for national and international investors to take advantage of investment opportunities offered by the tourism sector in Côte d’Ivoire. In his opening speech, H. E. Mr. Siandou Fofana, Minister of Tourism, reiterated the importance of investing in the tourism sector and the opportunities and potential Côte d’Ivoire has to offer.

As part of FITA, UNWTO facilitated the organization of the second edition of the workshop on financing in the tourist sector led by the expert Mr. Navin Khemlani, International Consultant. Over 30 project leaders from various African countries were able to attend the workshop and benefit from the best practices in designing and securing investments for tourism projects in Africa.

The FITA provided a valuable platform for UNWTO to promote Affiliate Membership among African tourism stakeholders while also sharing the programme of work of the UNWTO Regional Department of Africa, “Agenda For Africa 2030– Tourism for inclusive growth”.

PR No.: PR

29 March 2019

For the first time the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has managed to join forces with the Government of Cabo Verde to host the First Ministerial Conference on Air Transport and Tourism in Africa, which was held in Sal Island, Cabo Verde.  The event attracted a great number of tourism stakeholders from both the public and private sector and over 20 Ministers of Tourism, Transport and Aviation from Africa represented their countries at this first historic event.  Delegates travelled from various regions of the world to discuss critical issues and exchange ideas related to the tourism and travel sector and its impact in the Africa region.

Cabo Verde is a country that is highly dependent on tourism and the presence of the high level Government authorities at the event sends a clear message on the country´s commitment to the development of this sector.  H.E. Jorge Carlos Fonseca, President of Cabo Verde launched open the conference and in his address went on to say that the lack of quality of airport infrastructure and the weaknesses of organizational system in Africa are an obstacle. "This is a very serious obstacle to the goal of making Africa the tourist destination par excellence of the first choice for people from other continents," pointed out the President.

The very first gathering of these two major sectors and key stakeholders of the tourism and transport sector aimed to bring together high-level government officials and technical experts from air transport and tourism, as well as from complementary areas, international organizations and private sector stakeholders, in order to build on progress and advancements achieved so far in these two sectors, and propose concrete solutions as well as credible means that would enable African States to maximize and balance the benefits from the future development of tourism and air transport services in the Continent.

Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary General of UNWTO recalled that this event is a translation of one of the key priorities identified in the UNWTO Agenda for Africa and commanded the leadership of H.E. Dr. José da Silva Gonçalves, Minister of Tourism and Transport and Minister of Maritime Economy, Cabo Verde for taking active role in advancing and strengthening the discussions related to promoting Travel Facilitation. He further mentioned that the ´recent agreement between Cabo Verde Airlines and Icelandair is a good example: it is a step towards an Atlantic Hub based on the island of Sal, it will allow the expansion of Cabo Verde Airlines, and it represents is an efficient public-private partnership´. Mr. Pololikashvili highlighted that ´Opening Skies in Africa will create new skills and generate new jobs for the upcoming 400 million young Africans expected by 2045.

The initial results of the UNWTO Visa Openness Report 2019 for Africa  which was launched at the event includes the analysis of visa policies and progress made in visa facilitation over the past 10 years, supporting destinations with evidence-based policy making and helping prioritize activities within their facilitation policies; Visa policies are among the most important governmental formalities influencing international tourism, and closely linked to the development of tourism.

Upon closing the event H.E. Mr. Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, stressed that the recommendations from the three working days express a framework of structural commitments for the development of air transport and tourism in Africa. The Prime Minister urged African authorities to look at the development of connectivity with particular attention and welcomed the focus of the conference on air transport and tourism.

Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, President of the ICAO Council and UNWTO Secretary General both agreed that this unique joint event between the two organizations is long due and is a testimony of the new dynamics that are taking shape between tourism and air transport in Africa.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, H.E. Moussa Faki Mahamat, acknowledged the importance of these two major sectors coming together to discuss and support the realization of the Single African Air Transport Market (SAATM) conveyed by Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy of the African Union (AU) present at the event.

In his vote of thanks to the government of Cabo Verde on behalf of all the Ministers present, H.E. Charles Romel Banda, Minister of Tourism and Arts, Zambia and UNWTO Chairman of Executive Council, reiterated the importance and the political commitment that each member state attaches to policies related to Travel Facilitation in Africa.

The conference concluded with the approval and adoption of the Ministerial Declaration and Action Plan on Air Transport and Tourism Development in Africa.  The conference saw the participation of 300 participants, including 21 Ministers of Tourism, Transport and Aviation from 34 Member States and 29 International organisations.

More information:

Santa Maria, Sal Island Ministerial Declaration on Air Transport and Tourism Development in Africa

Webpage of the Ministerial Conference

Website: http://africa.unwto.org/

E-mail: rdaf@unwto.org

UNWTO Secretary-General was invited by the Government of Tunisia for an official visit on March 20-22, coinciding with the 63rd independence of Tunisia and the inauguration of the 36th Craft creation Fair.

Mr.Pololikashvili met with the head of state, H.E. Mr. Beji Caid Essebsi to discuss the role of tourism in Tunisia’s economy and congratulated Tunisia on its resilience as seen by the strong recovery of the tourism industry in 2017, with a 23.2% increase in international arrivals.

Furthermore, meeting with H.E. Mr. Youssef Chahed, head of Government reviewed the measures undertook by Tunisia to increase its security levels to ensure the country was safe and secure to welcome tourism.

Discussions with the Minister of Tourism and Handicraft focused on the potential of the destination to diversify both its demand and offer by targeting China, countries of the Middle East but also other countries of the continent.  Topics of visa openness and air connectivity were also addressed during the meeting with the Minister of Foreign affairs, emphasizing the need to focus on new markets.

The official visit to Tunisia included the visit of several Tunisian landmarks such as the Medina of Tunis, and the Bardo Museum, one of the most important museums in the Mediterranean region as it is the second museum of the African continent after the Egyptian Museum of Cairo by richness of its collections.

During the inauguration of the 36th Craft creation Fair, the Minister of Tourism and handicraft highlighted the need to valorize cultural handicraft and recognized the need for regional cooperation as seen with the presence of Algeria and Morocco.

As per the signing of an MoU with Tunisia, UNWTO will continue supporting Tunisia on the revival of its tourism industry through capacity building workshop for statistics, hotel certification and tourism education programmes.