Seychelles provides training to local Tourism Commission agents and Tour Guides

The Seychelles Department of Tourism in collaboration with the Seychelles Tourism Academy have embarked on a series of trainings for local Tourism Commission Agents and Tour Guides with the aim of ensuring that visitors get the best possible service during their stay in Seychelles.

The Tour Guide training is a three-day training course for experienced guides who are without qualifications. The training focuses on the role of tour guides, communication skills, basic information on flora and fauna as well as the geography and history of the Seychelles. Whilst the one-day training for Commission Agent is a prerequisite to obtain a valid licence, it focuses primarily on customer service and communication skills   

Also included in the training is the opportunity for Tourism Commission agents and tour guides to explore the different facets of customer service. It is expected that through these trainings there will be an improvement in services offered by tourism service providers from all sectors.

For this year, 24 tour guides and 10 commission agents have already been trained and the numbers are expected to increase due to upcoming trainings already scheduled. It should also be noted that Seychelles currently have a total of 97 licensed tour guides and 41 licensed Tourism Commission agents.

 

The Republic of Benin, Launch by the Government of an electronic visa issuance platform (evisa)

As part of its Action Programme for the period 2016-2021 called "Bénin Révélé", the President of the Republic of Benin, H. Mr. Patrice TALON, decided to make tourism a sector of economic development, creating wealth and jobs, commensurate with the strong tourism potential of his country.

In this spirit, the Government of Benin launched on Tuesday, April 24, 2018 in Cotonou a secure digital platform for electronic visa issuance (evisa), with the aim of further simplifying entry and residence formalities in Benin. This platform, accessible in French and English via the URL: https://www.evisa.gouv.bj, allows non-African foreigners to obtain in less than 48 hours a short-stay visa (90 days maximum) for Benin.

Only the surnames, first names, passport numbers and dates of stay of the applicant are required. Rates vary between 50 and 100 euros depending on the number of entries of the length of stay. More than 1,000 electronic visas were issued in the first two weeks after the launch of the evisa platform.

This reform is in addition to the Benin entry and residence visa waiver for African nationals, decided by the Government of Benin in 2016. By simplifying administrative procedures, it aims to attract more international tourists and Business travelers to Benin.

 

International Tourism Exhibition of Abidjan 2018 (SITA)

The 8^th edition of the International Tourism Exhibition of Abidjan (SITA), held from April 27th to May 1^st 2018 was launched by the Vice President of Côte d’Ivoire, H. E. Mr. Daniel Kablan Duncan and welcomed international tourism stakeholders from 25 countries (Africa, Asia and Europe) and hosted more than 250 exhibitors.

The presence of the Vice-President of the Republic at the opening of the fair sends a strong message on the firm level of commitment that the government has for the tourism sector. Côte d'Ivoire is a country which boasts the third-biggest meetings industry in terms of revenue in Africa. The tourism strategy "Sublime Côte d'Ivoire 2018-2025" which has been launched recently will allow it to position the destination both regionally and internationally as an emerging market and new tourism destination.

This year’s forum and main panel, in which Ms. Elcia Grandcourt, UNWTO Director Department for Africa participated, focused on “the use of new technologies in the tourist sector”, a theme that aligns with the UNWTO strategy on Innovation and Digital Transformation and highlights the importance of ICT development as the single biggest driver of global change.

In addition, the SITA offered many side events such as concerts, sports activities or gastronomic events that represented the best of Ivorian tourism and culture.

The significant progress that Côte d’Ivoire has made in the development of its tourism sector will definitely position the country on the right path towards their wish of making tourism their third economic sector.

CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS STRATEGY FOR MADAGASCAR

In February 2018, UNWTO began providing technical assistance to the National Tourism Board of Madagascar to create a Crisis Communications Strategy, by conducting an in-depth review of existing protocols and institutional coordination for crisis communications.

UNWTO is assessing training needs for both public sector and media, and formulating a crisis communications strategy featuring step-by-step protocols, templates for different types of crisis and media to be addressed, guidelines for measuring effectiveness, best practices, and a guide to using social media.

The project, in collaboration with World Bank Madagascar, aims to minimize the impact of crises on a country with a view to doubling international visitor numbers by 2020 from their 2016 level of 293,000. In 2017 Madagascar received 255,000 international arrivals, almost 13% fewer than 2016, due to changing perceptions of security and health risks and media reports on events in the country, such as a four-month plague outbreak.

From the project, UNWTO has learned that some tourism stakeholders in Madagascar have experienced difficulties in managing unpredictable but recurrent crises, as well as in communication methods.

The next step of the project is to present the final version of the Strategy on Crisis Communications in October 2018 to be implemented by the Madagascar National Tourism Board and all the stakeholders involved.

Participants of the training on crisis communication strategy and media relations held in Antananarivo, Madagascar from 11-15 June 2018.

 

UNWTO/CHIMELONG INITIATIVE ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND CONSERVATION OF GREAT APES IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

In January 2018, UNWTO launched a project aimed at strengthening links between conservation of great apes and development of sustainable tourism in protected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

The ongoing project activities are centred around:

•    investing in capacity building and equipment provision for the conservation of bonobos, and

•    working with communities to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation and exploring opportunities to develop sustainable forms of tourism in and around habitats of great apes.

The project hopes to provide local communities with more diverse income-generating opportunities in areas where socio-economic development is limited. At the same time, it responds to the need for concerted efforts to support conservation of great apes in DRC, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 15, which targets a halt in global biodiversity loss.

DRC is home to the second largest rainforest in the world and three of the world’s four major species of monkeys: the gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo (with the fourth species, the orangutan, living only in Asia). All three are classified as endangered, due to deforestation and the destruction of habitat in the areas where they live. The bonobo is an endemic species of DRC and is under the threat of extinction.

The project is being carried out through the UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). The AWF has its own ongoing project acclimatizing bonobos to the presence of humans in DRC’s Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve.

 

UPDATING THE TOURISM SATELLITE ACCOUNT FOR BOTSWANA

In February 2018, Botswana presented its updated Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for the reference year 2016, a result of a UNWTO project that began in March 2017 and included:

•    improving the tourism statistics database

•    implementing an improved inbound visitor survey

•    providing in-depth training to ensure ongoing data collection and analysis, and

•    updating the TSA (the last one was prepared in 2011 for reference year 2009).

The updated TSA for 2016 showed that tourism directly contributes to 4.9% of Botswana’s GDP, up from the 3.9% recorded in the previous TSA.

This is the third time that the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism of Botswana has collaborated with UNWTO to prepare a TSA, which is the United Nations Statistical Commission’s standard statistical framework for measuring the contribution of tourism to an economy.

The United Nations has called for a framework of meaningful and feasible indicators for making tourism a real contributor to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The TSA initiative is designed to help strengthen national capacities for meaningful economic measurement of tourism. It is administered by UNWTO as the UN’s official tourism statistics agency.

On this occasion, the TSA was prepared with the support of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), and co-financed by the Federal Republic of Germany through the development bank KfW. KAZA TFCA is a development project of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), owned and led by the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe

NEW TOURISM AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION PROJECT IN ZIMBABWE

In January 2018, UNWTO and the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe launched a project whose activities link tourism development, wildlife conservation and sustainable livelihoods in Zimbabwe. The project forms part of the UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative, which advocates tourism as a path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and particularly wildlife conservation.  

The main activities are development of new facilities for wildlife conservation and game viewing, and raising awareness on wildlife-based tourism and its potential to create sustainable livelihoods.

In March 2018 in Harare, UNWTO met with the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Ministry of Environment, Zimbabwe National Parks, local government and associations to plan building and marketing of a game viewing platform, community campsite and ranger accommodation. The meeting also exchanged ideas on building the capacity of community members to develop and manage the campsite, and awareness-raising activities for tourism and biodiversity conservation.

The game viewing platform will be built within the Hwange National Park, and the community campsite and activities will be created just outside of it in the Tsholotsho district.

The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Dr. Thokozile Chitepo  (right), and UNWTO Programme Manager for Technical Cooperation, Mr. Marcel Leijzer (left) at the project Inception Meeting.

Link:

UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative on Wildlife Conservation and Sustainable Tourism in Africa & Asia and the Pacific /chimelong

First African Ambassador for Responsible Tourism

Considered one of the most successful businessmen in Africa, Mr. Dangote founded the Dangote Group 30 years ago and turned his enterprise into the largest business conglomerate in West Africa.Within the framework 61^st Regional Commission meeting for Africa, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, named Mr. Aliko Dangote, a global philanthropist as UNWTO’s Ambassador for Responsible Tourism.

He also set up the largest Foundation in Africa, the Dangote Foundation, devoted to providing nutrition, health and education to the continent’s most vulnerable people.

Tourism is an activity with enormous economic importance, which favours an approach that links countries. UNWTO is committed to making well-managed tourism a source of sustainable and responsible development, and of growth opportunities for communities and economies.

 “With this appointment, Mr. Dangote is added to the list of personalities named by UNWTO as Ambassadors for Responsible Tourism, whom we hope will act as messengers of our legacy and vision across the globe”, said Secretary-General Pololikashvili. (+ read more).

Amongst the personalities identified in promoting the positive values and benefits that tourism represents as well as the transformative power of responsible tourism are Lionel Messi of F.C. Barcelona, Fernando Hierro, Spanish national team coach and the mythical former Spanish coach Vicente del Bosque.

While on the way to the technical visit at Eko Atlantic City Lagos, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili commended the tourism infrastructural development which, he said, would lead to economic growth in return. Eko Atlantic is an entire new coastal city being built on Victoria Island adjacent to Lagos, Nigeria. It is a focal point for investors capitalizing on rich development growth based on massive demand.  It is a gateway to emerging markets of the continent. In his welcome remarks to the Secretary-General and the delegation visiting Lagos, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode highlighted that the massive investment in infrastructural renewal by his administration is a well thought out strategy to position Lagos as a tourism hub.

“So there is a cycle of development that tourism tries to drive and that is why we have continuously supported whatever has to do with tourism. Let me reiterate also that we would continue to support everything tourism because anything that can integrate and bind the continent together, that’s where we should go because we are the next story,” Governor Ambode said.

Useful Links:

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili pays Courtesy Visit to President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria: /africa/news/2018-06-05/unwto-secretary-general-zurab-pololikashvili-pays-courtesy-visit-president-muhammadu

Global philanthropist becomes UNWTO’s first African Ambassador for Responsible Tourism: /africa/press-release/2018-06-07/global-philanthropist-becomes-unwto-s-first-african-ambassador-responsible-

UNWTO Secretary General Zurab Pololikashvili pays Courtesy Visit to Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode. Read more at: https://www.vanguardngr.com/2018/06/making-nigeria-safer-tourism/

 

AFRICAN TOURISM MINISTERS STRESS THE IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT TOURISM MEASUREMENT FOR IMPROVED POLICIES AND STRATEGIES AT THE 61ST MEETING OF THE UNWTO COMMISSION FOR AFRICA (ABUJA, NIGERIA, 4-6 JUNE)

The seminar kicked off with a three-pronged approach aiming at bringing together stakeholders from the public and private sectors in order to discuss the pivotal role of tourism statistics in Africa as a tool for measuring tourism’s volume, value and impact for improved tourism policies and strategies. The Seminar was structured as follows: “Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development”, was the theme of this year’s seminar in the context of the 61^st Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa (Abuja, Nigeria, 4-6 June). The Commission for Africa attracted 18 tourism ministers from the region and key tourism stakeholders from 36 countries.

(i) Ministerial dialogue - The importance of tourism statistics: “better measure to better manage”;

(ii) Session one: Tourism statistics in practice, how to move ahead; and

(iii) Session two: Broadening the scope, establishing a statistical tourism framework for Measuring Sustainable Tourism in Africa.

Participants underscored how tourism projects can contribute to poverty alleviation, the importance of finding innovative approaches to developing tourism in the region, and the need to find and foster new partnerships and resources to develop the sector.

Against the backdrop of the growth of international tourism in Africa, tourism’s overall economic impact needs to be measured accurately in order for tourism strategies to effectively contribute to national economies. The ministerial dialogue addressed the significance of collecting and compiling quantitative and qualitative data, as well as the importance of commitments from national stakeholders and institutional partnerships for a rigorous tourism statistics system.

“The priorities of my mandate have been formed by listening to the needs of our member states and include the crucial targets of creating more and better tourism jobs, improving tourism education and fostering innovation”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili. “We need to build tight links between public and private sectors for tourism to transform growth across the continent, and for the benefit of its people”, he added.

The meeting was officially opened by Nigeria’s Secretary to the Federation, Mr. Boss Gida Mustapha on behalf of Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari. He reiterated that “Nigeria has great potentials for tourism and investment”, underscoring the relevance of the sector, its contribution to sustainable development and its role to further diversify the economy and increase social resilience. (+ read more).

In this context, the need for establishing a Statistical Framework for the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism (MST) was addressed. This Framework includes environmental, social and cultural tourism components geared towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The meeting and the seminar culminated in the Abuja Call for Action for the Development of Tourism Statistics in Africa which was unanimously adopted by the African representatives of national tourism administrations and other related sectors, statistical institutes, international and regional organizations, the private sector and the academia gathered at the event.

The next African Commission meeting will take place during the second quarter of 2019 at Bamako Mali.

 

AFRICA TRAVEL INDABA 2018

INDABA is Africa’s Top Travel Show.

South Africa’s annual Travel Fair was held from 8-10 May 2018 at the Durban Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in South Africa. This year’s edition had a 4% increase of attendance with 23 African countries, a total of 1,747 registered buyers, and over 1,100 exhibitors, including 200 new ones. In the framework of the Travel Fair, UNWTO Director for Africa participated in the fifth African Ministerial Session themed "Integrated Regional Tourism – A tool for economic development". The session, hosted by the South African Minister of Tourism Mr. Derek Hanekom, provided a platform for industry stakeholders to discuss and share the best practices and the importance of promoting regional tourism that impacts positively on the communities and leads to the creation of jobs, especially for women and youth. . The INDABA trade show also included a wide range of activities such as workshops, seminars, business sessions and different opportunities to network with the view of creating a significant platform to stimulate business in the continent and boost the African economies.