Depuis 2012, l’Organisation mondiale du tourisme (OMT) et l’Organisation touristique de la région d’Afrique australe (RETOSA) collaborent aux fins de l’organisation d’une série d’ateliers de renforcement des capacités dans 15 pays de l’Afrique australe, à savoir : Afrique du Sud, Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maurice, Mozambique, Namibie, République démocratique du Congo, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzanie, Zambie et  Zimbabwe. Le programme vise à renforcer les systèmes de statistiques du tourisme de ces pays, dans l’optique de la mise au point de comptes satellites du tourisme (CST). 

Le programme permet d’aider les États membres de RETOSA à développer leurs systèmes de statistiques du tourisme dans le but d’améliorer la mesure, l’analyse, la compréhension et la gestion stratégique du secteur du tourisme. Le programme s’appuie sur une méthode systématique et transparente pour renforcer les capacités d’experts nationaux de référence et resserrer la coopération interinstitutionnelle aux échelons national et international.

Les sept ateliers précédents ont été caractérisés par un fort engagement de tous les pays participants membres de RETOSA et ont donné des résultats évidents, à savoir une meilleure connaissance et une meilleure compréhension, de la part des participants, de la mise en place et de l’application des procédures statistiques et du compte satellite du tourisme.

Le septième atelier de cette série s’est déroulé à Nyanga (Zimbabwe), du 4 au 8 avril 2016. Y ont assisté plus de 50 participants venus de 10 pays.

Un atelier final est programmé pour avoir lieu la première semaine de juillet 2016. Pas moins de neuf pays de l’Afrique australe devraient y présenter les progrès accomplis en ce qui concerne le compte satellite du tourisme. 

Within the framework of the Cooperation Agreement signed in January 2016, the Korean Tourism Organization (KTO) and the ST-EP Foundation will support projects in eight countries, five of which in Africa: Ghana, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The project in Ghana aims to improve visitor facilities and services in the Nzulezu stilt village (Western Region), conserve the natural and cultural heritage of the site, and build capacities of local people providing goods and services to tourists with a view to attracting more visitors and creating job and income opportunities for the local people.

In Tunisia, the project will support Tunisia’s tourism recovery and thus employment in the sector, in particular for poorer groups of the society, by strengthening the image of the country as a preferred tourism destination through an innovative international image campaign.

Developing accommodation facilities, a local museum and excursions at the Kisizi falls to enhance opportunities for local people from tourism development is the objective of the project being implemented in Uganda.

In Zambia and Zimbabwe, a tourism resource centre will be built and a community swimming pool refurbished in Livingstone and in Victoria Falls, respectively, as part of the ST-EP Initiative and as a way of commemorating the UNWTO General Assembly held in the two cities in August 2013. 

Arrangements to launch the projects have been made in the first months of 2016, and it is the intention to successfully complete project activities by the second semester of 2016

The strong growth of Africa as a tourism destination, combined with many governments of UNWTO African Member States placing tourism as a priority in their national development agenda, has led to a significant increase in requests for UNWTO technical assistance in quality standards - particularly the development and implementation of hotel classification schemes.

A well-structured and smoothly operated hotel classification scheme is very beneficial to a tourism destination in that it creates a true culture of quality among the accommodation industry; increases the competitiveness of the hotel industry in line with international practices; and can be used as a tool for marketing and promotion of the destination. 

UNWTO technical assistance in hotel classification focuses on three areas:

•           Formulating the hotel classification criteria according to international best practices;

•           Training of national assessors to conduct inspections; and

•           Implementing the hotel classification system.

UNWTO is implementing several projects on hotel classification in Africa: Morocco (with UNDP funding) and Ethiopia (with World Bank funding). In May 2016, UNWTO launched another hotel classification project in the Seychelles – funded entirely by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, and, an agreement is currently being signed with UNDP to fund an hotel classification project in the Republic of Congo, scheduled to commence later this year. Finally, also in May 2016, at the request of the Government of Tunisia, through the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts, UNWTO conducted a needs assessment mission to guide the Government on improvements to be made to their hotel classification system.

The UNWTO.TedQual Certification is a certification issued by the World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, to support the quality of tourism education and training programmes. Quality of education should be seen as an integral process that embodies the degree to which the perception of the beneficiaries (students, employers, civil society) meet their prior expectations regarding the programme, as well as a professional approach for all actors involved in the tourism sector to do things right at all times and meet legitimate expectations of consumers/tourists, thus helping to implement the principles contained in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

Subsequently, all Institutions/Programmes willing to obtain the UNWTO.TedQual Certification will be part of a continuous quality improvement process that integrates the UN purposes and principles as a transversal aspect - with the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism when it comes to tourism, the student learning outcomes as a core issue to be evaluated during the entire process, and the connection and response of the tourism programme to the needs of future employers (public and private) and worldwide reality as a need to be present in the definition and implementation of the curriculum and pedagogical system with Faculty and Management playing a key role in its materialization. All of these aspects will be the Institution’s mark of distinction when being compared to other tourism education and training programmes around the world.

PR No.: 16028

Tourism and ethics, tourism and security, and the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development to be celebrated in 2017 are some of the topics in the agenda of the meeting. The events taking place in Côte d’Ivoire show clear support to the country following the tragic events that took place in Grand-Bassam last March and recognition by the Government of Cote d’Ivoire of tourism’s role in development.

“Côte d’Ivoire is one of the most evident examples of the great potential of African tourism; it holds impressive natural assets and unique cultural diversity and traditions. Continuing to foster tourism in this part of the world can really make a difference, not only for society as a whole but for the perception of the African continent in the world,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, opening the event.   

During the occasion, the UNWTO Secretary-General and attending delegations visited Grand-Bassam to pay tribute to the victims of the attack of March 13, 2016.

"Thank you for coming to Grand-Bassam and paying respect to the victims. We thank you for maintaining the meeting, which is very important for us," said President of Côte d’Ivoire Alassane Ouattara.

The importance of tourism to Cote d’Ivoire has been reflected in the acceptance by President Ouattara of the UNWTO/WTTC Open Letter on Travel and Tourism, geared to raise awareness and support of tourism at the highest political level.

Sustainability in the agenda of tourism in Africa

Parallel to the Regional Commission, UNWTO organized the Sustainable Tourism Conference of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns.

The event focused on ‘Accelerating the Shift towards Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns’ and discussed the importance of sustainability in the agenda of tourism in Africa, as well as in enhancing tourism investment and financing and collaboration among stakeholders to improve the tourism sector’s performance.

Through a combination of plenary sessions, interactive panels and roundtable discussions, examples of good practices from related projects and activities were presented and shared.

The UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa coincided with the holding of SITA - Salon International du Tourisme d´Abidjan - providing attendees with the opportunity to also participate in the fair that brings together local exhibitors as well as those from the neighbouring countries.

Note to editors

The 10YFP was adopted at the Rio+20 Conference as a framework for action on Sustainable Consumption and Production as a cornerstone of sustainable development. The well-being of humanity, the environment and the economy ultimately depend upon the responsible management of the planet’s natural resources. These challenges are mounting as the world population is forecast to reach 9 billion by 2050, with 1 billion people to be lifted out of absolute poverty and 1-3 billion additional middle-class consumers joining the global economy by 2030. The most promising strategy for ensuring future prosperity lies in decoupling economic growth from the rising rates of natural resource use and the environmental impacts of both the consumption and production stages of product life cycles. Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is about “the use of services and related products that respond to basic needs and bring a better quality of life while minimizing the use of natural resources and toxic materials, as well as the emissions of waste and pollutants over the life cycle of the service or product, so as not to jeopardize the needs of further generations”. SCP is about doing more and better with less. SCP is about increasing resource efficiency and promoting sustainable lifestyles. It offers important contributions for poverty alleviation and the transition towards low-carbon and green economies. It requires building cooperation among different stakeholders as well as across sectors in all countries.
 

¹Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Useful links:

- Pictures of the 58th UNWTO Commission Meeting for Africa & Sustainable Tourism Conference of the 10 YFP

- To know more about the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa

- To know more about the 10YFP

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218

“We are appalled by this horrible act of violence. Our thoughts at this difficult moment are with the families and friends of the victims and the people of Côte d’Ivoire” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai. 

UNWTO reaffirmed its full support and confidence in Côte d’Ivoire’s tourism sector which has been growing over the last years. 

“We trust that tourism will continue to play a key role in advancing development in Côte d’Ivoire and we very much look forward meeting in Abidjan on 19-21 April for the 58th UNWTO Commission for Africa and the 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Conference & Symposium” added Mr. Rifai.

Note for Editors

The UNWTO Commission for Africa is the yearly meeting of the UNWTO Member States and Affiliate Members. The 2016 meeting will take place in Abidjan on 19-21 April, together with the 10YFP Sustainable Tourism Conference & Symposium on ‘Accelerating the Shift towards Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (SCP)’.
http://africa.unwto.org/event/58th-unwto-caf-meeting-and-2016-10yfp-sustainable-tourism-conference-symposium-accelerating-sh

The East Africa Tourism Platform (EATP) was formed in July 2011 and is the private sector body for tourism in East Africa, fostering private sector interest and participation in the East African Community (EAC) integration process.

EATP works closely with EAC State Ministries responsible for tourism and wildlife, the East African Business Council and tourism private sector organizations towards integration of East Africa (EA) into a single tourism destination. EA as a single destination will provide a more diverse, superior tourism product than any of the partner countries singly; thus compete more favorably in the regional and global tourist market. This will positively impact the number of tourist arrivals and spend in the region as tourists are expected to stay longer to explore more, in effect boosting the region’s earnings from tourism.

EATP’s key impacts to date include successful lobby for the EA Single Tourist Visa, use of National IDs as travel documents for citizens between Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda; joint tourism marketing initiatives under the EA Northern Corridor Integration projects among others.

EATP is continually working to build its institutional capacity to deliver on its mandate, and the recently earned recognition as 1st runner up of the UNWTO Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance is a powerful tool for public and peer recognition of its achievements. It also serves to strengthen its networks and partnerships. This recognition demonstrates that private sector can lead in public policies formulation in tourism and EATP is at the fore front in this regard in East Africa. The Platform aims to continue to drive its mission of inter and intra-regional tourism in EAC and beyond its borders. Its ideal scenario is to see Africa bringing down barriers to tourism, trade and socio cultural development in the region.

En 2005, l’équipe de guides du gîte de Chobe Game ne comptait que deux femmes contre 12 hommes. On ne recensait d’ailleurs que 10 femmes guides dans l’ensemble du pays.

L’équipe de gestion du gîte de Chobe Game, en accord avec l’Institut de formation sur la vie sauvage du Botswana, a conçu une stratégie pour accroître le nombre de femmes guides et remédier au manque de femmes dans la communauté des guides du Botswana, fortement dominée par les hommes. 

Le résultat a été extrêmement positif. Aujourd’hui, une équipe de 16 femmes guides, surnommée « Les anges de Chobe », est fière d’être la seule équipe de guides exclusivement féminine d’Afrique !  

Donner les mêmes opportunités aux femmes n’est que l’une des nombreuses initiatives conduites par le gîte de Chobe Game dans le cadre de sa stratégie pour un tourisme responsable. 

Pour plus d’informations, n’hésitez pas à vous adresser à : james.wilson@chobegamelodge.co.bw