The 57^th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa (CAF) was held on 12 September 2015, within the framework of the 21^st session of the UNWTO General Assembly in Medellin, Columbia. The meeting was attended by over 80 delegates, from 32 African countries including eleven African Tourism Ministers, Representatives of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA), Casa Africa (Representative of the Spanish Government), the West African Economic Monetary Union (UEMOA), the International Fair of Madrid (IFEMA), the International Nightlife Association (UNWTO Affiliate Member) and the Regional Tourism organization of Southern Africa (RETOSA).

Opening the meeting, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe and CAF Chairman, Walter Mzembi, warmly welcomed all the delegates and thanked the host country Colombia, and in particular the Minister in charge of tourism and their collaborators for their excellent organization of the event and their hospitality.

In his opening address, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, expressed his appreciation to the Chairman and thanked the Colombian Government for being an excellent host and for the seamless organization of this 21^st session of the General Assembly. He also underlined the remarkably presence of African Ministers and emphasized the importance of the theme of the General Assembly - Tourism: Fostering Inclusive Development and Social Transformation – for Africa. Mr. Rifai recalled in this context the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs and the inclusion of tourism in the SDGs.

During the CAF Meeting various issues were discussed with emphasis on the strengthening of regional tourism blocks and the need for the establishment of a strong institutional tourism presence at the African Union (AU). Furthermore, UNWTO Secretary-General underlined the main priorities to be addressed by the Organization in 2016 - sustainability, safety and security and technology.

The Commission unanimously re-elected Zimbabwe as its Chairperson and Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon were appointed Vice-Chairpersons, for a two-year term (2015-2017). The Regional Director for the Africa Programme, Elcia Grandcourt, thanked the Hon. Tourism Minister of Zimbabwe for his dedicated work as Chairperson of the Commission and also thanked Senegal and Uganda for having performed the duties of Vice-Chairpersons during the period of 2013-2015. All Members welcomed the candidature of Côte d’Ivoire as host country for the 58^th Meeting of UNWTO CAF to be held in Abidjan from 19 to 21 April 2016.

PR No.: PR 16010

After seven editions with progressive increases in terms of both participants and projects, Investour has become on of the prime catalyst for the development of African tourism in Spain, and specifically at FITUR.

“The African continent offers a wealth of opportunities in many areas, but especially in the tourism sector. We feel very proud when we look back on this seventh edition of Investour and see the more than 1,000 projects that have been presented in recent years and how participation has multiplied, making this event an international point of reference,” said the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai.  

This seventh edition of the Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa, Investour, was attended by more than 400 professionals of the sector during its morning session, which was devoted to the discussion of current issues that are most relevant for the development of African tourism, such as investment, Africa’s image and air connectivity. The afternoon session focused on Business-to-Business (B2B) meetings between African and Spanish companies and destinations. More than 150 entrepreneurs participated in this session, which consists of one-to-one talks between companies seeking to explore shared interests. Exchanging experiences, formalizing contracts and incubating future investment projects are among the objectives of this forum.

Spain’s Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism, José Manuel Soria, was present at the inauguration of the Forum and stated that Investour makes available to the African countries the know-how of the sector in Spain and its companies with a view to helping them successfully carry out development projects in Africa.

“This event is a unique example of cooperation between entities of different natures, such as Casa África and the World Tourism Organization, which nevertheless share common interests: facilitating the exchange of experiences and promoting opportunities and investments in the African continent,” said Luis Padrón, Director General of Casa África. 

Investour was attended by representatives of the World Bank, private companies including Hyatt Hotels & Resorts, Bench Events and Amahoro Tours, airlines such as Ethiopian Airlines and organizations such as the Spanish Federation of Travel Agencies. The morning session also set the stage for the presentation of the forthcoming meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Africa, to be held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on 19-21 April.

At Investour, the African tourism ministers expressed their optimism regarding the growth potential of their countries. Africa’s tourist arrivals are expected to grow by between 2% and 5% in 2016. According to estimates, the number of tourists travelling to Africa will reach 134 million in 2030 compared to the current 54 million tourists.

Useful links:

INVESTOUR 2016

UNWTO Regional Programme for Africa

 

 

PR No.: PR16007

PR No.: PR16001

The event is structured around two sessions: a morning session dedicated to debating the challenges of investing in Africa and the trends shaping tourism in the region and an afternoon business-to-business (B2B) session. This year’s edition of INVESTOUR will focus on financing and investing in tourism-related projects, technological developments in the hospitality sector, eco-tourism in national parks and protected areas, the promotion of tourism destinations and cultural tourism.

“Tourism has demonstrated an ability to be an engine for sustainable development and growth in Africa. INVESTOUR is a unique platform to discuss and create synergies amongst the private sector to invest and explore new business opportunities in Africa and take full advantage of the recent expansion of the sector in the region” said  UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

 “The opportunities that the African continent offers are immense. By facilitating business interactions and channeling investment interests, INVESTOUR provides a necessary mechanism to maximize these opportunities while being an excellent example of cooperation between the private and public sectors,” said the Executive Director of Casa Africa, Luis Padrón.    

Since its first edition in 2009, INVESTOUR has brought together over 1,200 participants from 32 African countries and more than 800 projects. The 2015 edition of INVESTOUR counted with over 300 participants, including 15 African Ministers of Tourism, a total of 146 projects and over 40 B2B meetings. 

 

Additional information:  

Register now for INVESTOUR

Watch the video of INVESTOUR 2015
 

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer: Rut Gómez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

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

PR No.: PR15090

"On the behalf of the international tourism community, UNWTO conveys its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“This attack comes to remind us that terrorism is a global threat that requires a firm and coordinated response by all governments and the international community. The tourism sector is fully available to work even closer with governments around the world to ensure that the sector is included in national security planning and implementation structures and procedures and to develop the appropriate response and recovery plans where necessary.” he added.

 

PR No.: 15089

Over twenty countries were represented at the 4^th UNWTO International Conference ‘Tourism and the Media’ that took place in Tunis under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts of Tunisia.

«The creation of new partnerships between tourism and media is an excellent opportunity for dialogue. Tourism, as does the media, has the noble mission of making people travel around the world, bringing cultures closer together and promoting the values of tolerance and solidarity ” said the Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts of Tunisia, Salma Elloumi Rekik.

“Media constitute major stakeholders for the tourism sector, not only in terms of disseminating information, but also with regard to connecting with the public to promote a better understanding of the sector and the principles of sustainable tourism development.” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, opening the Conference.

Talking about Tunisia he added “Tunisia is an example to the world in the way it is consolidating its democracy, as recognized by the recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the National Dialogue Quartet. Tunisia is also a destination of excellence and a long-term leader in the region and the world. We at UNWTO are fully confident in the ability of Tunisia’s tourism sector to overcome the current challenges and regain momentum”.

“Accuracy, responsibility and transparency are the framework in which we, the journalists, should operate,” said Jim Bittermann, CNN anchor and key note speaker at the Conference.

Bridging the gap

Sanam Shantyaei, from France 24, emphasized that “journalists need to be approached by those working in the tourism sector in an appropriate manner and with adequate resources as media constitutes the main channel to the general public.”

In that sense, the impact of media was underlined by most of the speakers, like Taieb Zahar, Director of the Tunisian magazine ‘Réalités’ who stated that “the work of journalists currently has a great impact in the image and positioning of countries.”       

Communicating in times of crisis was also addressed during the Conference with participants stressing the need for professional coverage but also access to information and facilitation of resources from tourism authorities in a timely manner.

In that regard, Mr Richard Barnes, Editor-in-Chief at Cleverdis gave some recommendations to parties involved in the tourism sector.  “Tourism authorities should look to the different channels to reach media, not only through press releases, for instance. If they communicate with the tourism agencies, they will reach also the general public and this will be a great plus for the country,” he said.        

As the Conference aimed at fostering a new framework of interaction with the media, a number of recommendations were emphasized through the different debates and exchanges. Among those, “be credible, close, on target, available, transparent, realistic, a facilitator, useful to and respectful of the media angle” were underlined.

“Media is the best partner that you can have, so do not be afraid of the media as journalists are the best catalyzer of your work”, concluded Mr Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General closing the event.

 

Useful links:

4th UNWTO International Conference on Tourism and the Media - Building new partnerships

UNWTO Regional Programme for Africa

Watch the conference on Youtube

 

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 

PR No.: 15086

The seventh edition of INVESTOUR will be held on 21 January 2016 in Madrid during the 36th edition of the Spanish tourism fair, FITUR.  Since its launch in 2010, the Forum has been an opportunity to boost the investment and business opportunities in the tourism sector in Africa among Spanish and Portuguese companies.

The event includes two sessions: one composed of a round table discussion on tourism and investment in Africa and a second one with business-to-business (B2B) meetings between African tourism project leaders and potential international partners.

The 2015 edition of INVESTOUR broke records with a total of 306 participants from 42 countries, 17 Ministers of Tourism of Africa and the Middle East, 50 companies and almost 150 African projects presented at the Forum.

This agreement constitutes a step forward in the commitment of INVESTOUR organizers to strengthen its role as strategic platform for the promotion of tourism in Africa in the Spanish market.

The agreement was signed by Carlos Vogeler, Director, Executive Secretary of Members Relations of UNWTO, Luis Eduardo Cortés, Vice President of the IFEMA Executive Committee, Luis Padrón, Director General of Casa África and Rafael Gallego CEO of CEAV.

 

Registration

 

Useful links:

VII Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR)

UNWTO Regional Programme for Africa

 

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Rut Gómez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

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

PR No.: 1500x