The Africa Travel Association (ATA), in partnership with co-host, New York University-Africa House, organized the 9th Annual Presidential Forum on Tourism, a high-level forum which attracted over 200 participants, including representatives from the travel and tourism industry, the diplomatic corps, media, and members of the academic community.
Ali Velshi, Host of “Real Money with Ali Velshi” at Al Jazeera America once again moderated the forum. Velshi emphasized that ATA members, partners, and forum attendees have an important role in promoting Africa as a safe and abundant destination for tourists.
Brussels Airlines, ATA sponsor and the official airline for the 2014 ATA World Congress held in Uganda, re-emphasized its partnership with Africa in a presentation given by Olivier Prevot, the Director for North America. Brussels Airlines continues to fly to Ebola effected areas even as “many airlines have decided to pull out” to ensure the “bridge between these countries and the rest of the world,” Prevot said. Additionally, Brussels Airlines premiered their new Africa strategy video at the forum.
The day-long program also included a spotlight on Tanzania with a presentation of the 2014 Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) awards. The awards honor outstanding travel companies who have promoted tourism to Tanzania from the U.S. market, one of the largest single source markets for the East African country. This year’s awards were sponsored by the Tanzania National Parks and the Tanzania Tourist Board. The 2014 TTB awards were presented to three industry leaders by Hon. Lazaro S. Nyalandu, MP, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism from the Republic of Tanzania, who was joined by H.E. Liberata Mulamula, Tanzania Ambassador to the USA, and Mr. Allan Kijazi, Director General of the Tanzania National Parks. Executive Producer Ray Parisi and Producer Jessica Joseph received the TTB Broadcast Award for CNBC’s “Secret Lives of the Super Rich.” The TTB Airline Award was received by Alp Ozaman, Regional Marketing Manager for Turkish Airlines. The TTB Tour Operator Promotion Award was received by Abercrombie and Kent, represented by Sales Director Norma Spadola.
The afternoon travel trade sessions were sponsored and curated by RW Social, organized by Roni Weiss and Ethan Gelber. The sessions included a “Travel Trends Talk” moderated by Mark Walton, Managing Director at Onyx Global Marketing, with travel industry leaders Jim Brody, President and Chief DMO Nerd at A Sense of Place, Rumit Mehta, Founder & CEO of Immersion Journeys, and Cherae Robinson, Founder of Rare Customs and Tastemakers Africa. The second panel “Breaking the Mold: How Younger Generations Differ from Past Generations” covered how African destinations can draw the growing number of millennial travelers. The panel was moderated by Roni Weiss and included panelists Marisa Costa, Director of NEXT at ProTravel International & Tzell Travel Group, Gilad Goren, Founder and Executive Director of Travel+Social Good, and David Kartagener, Vice President at Kartagener Associates Inc. and the Co-Founder & Director of Operations, Young Travel Professionals.
Africa Travel Association, www.africatravelassociation.org