Tourism is one of the Africa’s most promising sectors in terms of development, and represents a major opportunity to foster inclusive development, increase the region’s participation in the global economy and generate revenues for investment in other activities, including environmental preservation.

Today, the capacity of the African tourism sector to contribute to socio-economic development across the continent is often hindered by the negative perception of Africa and the generalization of crises situations in specific locations to the whole of a country or the region.

Building capacity in Africa to build and manage a strong image and brand, including crises communications, is fundamental to build resilience in the tourism sector and foster its further growth and thus a pre-condition to promote development through tourism in Africa.

Against this backdrop, the UNWTO Regional Conference on the Image of Africa aims to:

• Analyse the situation of Brand Africa and its impact on tourism in the region
• Identify the key challenges facing Brand Africa and that of African countries
• Exchange national experiences on country branding and tourism branding
•Explore how African destinations can successfully build a strong brand in
an increasingly competitive marketplace and a constantly changing
business environment
•Create synergies among African countries towards greater cooperation in
the promotion and positioning of a common African Tourism Brand

The UNWTO Regional Conference Enhancing Brand Africa – Fostering Tourism Development takes place in Accra, Ghana, August 17-19, 2015.