The much anticipated sixth edition of the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Award, which was held between the 4th and 6th of October, 2023, at the Gaborone International Conference Centre (GICC), Botswana, has, no doubt, phenomenally advocated for Africa as a single tourism destination.
The over 600 delegates in public and private tourism from over 40 African countries that participated in the 2023 ATLF, with the theme: “Shifting demand dynamics to shape the future of intra-Africa Travel”, called for borderless Africa, seamless intra-Africa travels and exchanges, and collaborative initiatives in the tourism industry, to place African tourism industry at pal with its global peers.
This year’s edition of the historic forum, which was held in Botswana for the second time out of the three-year hosting right granted by the organisers, the African Tourism Partners, discussed more industry-focused issues and solutions. It also witnessed more collaborations, including with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the University of South Africa (UNISA) and the Botswana government. The earlier editions of the forum were held in Ghana, South Africa and Rwanda.
Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana, Hon Slumber Tsogwane, has cautioned against over-commercialisation of African cultural heritage products. He noted that “This can lead to the erosion of authenticity in the quest for a quick profit.”
Hon Tsogwane disclosed this during his speech for the official opening of the 6th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Award (ATLF), with the theme, “Theme: “Shifting demand dynamics to shape the future of intra-Africa Travel,” held at the Gaborone International Conference Centre, Gaborone, Botswana, on Wednesday.
Opening Ceremony and Remarks
Vice-President of the Republic of Botswana, Hon Slumber Tsogwane, cautioned against over-commercialisation of African cultural heritage products. He noted that “This can lead to the erosion of authenticity in the quest for a quick profit.”
His words: “In as much as African cultural heritage products are a huge sell at international markets, one needs to caution against their over-commercialization. This can lead to the erosion of authenticity in the quest for quick profit. We have to ensure that our indigenous cultures are protected and preserved. Therefore, there is a need for us the African states to enact laws and policies geared towards protecting, conserving and preserving our cultural heritage for the sole benefit of our future generations.”
Additionally, Hon Tsogwane urged African tourism companies present at the meeting to collaborate with one another to expand the industry as a whole, increase wealth and employment opportunities, and develop skills.
He continued by highlighting some of his nation’s achievements in promoting foreign direct investment, particularly from inside the continent, and promising investors that Botswana would continue to offer them more open doors.
On her part, Botswana’s Minister of Environment and Tourism, Ms Philda Mani Kereng, acknowledged the opportunity to incorporate innovative technological solutions to support industries and to embrace new ones such as digital tourism. She also emphasised the necessity of coordinating tourism-related industries to completely expand prospects for young people and industry stakeholders, particularly in the SME sector.
Chief Executive Officer of Africa Tourism Partners, South Africa, Kwakye Donkor, described the 2023 edition of the Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Awards as an evolution of the 6-year-old intra-travel and tourism thought-leadership dialogue series. The Forum is a flagship Pan-African public-private tourism platform curated to shape the future and optimally position travel, tourism and hospitality among Africans while shifting demand dynamics.
According to Donkor, the 2023 and the 6th edition of the ATLF is an evolution of the 6-year-old intra-travel and tourism thought-leadership dialogue series.
He was thrilled that the AfCFTA Forum on Tourism, Creative Arts and Culture, was a boom for the industry considering the fruitful dialogues, insights, and call to action at the forum, and that the forum lived up to its objectives of shaping the future and optimally positioning travel, tourism, and hospitality among Africans while shifting demand dynamics.
The Secretary General of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, who participated virtually, praised the ATP for developing a platform that is altering the African tourism industry in his statement.
He was intrigued by the fact that with each edition, ATLF continues to expand in all directions, strengthening already-established enterprises and identifying and developing new entrepreneurs.
The vice president and his entourage toured the exhibition booths at the forum shortly after its official opening, where they spoke with and interacted with exhibitors from all around Africa.
The electrifying presentations of the KTM Choir, the Nca’nca ase traditional troupe and music artists from Botswana were icing on the cake of the official opening of the 2023 ATLF.
AfCFTA Inauguration
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Summit on Tourism, Creative Industries, and Cultural Industries was launched at the summit as promised by the Africa Tourism Partners (ATP).
The first day was devoted to the influence of the AfCFTA on boosting tourism through culture and the creative industries with the official announcement of the AfCFTA cooperation with ATLF.
The AfCFTA Secretariat’s strategy for maximising potential in the tourism, cultural, and creative industries while supporting Africa’s development goal was examined in five sessions that covered various elements.
Intra-Africa Travel B2B Sessions
The forum began with a bustling day of networking and training at the GICC under the title “Transformational Entrepreneurship and Intra-Africa Business to Business Networking Sessions,” which served as a lead-in to the main event, which included insightful talks from leading business figures.
Some of the specialists included Wambugu Wa Gichohi, a franchise consultant, who explained the nuances of franchising in the tourism industry, and Hamza Farooqui, CEO and founder of Millat Investments, who provided insights into tourism entrepreneurship.
With their presentation from the University of South Africa (UNISA) on sustainable tourism enterprises from the agritourism initiative, Women in Tourism Entrepreneurship also enlivened the event.
During the forum, Emily Mburu-Ndoria, Director of the Directorate of Trade in Services, Investment, Intellectual Property Rights and Digital Trade (DTIID) at the AfCFTA Secretariat, hosted incisive conversations and thought-provoking talks on the future of African tourism.
All Africans made demands for marketing the brand Africa, collaborating to scale up cultural events into tourist destinations, and supporting national policies from each African nation.
Emily Mburu-Ndoria stressed that the continent needs to streamline trade regulations for improved advocacy, marketing, and investment in tourism if it wants to better market its brand.
The Minister of Tourism for South Africa, Patricia de Lille, emphasised the importance of promoting “Brand Africa” authentically and quickening the sector’s revival.
Speaking from the standpoint of the government, she stated that African countries must encourage the private sector and establish a forum for communication between the two.
The panellists’ conclusion emphasised the necessity of Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) for the expansion and improvement of Africa’s tourist sector.
They also urged the AfCFTA to release action plans that would hasten the plans’ execution while also putting young people and women at the centre of forward-thinking tourism activities and policies.
Another important subject of debate was how to package various cultural events to promote tourism.
The panellists urged for cooperation and a change in operating models to lower the cost of regional flights as answers to the continent’s weak air connectivity.
In order to avoid paying needless taxes, the AfCFTA at the meeting deemed regional flights to be domestic.
Despite supporting AfCFTA’s classification of domestic flights inside Africa as such, Susan Akporiaye, head of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), urged the African Union organisation to move beyond words and work with governments and airlines to take concrete steps that will result in lower ticket prices.
She urged other African nations to take a cue from Rwanda, which opened its borders to all Africans and does not require a visa to enter.
The panel on “Optimising Returns on Tourism and Hospitality Investment” provided attendees with tips on how to operate a profitable business in the tourist sector as well as information on how to secure private and development financing for their projects. They suggested equity models and crowdsourcing in addition to the PPP paradigm.
Leading figures in the tourist and hospitality industries in Africa have emphasised the need for long-term intra-African business partnerships and networking platforms to expand opportunities, foster competition among participants, and accelerate sector growth.
They contend that for the continent’s tourist industry to fully realise its untapped potential and compete favourably with its international counterparts, it requires active exchanges, strategic partnerships, skill development, crowd-funding methods, and good corporate governance.
At the Forum’s trading and training sessions on the theme of “Transformational Entrepreneurship and Intra-Africa Business to Business Networking Sessions,” Hamza Farooqui, CEO/founder of Millat Investments, shared insightful information about sustainable tourism entrepreneurship models while admonishing African business owners to reconsider the idea of owning the majority shares in a small company rather than having a small s.
Farooqui gave the example of his company, which has debts for four Hyatt Hotel brand-managed hotels, and added, “We need to adopt investment models that are workable in the tourism industry, learn from thriving destinations and industries, and most importantly, network across the continent.”
Wambugu Wa Gichohi, a well-known Kenyan franchise consultant, spoke further on sustainable business models and the need for collaboration. He also emphasised the complexities of franchising in the tourism sector and provided the stakeholders with some of the successful models that have boosted hospitality entrepreneurship across the continent.
Barry Clemens, CEO of Hospitality EQ, who lives and works in East Africa, said during the event’s interactive session that African tourism companies should learn from the best corporate governance and management practices, particularly from Asia, where companies outlive their founders and develop from family to global businesses.
If we pool our resources at the continental level, share, and take care of one another, we can accomplish that in Africa and in the tourism industry, he said.
Lesedi Nduna, senior lecturer in the Department of Applied Management and Tourism at the University of South Africa, described how the university-backed initiative Women in Tourism Entrepreneurship has grown agritourism and assisted women in exploring opportunities within the larger tourism sector by using efficient business collaboration platforms.
She remarked that the grouping of like-minded women had been successful in creating jobs and riches by creating sustainable tourist enterprises that were sensitive to the requirements of their local communities and customers.
Cultural Night
The highlight of this year’s forum was the gala dinner, where awards were given out to deserving industry stakeholders and to the winners of the African Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge 2023. The cultural night, which was held at the Three Dikgosi Monument in Gaborone CBD, and a city tour of Gaborone generated more excitement for the delegates.
In the expression of her excitement and that of her country over the success of the forum, the Botswana Minister of Environment and Tourism noted that Botswana is happy to welcome global tourists to her shores and that the ATLF has been showcasing the country to many in the world in last two years the forum has held and also assured the delegates of a much bigger forum next year.
ATLF 2023 Award
The African Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge winner that evening was Gloria Kisilu of The Shaba Kenya. The first runner-up went to Cornelius Ugwu of Nigeria, and the second runner-up went to his South African rival.
The Leading in Progress Policies Award at the ATLF 2023 Awards went to the Diaspora Affairs Office of the President of Ghana; Lizanne Du Plessis of Eco Africa Digital won the Outstanding Entrepreneurship Award; CNBC Africa won the Outstanding Africa Tourism Media & Marketing Award; and Lizanne Du Pleasis of South Africa took home the Women in Leadership Award.
African Wildlife Foundation received the Championing Sustainability Award. Kenya won the Most Innovative Business Tourism Destination Award, followed by Cape Town, South Africa, and Four Seasons Resort Seychelles for Outstanding Accommodation Facility/Group.
Ethiopian Airlines received the Outstanding Tourism Transportation Award, and the Minister of Environment and Tourism of Botswana, Philda Nani Kereng, received the Destination Africa Lifetime Award.
Ernie Heath, a retired professor from South Africa, received the Special Recognition Africa Tourism Leadership Award, and Kinson Kgaga of the Botswana Guides Association and Mmankudu Glickman of the Bahurutshe Cultural Village each received the Botswana Minister’s Recognition Award.
