The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo had brought together EAC Secretariat, partner states tourism boards and the African Tourism Board (ATB)

Member states of the East African Community are setting for joint and regional tourism promotion and development, aiming to raise the number of visitors and economic development of the region.

The East African Community (EAC) Secretariat had noted that tourism contributes about 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the region of which 17 percent are foreign exchange earnings and about seven percent is the counted-on employment in various tourist services.

Director of Productive Sectors at the EAC, Mr. Jean Baptiste Havugimana confirmed that during the just-ended seventh edition of Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo held at Munyonyo Commonwealth Resort in Uganda.

The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo that was staged in late April this year, had brought together the EAC Secretariat, all partner states regional tourism boards and the African Tourism Board (ATB).

The four-day event was officially opened by the Ugandan Minister for Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities, Colonel Tom Butime.

The Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo is a tourism event organized by the Uganda Tourism Board (UTB) every year.

The expo had brought together tourism stakeholders and other service providers in tourism, targeting to meet new clients, network and discuss business deals with potential regional and international buyers.

The seventh edition of the Pearl of Expo had attracted over 150 exhibitors and more than 100 hosted buyers and media from different tourist source markets, including the US, UK, Canada, Switzerland, Australia, Poland, South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria among others.

The African Tourism Board was represented by its Executive Chairman Mr. Cuthbert Ncube who as well, participated at various events and activities during the Expo.

Together with ATB ambassadors, Mr. Ncube visited various tourist attractive sites in Uganda including the Chimpanzee Island on Lake Victoria.

ATB has been co-operating with the East African regional states in tourism development and promotion through participation to key events in East Africa and which is now an upcoming region for intra-Africa tourist destination.

The EAC Secretariat had encouraged partner states to participate in tourism promotional events organized by each and every partner state.

ATB has been the key participant to each national and regional tourism Expo through its Chairman, Mr. Ncube among its other brand ambassadors.

In his opening remarks to the Pearl of Africa Expo, the Ugandan Minister for Tourism Colonel Butime (Retired) had expressed his appreciation on behalf the government and people of Uganda to all the exhibitors as well as hosted buyers and media for attending the event.

He said that Uganda was endowed with unique and diverse attractions that appeal to the international, regional and domestic travelers.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Uganda Tourism Board, Dr. Lily Ajarova, said that Uganda and other EAC partner states are keen on promotion of sustainable and responsible tourism.

Director of Productive Sectors at the EAC, Mr Jean Baptiste Havugimana thanked the government of Uganda for inviting the EAC Secretariat and all the partner states to participate at the Expo in the spirit of the EAC integration.

Mr. Havugimana disclosed that the EAC Secretariat and the National Tourism Boards have been supported to participate at the Expo through facilitation of partner states’ delegates and procurement of exhibition booths.

The German International Cooperation Agency, GIZ, also supported the Expo through a Gold Sponsorship package.

He said that the EAC Treaty attaches a lot of importance to the tourism sector owing to the role it plays in the socio-economic development of the region.

Mr. Havugimana informed the participants that the EAC was currently implementing the EAC Tourism Marketing Strategy 2021 to 2025 with the support of GIZ through various interventions including joint tourism promotions.

The EAC regional tourism campaign branded “Tembea Nyumbani” or “Visit your Home” targets development of intra-regional tourism drive that would attract the East Africa citizens to visit each country within the region.

EAC Secretariat is as well, undertaking development of minimum standards for tourism service providers mostly tour operators, travel agents and tour guides together with classification criteria for regional tourist hotels.

“Currently, the process of developing a Regional Tourism Destination Brand for EAC as a single tourism destination has commenced and is expected to be concluded by the end of this year”, Mr. Mr. Havugimana said.

Implementation of all those interventions will see the region surpass the 7.2 million international tourist arrivals recorded in 2019 before COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Source: E-Turbo News

Luxury hotels are expanding in Africa, with Marriott, Radisson Blu and Hyatt leading the way with new developments and acquisitions.

As international travellers troop back to Africa, some of the world’s major hotel chains are re-igniting a multi-billion dollar expansion race that began pre-pandemic.

Marriott, Radisson Blu and Hyatt are heading the race for a bigger slice of Africa’s hospitality pie as they ramp up their presence, mainly through acquisitions and property management deals and push their select-service brands across the continent.

American multinational hospitality company Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently announced it would re-establish its presence in South Africa with the Park Hyatt Johannesburg in late 2023 and expand in Morocco with the Park Hyatt Marrakech.

American hotel brand, Marriott International is eyeing over 30 hotel openings with over 5,000 rooms in Africa by the close of 2024, attributing the growth of the travel and tourism sector across the continent behind its aggressive expansion in the region.

“We continue to see opportunities to expand in major gateway cities, commercial centres, and resort destinations across Africa, while catering to the region’s ever-changing and evolving markets through our diverse range of extraordinary brands,” said Karim Cheltout, the regional vice president of lodging development for Africa.

Protea Hotels by Marriott, currently with over 60 hotels across nine countries, will add 10 more, including the brand’s first properties in Kenya, Malawi, and Angola. In South Africa, the brand is expected to open five new hotels.

Marriott’s Four Points by Sheraton brand will make a foray into Uganda, Senegal, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Cape Verde. The brand also expects to open its second property in Nigeria, the Four Points by Sheraton Ikot Ekpene.

The anticipated launch of Delta Hotels by Marriott Dar es Salaam Oyster Bay in Tanzania in 2023 will mark its foray into Africa’s luxury and premium brands market.

Marriott also plans the introduction of the Westin Hotels & Resorts brand in Ethiopia and The Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis brands in Morocco. In addition, it will introduce its first luxury safari property in Kenya.

“Marriott International’s current portfolio in Africa encompasses nearly 130 properties and more than 23,000 rooms across 20 countries,” the hotel said in a statement.

In December 2022, Radisson Hotel Group opened its first safari resort in Africa – Radisson Blu Mosi-oa-Tunya Livingstone Resort, Zambia – as part of its strategy to reach 150 hotels in the region by 2025.

“This hotel is our second property in Zambia, following the opening of Radisson Blu Hotel, Lusaka, with a third hotel, Park Inn by Radisson Lusaka, Longacres, due to open in 2023,” said Radisson Hotel Group chief commercial officer for the Middle East and Africa, Tim Cordon.

Dubai-based hotel brand LEVA is also eyeing five African countries – Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, Uganda and Nigeria – targeting the underserved and affordable luxury market.

According to the UNWTO tourism barometer, Africa has seen a more than doubling of international arrivals from 19.4 million in 2021 to 45 million in 2022. This has so far translated to a pre-pandemic recovery rate of about 65%.

Source: How we made it in Africa

Creating tourism models for African countries hinged on sustainable cities sounds like a winning bid to host Expo 2027 — especially if it leads to the event being hosted in Africa eventually. It’s the only continent yet to host one.

African countries want to up their sustainability tourism game and are considering the example set by the City of Málaga in Spain.

This small European city, with a population of about 570,000 people and an airlift capacity of some 16 million passengers to its Málaga International Airport, believes it is best placed to school Africa on sustainable practices as part of its host bid for Expo 2027. But who benefits the most?

The Impact of the Urban Era

Málaga’s bid to create “sustainable cities” through skills-sharing pilots with several African countries would roll out between now and 2027, if its bid is successful. The project hinges on its 30-year effort to transform itself from one of the “ugliest, dirtiest, and worst cities in the world” to the cultural and heritage tourism hub it is today, according to Málaga’s head of tourism, Jonathan Gomez Punzon.

Home to some 650-plus global tech companies, Punzon said the city had demonstrated advanced sustainable tech initiatives, which he outlined as part of its proposed Expo 2027 bid project, and discussed during a ministerial roundtable at World Travel Market Africa held in Cape Town this week.

Fundamental Challenges Facing Humanity

Expo, held every five years, was established in 1931, and themes focus on “fundamental challenges that face humanity,” according to its parent body Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). It also selects host candidates from its 168 member countries.

Each member country pays a membership fee that varies but could be as much as $33,000. The U.S. was participating as an exhibitor until 2017, but not paying as an active member, excluding it from submitting any host bids. However, since rejoining, Minnesota has qualified as a possible host for the upcoming Expo. Minnesota’s Expo 2027 bid is “Healthy People, Healthy Planet – Wellness and Well Being for All.”

Malaga and Minnesota are two of five candidates for Expo 2027. The others include Phuket, Thailand; Belgrade, Serbia; and San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina — with the final host city announced in June 2023.

The event, held in two formats of either a World Expo or a Specialized Expo, could draw some 70 million visitors over its duration of up to six months. It has yet to be held on the African continent, although Expo Dubai 2020 was the first Expo held in the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia region.

Expo Dubai was delayed to 2021 due to the Covid pandemic, but saw attendance in excess of 24 million visitors. The full investment cost and return for hosting an Expo, considering noting there are registration fees for hosts and exhibitors too, is unclear, with the BIE stating the “revenue of an Expo is not always expressed in a monetary value.” Cities often go to extended lengths to host, with some building new venues in order to accommodate the expected influx of visitors.

‘Europe’s Most Connected City’

Punzon said as “Europe’s most connected city,” Malaga has been able to use tech to improve its tourism offering by implementing changes based on emotional tracking and recognition sensors in place across the city. A simplified explanation is it tracks facial expressions and sentiment, where people smiled or where they appeared frustrated, as an example. If there is a place that shows continuous negative emotion, plans would be made to solve the issue.

Málaga has previously received United Nations recognition for its regeneration and protection of its coastline and improvements in sustainable urban mobility with its large pedestrian zones, and energy efficiency.

Punzon also said the city’s bid will connect potential investors to the pilot African countries, adding that Spain has “most of the top hotel investment funds in Europe.”

He added that potential pilot countries he engaged with included Zimbabwe, which had expressed interest in an urban tourism strategy beyond its wildlife. South Africa was also looking to build capacity on its urban tourism, while Eswatini was looking to differentiate and grow its tour packages.

“We have the experience, we’ve done it before. This is not about showcasing Malaga. We want to be useful for the world to meet and really put into practice how to work on sustainability for the future in cities and tourism. This is the only one candidacy tackling this.”

Developing a Sustainable Tourism Industry in Africa

Ibrahim Ayoub, CEO of the International Tourism and Investment Conference group, said the African Tourism Investment Summit had facilitated Málaga’s proposal during the ministerial roundtable focused on “developing a sustainable tourism industry in Africa”, as part of the African Tourism Investment Summit and World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town.

Ayoub said the tourism and investment conference would act in an advisory capacity to oversee the business strategy implementation, and the financial investments and forecasts of Malaga’s proposed pilots.

“Sustainability and an investment into a project like this must bring value to the people, SMMES (small, micro and medium-sized enterprises) and the tourism industry, enabling the other sectors of the country’s economy to grow.”

Ayoub did not have any specific data or values to share with Skift, in relation to the tourism investment opportunities related to the Expo proposal, as yet.

South Africa Considering Pilot

South Africa’s newly appointed tourism minister, Patricia de Lille, told Skift the country was interested in the Spanish city’s proposed skill-sharing program after a “successful introductory meeting” with Malaga’s tourism representatives during the summit.

De Lille said South Africa could “draw from and replicate some of Malaga’s advances in technology and sustainability to enhance its own tourism sector.”

South Africa and Spain have had longstanding bilateral relations, further strengthened with the creation of a Directorate-General for Africa post, she said, “The DG for Africa, Mr Raimundo Robredo Rubio, has strongly promoted the Agenda for Africa and a special focus on South Africa.”

Spain remains a key European source markets of tourism to South Africa. The year 2018 saw the highest number of tourist arrivals from Spain to South Africa, and 2022 figures indicate recovery as the figures are sitting at 23,304 arrivals from Spain to South Africa.

De Lille said another key focus is air connectivity as Iberia Airlines currently only operates flights to OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and that she “will certainly work with partners to see how the Madrid-Cape Town flight can be reintroduced.”

Sierra Leone Wants to be a Digital Smart City

For Memunatu Pratt, minister of tourism and cultural affairs of Sierra Leone, it was more of a done deal. Pratt said she was excited about her country being a pilot partner.

“We are going to build the skills and capacity of Sierra Leone as a country and a tourist destination so that we can leverage on the digital marketing and technology, which has moved Malaga into a digital smart city.

“Malaga has got resilient people. They have committed people, they have focused people, and they have been able to organize their energies and resources to be able to get where it is today.”

With Sierra Leone’s Lumley Beach in Freetown as the finish line for the Budapest Rally, Pratt said events like this had opened up the country to tourism growth, specifically from Eastern Europe.

International tourism to Sierra Leone generated $63 million in revenue before Covid, however Pratt said current projections for 2023 “pointed to growth towards $120 million.”

With the influx of tourists, mainly from Europe, although the U.S. remains its strongest international market, Pratt said it was important to bring in the digital enhancement that Malaga has implemented.

“We want to learn how they’ve engaged their youth through digital connectivity, to learn from their strategies on how they’re managing their beaches and how they’re doing their heritage sites.”

Source: Skift

The world’s travel and tourism sector is facing a new risk after Covid 2019: finding staff, revealed a recent study presented during a press conference at ITB Berlin this week.

The news was announced as part of the newly formed Tourism Employment Expansion Mandate (TEEM) project – an initiative of Jamaican Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett and the Global Travel and Tourism Resilience Council, which he co-chairs.

According to data presented at ITB, the travel and tourism industry is facing its biggest challenge yet: finding employees. Indicatively, World Economic Forum data reveals that Covid-19 led to the loss of more than 62 million workers in the sector.

Additionally, according to the first phase of the global survey carried out by Arvensis Search on behalf of TEEM and presented during the Global Tourism Resilience Conference in Kingston, Jamaica last month:

-68 percent of travel and tourism businesses polled said they are currently understaffed.

–88 percent of the industry acknowledges a workforce deficiencies

-62 percent said the 25 to 45-year-olds are the most difficult talent to attract for work in travel and tourism. They are now opting to pursue jobs in technology and pharmaceuticals rather than the in travel

-80 percent of those surveyed said they now leave jobs open for longer periods of time compared to the past and 82 percent leave jobs open overall

-the majority of shortages found are in “critical” roles, including food preparation, technology, AI, sales and reservations

-according to TEEM, tourism and travel will require 8.4 million new recruits by 2025 who must be more specialized in areas such as data analysis, digital marketing and advanced customer service.

According to TEEM, which is global initiative working towards post-Covid recovery of the industry’s workforce, the next step will focus on understanding the talent sentiment and identifying reasons for migration to other industries. The current survey was conducted across Europe, the Americas, Australasia, Asia, the Middle East and Africa, and included professionals from tour agencies and operators, airlines, airports, cruise lines, and hospitality companies.

“Resilience is not a destination…it’s a journey. We all must be on this journey together in collaboration with each other to ensure that economic parameters and the social conditions are improved, while climate and the environment are addressed. Resilience means we prepare for crises rather than react to them,” said Bartlett.

In mid-June last year, tourism businesses in Greece were still short of staff with at least 2,430 job openings listed on the Public Employment Service (DYPA) portal open to all jobseekers.

With the slogan “Open for Change”, the world’s leading travel trade show ITB Berlin opened its doors on Tuesday for the first time after a three-year hiatus caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. ITB Berlin wrapped up on Thursday.

Source: GPT

Operators from Kenya to South Africa now offer more camping and walking, stressing the benefits for animals and local communities

• Botswana’s Wilderness Meraka and Zebra Plains Collection’s Lalashe Maasai Mara and Lalashe Ripoi in Kenya all offer luxury tented accommodation and walking safaris
• The Bushcamp Company’s Kukaya Lodge in Zambia and South Africa’s Singita lodges are being more flexible with game drives and meals while AndBeyond is educating travellers with a ‘masterclass’

If you’re eyeing up a luxury safari in Africa, expect to find more than just the traditional jeep-led experience now on offer in the likes of Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, Zambia and Botswana.

When high-spending foreigners vanished in 2020, safari lodges were left struggling to fund wildlife conservation as well as hosting community projects. This has led some to a rethink about the kind of tourism Africa needs long-term and how visitors can better support environmental and civic goals.

Travellers, at the same time, have redefined their safari priorities to seek privacy in accommodation and on drives, flexible schedules, exclusive wildlife experiences and more cultural context.

https://f3653e6654f5bf5adb02ab5b9707c555.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-40/html/container.html Lodges and tour operators are now responding with a fresh crop of wildlife and cultural experiences and wider accommodation choices to stand out from the competition and capture the demand that’s roaring back to the continent.

Before you book your bucket-list trip, consider this:

1. Safaris are changing – fewer vehicles, more walking, better for the animals

The typical all-inclusive safari in which guests are driven from distant lodges into popular areas of wildlife reserves can quickly resemble a crowded weekend at the zoo. The rush of humans and vehicles thwarts genuine connection with the surroundings, not to mention that it’s harmful to the wildlife. That’s why outfitters are trying to put guests closer to nature, whether through private game drives, walking safaris or overnight camps away from the crowds.

At Zebra Plains Collection’s new luxury Lalashe Ripoi camp in Kenya, which opens on July 1, “you can do night safaris by car and walking safaris that you cannot do in the main reserve,” owner Alfred Korir says. The six tented suites (US$4,000 per night apiece) will open on July 1 as one of three lodges sharing more than 33,300 acres of private concession land leased from the Maasai people and sat on the edge of Maasai Mara National Reserve.

Lalashe Ripoi’s launch follows the company’s June 2022 opening of Lalashe Maasai Mara (US$3,000 per suite), which offers just five tents at a fully catered camp for a maximum of 10 people on site at one time. The camp overlooks the reserve and a watering hole that attracts wildlife. Each suite features a plunge pool and lounge area, twin outdoor showers, fully stocked bars, butler service and private game drives. Korir calls his new camps “low-density tourism” – fewer people per wildlife sighting.

“I came up with this idea because in Covid times people didn’t want to be in a congested place. It’s working for us; possibly, this year is one of our best years ever,” he says, noting that Lalashe Maasai Mara is more than 50 per cent booked for July and August already.

At Wilderness Meraka, opening in July in the northernmost Mababe region of Botswana, nine tents on raised platforms (US$1,300 per person, per night) overlook an area of wetlands. No other safari company operates this far east of the Okavango Delta. Buffalos, elephants, zebras and lions are among the residents you’ll spot on drives or walks, depending on the season.

2. More flexibility

On a traditional safari, you’re beholden to rigid schedules for morning and evening game drives with other guests, as well as for meals. Jet-lagged or not, you must stick to the offerings lest you miss out on what you travelled so far to experience.

An à la carte approach, from the private game drives at times your group finds convenient, to selecting your meals from an on-site deli, is the new safari model at The Bushcamp Company’s upscale Kukaya Lodge in Zambia (Kukaya means “homestead” in the local Chinyanja language). Set to open in April, the lodge is the former home of the country’s founding president Kenneth Kaunda and sits within South Luangwa National Park.

Five chalets each enjoy 2,690 sq ft (250 square metres) of space, creating an oasis of tented rooms and outdoor en suite baths, with a private plunge pool and lounge area (US$425 per night). Bushcamp also offers walking safaris – an alternative that owner Andy Hogg says was born in Zambia – which are drawing more interest.

“It’s not the same as sitting in a Land Rover, bumping along a not very good road,” he says. “It’s about the smallest things, and it’s about smelling and seeing and feeling.”

This demand for a more sensory and immersive experience is what luxury lodge and camps outfit Singita is also betting on with its new add-on overnight camping experiences inside its 33,000-acre private concession inside Kruger National Park, on South Africa’s eastern border with Mozambique. Available only to guests of Singita Lebombo Lodge or Singita Sweni Lodge (starting at US$2,300 per night), the ad hoc option is for four people at a time. You can’t book this experience in advance, as it depends on the weather and availability of two trail guides, whose stories shared around the campfire add to the atmosphere.

“People want these raw and real experiences,” says Adrian Kaplan, executive head of marketing at Singita. “Raw” at this level is, of course, relative: you still get to sleep on cots with light mattresses, luxury sheets and a cosy duvet.

3. It’s not all about wildlife

First-time safari goers often get in a frenzy over wildlife and conservation, forgetting that there are often people in the landscape too.

More travellers now want authentic African experiences and an understanding of cultural nuances, Kaplan says. Singita is consequently transforming its boutique and gallery spaces to display work from celebrated, or up-and-coming, African artists. A percentage of any sale goes into conservation work. The menu also features more local dishes following requests from guests.

It may seem superficial, but “the aesthetic makes a difference”, says Naledi Khabo, chief executive officer of the African Tourism Association, adding that it makes the safari experience a cultural one too: “That traditional colonial aesthetic is not appealing or attractive to a certain audience.”

Wilderness, which runs 60 lodges in eight African countries, recently rebranded, dropping “safaris” from its name. “The connotation that word has in the mindset of potential guests brings up all of the Out of Africa imagery,” says Hadley Allen, chief commercial officer at Wilderness. The company wants to emphasise it’s about more than just safari.

Case in point: since June 2022, some Maasai people have faced eviction from their lands in the Serengeti in a bid to create additional wildlife game reserve areas for wealthy tourists. It’s not a new phenomenon – the Serengeti National Park was established in 1951 with the eviction of locals – but it’s one that travellers heading on safari are increasingly seeking to avoid being part of.

4. Seeing the biggest picture

The need for travellers to understand the continent better and see Africa as more than just animals is behind AndBeyond’s WildEconomy Masterclass, which is running in partnership with African Leadership University. The five-day itinerary (November 3–9, US$10,000 per person) includes Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park and Kenya’s Maasai Mara National Reserve and invites travellers to “see how their safari fits in the big picture”. It includes stays at AndBeyond’s Grumeti Serengeti River Lodge in Tanzania and Kichwa Tembo Tented Camp in Kenya. It doesn’t include flights, and US$100 of each person’s tour fee goes into the university’s internship fund.

As tourism roars back to African safari destinations – the number of arrivals to the continent reached 65 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2022 – there’s “still a lot of, ‘I just want to see the Big Five’, because it’s a lot of first timers”, Robinson continues. But the goal is increasingly to leave a positive impact from what is often a once-in-a-lifetime trip.

“They’re still going on safari and have their luxury, but it’s much more immersive,” says Sue Snyman, research director for the School of Wildlife Conservation at the African Leadership University. She will lead AndBeyond’s tour. “They get to understand more about how the people living around the Serengeti and the Mara engage with wildlife and the flora, and the impact that the conservation area has on them, positive and negative.” It’s a start towards the aim, she adds, “of changing mindsets”.

5. Finding the most sustainable safari

After three difficult years, safari lodge owners and tour operators say supporting the most ethical safari operators in Africa is an even more critical aspect of your booking. It’s a daunting task for the buyer: claims of conserving vast amounts of land and promises to uplift host communities fill websites and marketing ads in a sea of travel-conscience washing.

Supporting companies that prioritise providing education and resources to people over and above food is key, says Zebra Plains Collection’s Korir. “When feeding people long term, you’re not giving them tools to get rid of poverty.”

External companies doing audits of safari lodges also have a role to play, says Snyman. But it’s ultimately up to travellers to try and check what’s being done to support conservation and the community with their holiday dollars. Only then will high-end tourism companies respond, though that awareness is already building: “There’s an understanding they have to do something more,” she adds.

Source: Style