Tunisia is set for a strong tourist season with visitor numbers nearing pre-pandemic levels, a government official told Reuters, bringing some badly needed foreign currency into an economy mired in crisis as bankruptcy threatens state finances.

Tourism typically accounted for around 7 percent of Tunisia’s gross domestic product but visitor numbers collapsed during the COVID pandemic, putting extra strain on an economy that was already in trouble.

However, authorities now expect about 8.5 million tourists this year, 90 percent of the 9.4 million in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, and a big jump from the 6.4 million last year, Tourism Ministry official Lotfi Mani said.

“Indications suggest a good season, with an increase in the number of reservations,” he said. Tourism revenue to the end of May was about 1.7 billion dinars ($550 million), a 57 percent increase from the same period last year.

Even a very good tourism season would only go a small way towards alleviating the massive hole in Tunisia’s public finances, which has led to shortages of some foods and medicine, or to strengthen its overall economy.

Foreign currency reserves have fallen to 91 days of exports from 123 days a year ago and credit ratings agency Fitch has graded Tunisian sovereign debt as junk, signalling market fears it may default on foreign loans.

Donors are waging a last-ditch effort to persuade President Kais Saied to agree terms with the International Monetary Fund for a bailout, but it is far from clear if any agreement can be reached.

Though Tunisia has a wealth of historic heritage from ancient civilisations, Berber tribes, Islamic dynasties and Mediterranean naval powers, tourism there is mostly focused on beach resorts and short-stop cruise ships.

“It’s a very beautiful place,” said Polish tourist Anna Glan in the whitewashed village of Sidi Bou Said overlooking the glittering blue bay of Tunis.

For the village’s many businesses that cater to tourists, their return is good news, even if Tunisia’s overall economic outlook is increasingly bleak.

“We’re eagerly awaiting a good tourism season and we’re very optimistic because the signs are positive,” said Tawfik el-Hakil, frying traditional donuts for visitors in Sidi Bou Said. “Tour ships are coming and hotel reservations are full.”

Source: Reuters

Dubai has welcomed six million tourists in the first four months of this year, a feat celebrated by the emirate’s crown prince.

During a visit to the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of Dubai Executive Council, emphasized the importance of closer cooperation between the government and private sectors. This collaboration aims to achieve the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, launched earlier this year by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister, and Ruler of Dubai.

Sheikh Hamdan praised DET’s projects and initiatives aimed at boosting key economic sectors. Dubai remains committed to creating new opportunities for the private sector to contribute to the emirate’s rise as a global hub for trade, enterprise, and innovation. The city stands on the verge of rapid growth, ready to script new success stories and attract talent and investment.

Dubai continues to embrace global changes and leverage cutting-edge technologies to enhance its future readiness. With its robust infrastructure, business-friendly services, and internationally recognised legislative framework, combined with high levels of safety and security, the city offers an exceptional platform for entrepreneurs and investors.

Dubai Crown Prince’s DET visit

The visit to DET headquarters also involved discussions with Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director-General of Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism, and senior officials. Al Marri provided an overview of DET’s work, highlighting the significant growth in new business establishments and the issuance of business licenses. The department’s efforts align with the Dubai Economic Agenda D33, which aims to increase government spending and enhance the manufacturing sector’s contribution to the emirate’s GDP.

Dubai’s success as a global tourism destination is also attributed to the continuous efforts of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM). Through global marketing campaigns and initiatives, DCTCM has attracted a significant share of international visitors. In 2022, DCTCM’s efforts directly contributed to 57 percent of the total visitation, driving millions of prospective travelers to choose Dubai as their destination. This momentum continues to grow, with Dubai welcoming 6.02 million international visitors in the first four months of this year, an 18 percent increase compared to 2022.

The city has also consistently outperformed major global destinations such as London, Paris and Bangkok in terms of travel bookings across 2022 and so far in 2023.

SOURCE: Breaking Travel News

Against the backdrop of the 118th session of its Executive Council in Punta Cana, UNWTO hosted a special Thematic Session. Alongside assessing the evolution of tourism communications, the Session saw leading experts explore current and future opportunities for more effectively portraying tourism as an essential driver of development, both in traditional media and on content platforms.

“New Narratives in Tourism”

With tourism high on the political agenda like never before, UNWTO is leading the shift in tourism communications, with a greater focus on the sector’s unique power as a driver of development and opportunity. Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “We have made huge progress over the past few years in making tourism’s relevance more visible and more appreciated, by governments and by tourists themselves. But we need to make it even clearer. For this reason, UNWTO is working to build a new narrative around tourism as a force for development and transformation.”

The Thematic Session offered a platform to connect content creators with editors and new media platforms, with UNWTO as the bridge between the two.

Branding and Media Experts Lead the Change
 Representing the global leader Interbrand, Pedro Zarzalejos, Associate Director, Strategy and Borja Borrero, Executive Director Iberia, EMEA & Latam charted the evolution of branding and analysed how this has impacted the tourism sector.
 Michael Collins, Founder and Managing of Travel Media gave expert insights into the changing relationship between Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) and editors, journalists and content creators.

Instagram and Meta: Keeping Content Relevant
UNWTO first partnered with Instagram in 2021, firstly to help lead recovery from the impacts of the pandemic and then to empower destinations to embrace digital storytelling. In Punta Cana:
 From Instagram, Ernest Voyard, Director of Public Policy, noted how creators are increasingly moving beyond aspirational travel-related content and instead focusing on issues around sustainability and full immersion in destinations.
 From Meta, Sharon Yang, Director of External Affairs, noted how the platform has seen a shift towards creators providing informative tourism and travel-related content, again moving away from more aspirational images and films.

Tourism on the Agenda: The Case of Dominican Republic
Leading journalists and editors from the Dominican Republic assessed how to place tourism on the editorial agenda at every level.
 Leading the discussion were Director of Diario Libre, Inés Aizpún, Director of El Día José Monegro, and the Ambassador of the permanent mission of Dominican Republic to UNWTO Aníbal de Castro
 The panel highlighted the importance of diversifying the main messaging, with a focus on everything from film and TV tourism to gastronomy tourism

Content Creators: Raising Awareness
To round out the session, UNWTO welcomed leading content creators to give their expert insights into changing trends in tourism-related content: Instagram Creators Chloé Léger and Marion Payr, provided their experiences from the Dominican Republic from the point-of-view of tourism and travel-creators. They noted:
 A growing interest in content linking tourism with issues including women’s empowerment, community development and wildlife conservation.

 An opportunity for creators to influence the travel choices and behaviours of tourists, in particular in influencing younger consumers to travel more responsibly and ethically.

SOURCE: Travel News Africa

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