The two arms of the African Tourism Boardhad their official launch event yesterday at the Cape Town International Convention Center Conference Theatre during World Tavel Market Africa.

The African Tourism Board Association and the African Tourism Board Marketing Association are joining under the brand African Tourism Board and are now seen as a new Chapter on how Africa becomes one tourism destination. Both arms have access to the “ATB friends of the media group”, and are coordinating activities and events whenever possible.

The Association is fully under African Leadership. It’s based in South Africa, and is forming an initial group of directors to work with newly appointed President Alain St. Ange from Seychelles.

On his team of supporters are Cuthbert Ncube, Regional Vice-Chair UNWTO Affiliate Membership and Chief Executive Director Kwela Fleet Management. The Hon. Minister or Tourism for the Kingdom of Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, Kwakye Donker, CEO African Tourism Partners in Ghana and South Africa, Francoise Kameni Lele, AFBS Cameron, the Hon. Minister Madam Memunatu B. Pratt, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs for Sierra Leone, among many others.

African Tourism Board Marketing Association is based in the United States and is providing overseas marketing support for Africa under the leadership of Juergen Steinmetz of the eTN Group in Hawaii, USA and Doris Woerfel in Pretoria, South Africa. Together with a team of global supporters, the marketing arm of ATB will explore new opportunities and cost-sharing projects for inbound tourism for the African Continent.

As a start at the ATB launch last night Dov Kalmann explained the potential of travelers from Israel for Africa and introduced the new African Tourism Board office in Tel Aviv.

Arjun Mukundd from T&A Consulting India mentioned that the outbound travel from India is increasing at 10-12% annually and Indians are constantly looking at new destinations to explore. Africa with its rich culture, wildlife and pristine beaches would be a great holiday option for Indians.

Additional ATB offices are planned in the United States and Germany to start with.

Chairman Juergen Steinmetz explained: “Sharing resources, going after potential niche markets, sharing costs and giving both destinations and stakeholders representation in key markets will help to raise awareness for the African continent. We like to open a window for large, medium and small businesses in a sustainable way.”

Newly appointed CEO Doris Woerfel sees huge potential for Africa from China and will be concentrating to build a broad membership base in Africa for ATB.

The launch was an action-packed event in Capetown hosted by Carol Weaving, Managing Director of Reed Exhibition Africa. She pledged the support of the World Travel Market for African Tourism Board.

Cape Town Tourism CEO Enver Duminy supported the need for an African Tourism Board in his welcome remark.

The highlight of the event was a 30-minute presentation by Dr. Peter Tarlow on security and safety. There is no tourism without security, he said in an engaging session last night. Dr. Tarlow was appointed as the new Travel & Security advisor for African Tourism Board Marketing Association. He is leading safertourism.com

The launch started with a dinner sponsored by Tony Smith of the HongKong based iFREE Group . The group also provided free ATB sim cards to everyone attending.

Africa Tourism is hot right now. Overlooked in the past, the tourism potential of the African continent is now becoming visible.

The WTTC Summit in Seville with former US President Obama participating and the launch of the African Tourism Board in Capetown is a good mix for major visibility for the African travel and tourism industry. 

The first African Tourism Board (ATB) is about to be launched in Cape Town during the upcoming World Travel Market Africa in South Africa on April 11 with a list of impressive speakers, ministers, private industry leaders, and stakeholders attending.

A week before the ATB launch in Cape Town on April 11, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is getting ready for their annual summit in Seville, Spain. With a price tag of $4,000 for a delegate to attend the summit, WTTC is catering to the hundred largest companies in the travel and tourism industry.

Keynote speaker at the summit is none other than former US President Barack Obama who is getting paid an enormous amount of money to share his views on tourism with WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara.

In Cape Town at the African Tourism Board launch, former UNWTO Secretary General Dr. Taleb Rifai is paying his own way, and so are a number of tourism celebrities and stakeholders from both larger and smaller entities. They want to show their excitement and support for the new African Tourism Board and the potential Africa has for new tourism developments. It’s free to attend the African Tourism Board launch event.

In the last 7 days, the news on tourism growth and potential for African destinations couldn’t have been better and must have come as a surprise for many.

WTTC issued one press release after another on their research reports for Africa. eTN received such releases not only from WTTC but also from ministers, embassies, and tourism boards showing their pride and maybe their surprise and encouragement.

African Tourism Board interim Chairman Juergen Steinmetz, who is also CEO of the eTN Corporation, owner of eTurboNews, which is a media partner for WTTC, applauded Gloria Guevara, CEO of WTTC, for putting Africa in the spotlight for the world’s largest travel and tourism companies.

• WTTC: Travel and Tourism is Zambia’s 2018 fastest-growing national economic sector
• WTTC: South Africa Africa’s largest Travel & Tourism economy in 2018
• Botswana tourism now accounts for one in seven dollars in the…
• Ethiopia records biggest growth of Travel & Tourism in the world
• Kenya Travel & Tourism exceeding global and regional levels in 2018

How to attend?

To attend the WTTC summt CLICK HERE, ; to attend the African Tourism Board Launch launch CLICK HERE.

Anyone attending both events should indicate this on the African Tourism Board launch registration to receive additional extensive visibility.

According to media reports and eTN sources, UNWTO may be on its way to a new home in China or Georgia.

UNWTO’s home has been in Madrid, Spain since 1974, and Spain has been enjoying a permanent seat in the UNWTO Executive Council as a host.

A move planned for a new home within Madrid for the only U.N. agency in Spain may not materialize due to increasing conflicts between the World Tourism Organization and the Spanish Ministry of Tourism under the leadership of Maroto Reyes, minister of Industry, Trade, and Tourism of the Sánchez government

The official version of the issue is Congresos de la Castellana, The Palace was closed in 2012 due to a security issue.

A year ago at FITUR 2018 the former Minister of Energy, Industry and Tourism Álvaro Nadal, the Mayor of Madrid Manuela Carmena and the Executive President of Ifema (an institution controlled by the City Council, Community and Chamber of Commerce) Clemente González announced that the ministry would transfer the management of the palace to the trade fair institution for 50 years and that in one part of the building UNWTO would be located.

In November 2018 the new minister of industry, tourism, and commerce Reyes Maroto and Turespana had reversed this decision and wanted open the lease for public bidding. FITUR and UNWTO had not submitted their tender and UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili is supposed to make an announcement at FITUR 2019. This tourism trade fair will be taking place in Madrid January 23-27.

It would take 50-60 million Euro and 12 months to renovate Palacio de Congresos de la Castellana. The building has 40,000 square meters and is opposite the Santiago Bernabeu, a stadium joined by a catwalk during the 1982 World Cup. According to eTN sources the lease at the current UNWTO building expires in June 2019.

China may be a possible new host for UNWTO. At the last UNWTO General Assembly in Chengdu, China celebrated the creation of the World Tourism Alliance, a China-style Global Tourism Organization. If China would now also become the host for UNWTO, it would have a guarantee of a permanent seat in the decision making Executive Council of UNWTO. This very well would complete Chinas move to secure their leading positioning in the world tourism leadership.

The second rumor: UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili is finalizing a plan he had all along. This plan was to create a situation in Spain and find a reason to pack up UNWTO and move the organization to his home country Georgia.

eTurboNews reached out to UNWTO, the Minister of Tourism and TourSpain for comments. So far there was no response.

eTN encourages readers for feedback on this story. Please click here to submit comments. eTN will guarantee to keep your source confidential if desired.

Last week WorldTourismWire turned to readers to get input from UNWTO member countries, UNWTO affiliated members, and other tourism leaders about their take on the new UNWTO and the performance of the new Secretary General.

eTN received 89 responses:
4 gave the new leadership a thumbs up and a 4-5 star rating.
3 had a neutral approach with 3-star rating.
82 did not approve of the way the UNWTO is heading and gave a 1-2 star feedback.

Today, eTurboNews received a Holiday Greeting card from the UNWTO. This was a welcoming message and unfortunately the only direct response from Marcelo Risi and the rest of the UNWTO communication team in 2018, except, of course, being on the mass distribution of press releases.

On January 1, 2018, a new UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvil, took the helm of the global UN affiliate organization in charge to lead the largest industry in the world – the travel and tourism industry. Zurab Pololikashvil was the former ambassador for Georgia in Spain.

Before Pololikashvil the former Secretary-General, Dr. Taleb Rifai, was known to be traveling the glove constantly. He was accessible, responsive, and he truly cared to build a global network based on trust and friendship. This trust and his support were essential for Pololikashvil to sit in his chair at UNWTO in Madrid now, and he really sat in this chair staying away from the public and the media.

Interview requests, journalist questions and any attempt to reach someone from the UNWTO communication team were met with silence from the minute the new SG took charge. Zurab Pololikashvil was absent at major events, including the World Travel Market in London. Consequently, no press-conference was held in London during WTM.

It appears the new Secretary General has been concentrating to interact with countries that will be a member of the Executive Council in 2021. This will be the year SG Zurab Pololikashvil will be up for re-election. Executive Council counties are the countries with a vote. The following countries will be on the Executive Council in 2021 Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Cabo Verde, Egypt, Greece, India, Iran, Lithuania, Namibia, Romania, Russia, Sudan, and Zimbabwe.

UNWTO is experiencing a new type of leader and leadership. Is this a good or bad?

Here are some of the responses WorldTourismWire received from readers about their take on the new UNWTO 2018 performance:

The former Minister of Tourism from Zambia, who co-hosted a very successful UNWTO General Assembly at Victoria Falls in Zambia and Zimbabwe, Sylvia Masebo responded: UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai. UNWTO in 2018 could have done better. It’s however too early to judge the new leadership, but I  would advise the new leader to consult  Dr. Rifai so they could do better. It would help if organizers of past UNWTO  conferences are consulted on challenges and successes of hosting upcoming GA so that best practices are employed. A documentary of past conferences should be developed and shared for reference purposes.

Thomas Mueller from Rainmakers in Namibia gave the new UNWTO leadership a 5-star rating and said: 

UNWTO is a better organization under the leadership of Amb. Zurab Pololikashvil. Tourism SDGs are really promoted and the Digital Transformation Initiative is a most important initiative. My advice: Get more traction and actually things done in actively working with technology partners in the regions.

From the UAE a stakeholder said: UNWTO is less open, less predictable and less engaged. New staff have not engaged with membership as past ones used to. UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai.

From Moldova: Since we had the wine tourism conference in Moldova, the level of engagement with UNWTO has become very slim. We do not have the same sort of interaction with the leadership team as before. UNWTO seems distant. UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. aleb Rifai.

From Spain: UNWTO appears to have lost stature. It is not prominent in the international tourism scene as it was once was. As Affiliate Members, we are not as pleased as we were. UNWTO seems to be competing in our space and trying to turn itself into a for-profit organization, openly following the money, acting like paid private consulting firms. UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai.

From the U.S. a reader said: Over 50 years of tourism research and education. Had been active in WTO and UNWTO since 1989. The present Secretary-General is a disaster.  UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai, and I hope for a change of leadership.

From Vancouver, Canada a travel agency owner and tourism consultant wrote: UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai. Saddened to see UNWTO not honor the commitment to co-sponsor the International Peace through Tourism Summit in Montreal. And not to attend WTM seems to show disinterest in the industry Pololikashvil is supposed to be leading. Disappointed overall. Honor the IIPT commitment.

A director of tourism policy advisor from Brussels, Belgium wants member states to become again the center of the organization and thinks UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai.

A leader in the hospitality sector in Madrid thinks UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai and thinks UNWTO is a complete disaster. It has no visibility, neither retains a good image and recommends to make big changes.

From Barcelona Spain a tourism veteran with 30 years in the sector said: The current SG has no managerial, leadership nor communications skills.

He has no experience in the tourism sector.

Looks like he doesn’t really care about tourism nor UNWTO, but rather has a personal political agenda. He thinks a new Secretary General for UNWTO with the right capabilities is a solution.

A journalist from Montenegro thinks UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai.

This was echoed by a person with a Costa Rica government email and IP in Costa Rica. This reader said: No leadership; no knowledge of main UNWTO matters; Zurab does not handle any UNWTO topic and does not permit any other to talk; Ministers do not want to attend events; internal persecution does not help. He or she suggested a resignation from Zurab to pursue his real ambition: to become President of Georgia; and putting someone else to recover from the “induced coma” UNWTO.

The only official government representative from Costa Rica, Mr. Hermes Navarro told WorldTourismWire after reading this statement: I am the only Costa Rica representative to UNWTO and did not respond wih the mentioned quote. I will appreciate deleting such reference as it does not represent the point of view of my Government or mine.

A tourism professional from Tokyo, Japan writes: UNWTO is a better organization under the leadership of Amb. Zurab Pololikashvil. Programs related to digital transformation on tourism has been started under new administration.That is really important. He suggests Digital related programs should been enhanced in 2019 over just concept.

An independent journalist from Bangalore India thinks UNWTO was a better organization under the leadership of Dr. Taleb Rifai. He thinks the elections for Secretary General were dodgy leaving a bad taste in the mouth. He feels a more democratic and transparent functioning.

Amal from Rabat, Morocco said: It’s too early to say. Dr. Taleb Rifai is a dearest friend of mine, and I did not have the chance to meet yet Amb. Zurab Pololikashvil.

On Monday at the World Travel Market in London, Africa was in the spotlight in the afternoon with the launch of the newly-formed African Tourism Board. A new, multinational body to promote the travel and tourism sector in Africa was unveiled during World Travel Market in London.

Created by the International Coalition of Tourism Partners, itself based in Seychelles, Brussels, Bali, and Hawaii, the Africa Tourism Board will seek to enhance and promote the sustainable growth, value, and quality of travel on the African continent.

The star guest was none other than former UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai, who welcomed the newly-founded tourism board and shared memories and success stories as well as the importance for African Tourism.

The Hon. Tourism Minister Anil Kumrsingh Gayan from Mauritius reminded attending tourism leaders about challenges in Africa touching connectivity.

The Hon. Minister Madam Memunatu B. Pratt, Minister of Tourism for Sierra Leone, shared her vision for African tourism and outlined challenges and welcomed the African Tourism Board.

Alain St. Ange, former Minister of Tourism for Seychelles, asked Africa to rally behind this initiative.

Carol Weaving, Managing Director of Reed Exhibitions, voiced her support as a board member and assured a great official launch event during WTM Capetown from April 10-12, 2019.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman launched a new initiative enabling thousands of young people to get a scholarship. “We want these young bright African people to get an education in tourism in Africa and not in the U.S. or Europe,” he said.

Graham Cooke, Founder of the World Travel Awards, announced a partnership and his support. Tony Smyth from IFree Group Hong Kong echoed the support of this global communications company.

Louis D’Amore, Founder of the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism sent his greeting and his hope to have his next conference in Africa.

The ICTP Chairman and initiator of the African Tourism Board said:

I am humbled and overwhelmed today seeing so many of you have taken the time to be here today. May I first thank Carol Weaving, Director of Reed Exhibitions for hosting this event today.

This is the first informal meeting and the soft launch of the African Tourism Board before our official launch planned at WTM Capetown from April 10-12, 2019.

The presence of so many of you, the honor to see so many ministers and leaders from throughout Africa, demonstrates great encouragement.

Africa needs its own voice in the global travel and tourism industry. With 54 countries, many more cultures, and a wealth of attractions, it’s still a continent to be discovered.

Americans love the Internet, but they still love to talk to someone even more. We will establish an African Call Center to respond to questions, respond to emails, and respond to social media comments. The U.S. is only one market. In this room alone, you can see experts ready to bring travelers from potential markets like India, Germany, the UK, and China to your destination.

Therefore, we are building a global network of media friends and Africa-friendly trade. We work with the organization “Tourism and More” on training for tourism police, on safety certification, and workshops. We are planning to work with the International Tourism Investment Conference in attracting investments to Africa.

We already started to identify an excellent team of a board and steering committee members. Our steering committee is ready to establish a way forward and will help with a structural set-up to announce in April at our official launch.

People asked me where ATB will be based.

We would like to have ATB based in every country that supports us – this includes African countries and in countries with a source market for African Tourism. We need a go-to person on the ground in every country, and we need to find a way to communicate with every person on the ground in other countries and regions within and outside Africa.

We won’t charge memberships, but we rely on sponsorships based on your ability, and in addition, we will offer a catalog of projects you can buy into.

www.africantourismboard.com is an easy domain to be branded, and its one of the reasons we decided to call this initiative the African Tourism Board.

We invite our stakeholders to have an email address or website on our platform. This will raise confidence among consumers and provide a chance for small to medium businesses in Africa to do business in source markets.

After the Monday event, ATB received emails and calls from all across Africa, and it appears many more destinations in Africa want to join the African Tourism Board.

Africa is on the mind of two events on the sideline of the upcoming World Travel Market in London next month.

Dr. Taleb Rifai, Chairman of ITIC Advisory Board and Former Secretary-General, UNWTO invites to a special launch event of the International Tourism and Investment Conference (ITIC) and its Tourism Investment Platform. It will be held in London on Friday,  02 November 2018 at the InterContinental Park Lane, Mayfair, from 17:00 – 20:30.
Anita Mendiratta, Founder & CEO of Cachet Consulting & Lead Consultant for CNN will be the moderator.

The African Tourism Board Initiative is inviting their supporters and anyone interesting in bringing African Tourism together to their soft launch event sponsored by Reed Exhibition on Monday, 05 November 2018 at Excel London during the World Travel Market in North Gallery Room 4, 14.00h.

Juergen Steinmetz, publisher of eTurboNews and Chairman of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners will be the master of ceremony for the African Tourism Board Initiative event.

ITIC is designed to serve as a unique global investment platform that will bring together Investors, Private Equity Firms, Bankers, Family Offices, Law firms, Technology Expert alongside Tourism Policy Makers and Ministers, Experts, CEOs of public and private, sector tourism entities as one tourism-focused business community to unlock opportunities for tourism countries strongly reliant on tourism as a foundation for national growth and development.

The Launch Event for ITIC will feature a high-level, professionally facilitated Panel Discussion – Invest Tourism, featuring carefully selected international leaders in tourism and investment with rich insight into opportunities for tourism and investment partnership.

Supporters & Sponsors:
* African Tourism Board
* Intercontinental London
* Daiichi
* WTTC
* Hyda & Reed
* SKAL

Media Partners:
* eTurboNews
* Jacobs Media Group
* TravelWeekly
* American Banker
* African Business
* New African
* New African Woman

Panelists

▪              Honorable Najib Balala, Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Tourism and Wildlife-Kenya
▪              Honourable Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism-Jamaica
▪              Mr. Gerald Lawless, Former President and CEO of the Jumeirah Group
▪              Mr. Saleh Said, Managing Director of Pennyroyal Ltd, promoter of a tourism village in Zanzibar

Registration and participation at both events are free.

– To register for the ITIC Launch event click here and use password ITIC2018

– To register for the ATB event at WTM click here

What happened to Dr. Walter Mzembi, former minister of Tourism and Hospitality for Zimbabwe, and former candidate for UNWTO Secretary-General? Dr. Mzembi is currently getting medical treatment battling cancer in South Africa and is frustrated. He is trying to understand where the African tourism family is when one of its own is being persecuted?

There are many indications Dr. Mzembi is being harassed while we all watch.
They have persecuted him for nearly a year now, on some incomprehensible criminal charges brought up by the new government in Zimbabwe.

Such charges touch on the integrity of the UNWTO itself. It’s a seemingly sophisticated witch hunt meant to discredit his legacy with the UNWTO, where he with distinction led the Commission for Africa from 2013 to 2017 for two consecutive terms.

Mzembi set the agenda for continental tourism policy formulation. His successor Najib Balala, minister of tourism from Kenya acknowledged his legacy at the last UNWTO Commission of Africa Meeting in which Africa reaffirmed its support for his candidature for the post of UNWTO Secretary-General position.

Dr. Mzembi honorably lost this election by a two-country margin on behalf of Africa. Where is Africa when one of its own is being persecuted

The prosecution or better persecution of such a distinguished African citizen is a negative exercise for global tourism, it’s negative for Africa and specifically Zimbabwe.
Dr. Mzembi is a resource that any Government and Africa should exploit to its advantage.

How do you reconcile this with the way the new dispensation in Zimbabwe is treating Walter Mzembi?

Did they forgot his work co-hosting the 20th session UNWTO General Assembly at Victoria Falls in what was described by then Secretary-General Taleb Rifai as the “best ever and most attended General Assembly in the history of General Assemblies”

Walter Mzembi brought the global tourism family attending the UNWTO General Assembly in Chengdu, China to a five-hour gridlock insisting on the procedure on the affirmation of the new Secretary General. It ended with him compromising and giving his concession speech din with humility he congratulating his rival, the current UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Former Minister Mzembi and for a decade steered Zimbabwe through the most difficult period and got many endorsements for his country. He has been seen as a true patriot that it makes us wonder why such good deeds could be so easily forgotten on the expediency of a new dispensation in Zimbabwe.

Perhaps Dr. Mzembi has a point when he asked eTurboNews: “Where is the international tourism family when one of its own is being persecuted?”

Click here to read the letter of acknowledgment by the Zimbabwe government