African ATA member nations meet in Ethiopia. More photos from this
event in our gallery.
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Ethio |
Ethiopian President
Girma Wolde-Giorgis welcomed delegates to Ethiopia
at the opening ceremony held at United Nations
Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) headquarters
in Addis Ababa. The President called for more
efforts to advance Africa's tourism development.
"The tourism industry involves the participation of
billions of people of all walks of life," he said.
"Yet irrespective of Africa's diversified wealth,
the continent's world share of receipts from
international tourism is below four percent. This
requires governments and leaders in the industry to
concertedly mobilize their efforts towards
sustainable tourism development and poverty
eradication." The prevailing
message ATA shared with the delegates was that
Africa needs to be marketed as a tourist
destination. ATA Executive Director Eddie Bergman
said that Africa's 53 nations need to "brand
destination Africa in a way that benefits the
continent as a whole and each individual country."
He continued: "this will enable the diverse
community of African nations to present its tourism
product with a stronger voice, and to put its
collective weight behind continental and national
priorities." Delegates gave ATA
the mandate to lead a global campaign based on
ATA's Addis Declaration. This outcome document
reflects members' commitments to launch "an
initiative devoted to raising global awareness and
visibility of Africa as a travel destination" and
to "expand their actions and projects and mobilize
resources and partnerships" for the initiative. It
also called on ATA to bring its 32 years of
experience to "actively pursue a campaign to bring
the world to Africa and Africa to the
world." Participating
ministers expressed support for ATA's leadership
with the campaign. As ATA President and Ghana's
Tourism Minister Jake Otanka Obetsebi-Lamptey
noted, "ATA is a great vehicle to market and brand
destination Africa; however, for ATA to work, it
needs the full cooperation and support of all
Africa countries, as well as the African
Union." "ATA is embarking
on a new era with new challenges and prospects,"
said Cameroon Tourism Minister El Hadj Baba
Hamadou. "Long live ATA. Long live the cooperation
between Cameroon and ATA." The congress
highlighted the need to reach out to Asia's
emerging travel market. Pacific Asia Travel
Association (PATA) senior board member Alwin Zecha
reaffirmed PATA's commitment to work with ATA. ATA
also announced plans to reach out to the biggest
Asian source market: China. ATA plans to recruit
members from China to participate in ATA events and
to present Africa's travel products at travel and
marketing expos throughout Asia. Building on ATA's
partnership agreement with the African Airlines
Association (AFRAA), a senior AFRAA representative
facilitated a panel among airline representatives
on the role of airlines in promoting tourism.
Discussion focused on challenges airlines face that
affect tourism growth, such as profitability.
Delegates also participated in roundtable
discussions, an arts and crafts fair, and a
marketplace expo. Ethiopia's Ministry of Culture
and Tourism organized a day-long tour of Addis
Ababa's national museum and historical sites, as
well as a trip 50 kilometers outside the capital to
Bisihoftu and the Kuriftu Resort. Member countries
such as Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia and Zambia
showcased their countries at sponsored lunches and
dinners at the congress hotels: Hilton-Addis and
the Ghion. Ethiopian Airlines and Sheraton Addis
also sponsored special events. At Tanzania's
seventh annual gala celebration, Tanzanian Minister
Jumanne Maghembe called on member countries to
increase their financial contributions to ATA.
Tanzania's call to action was endorsed by other
member countries. Speaking to
delegates at Zambia's sponsored dinner, Zambia's
Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources Minister
and past ATA President Kabinga Pande said members
need to support ATA in order to "move the
association to another level." He also highlighted
the need to "build a concrete base for ATA as the
flagship and premier organization for the promotion
and marketing of Africa's tourism to the rest of
the world in a more practical way." Ethiopia's Culture
and Tourism Ministry and Ethiopian Airlines
organized press/FAM tours in Addis Ababa, Lalibela,
and Southern Ethiopia for delegates and travel
trade journalists. Working in
partnership with MedShare International (a
humanitarian organization) and with support from
Miracle Corners of the World (a non-profit
organization) and private sector companies, ATA
facilitated the contribution of a container of
medical supplies valued at $350,000 to a hospital
in the Lalibela region of Ethiopia. "This
contribution provides a tangible and immediate
benefit to the local community from the tourism
industry," said Bergman. Delegates included
more than a dozen tourism ministers, senior
intergovernmental organization representatives,
hotel and airline executives, travel industry
experts, tourism board heads, private sector
entrepreneurs, Benin, Cameroon, Canada, Chad,
China, Congo, Djbouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia,
Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mali, the
Netherlands, Nigeria, Republic of Congo, Senegal,
South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo,
Uganda, the USA, and Zambia. The Congress also
attracted media partners, including Amsterdam News,
Africa Channel, African Times, Africa Travel
Magazine, Afropop, BBC World, E-turbo News, Radio
France International, Travel World News, and
OgoSow.com. "By the end, each
and every one of us was ready to serve as an
ambassador to Ethiopia," said Bergman. "In fact, by
promoting travel to Ethiopia, we hope to share this
hidden beacon of light with the rest of the
world." For information
e-mail: info@tourismethiopia.org,
or
tour-com@telecom.net.et
. About ATA ATA is the
premier global travel association promoting tourism
to Africa and intra-Africa travel and partnership
since 1975. ATA members include ministries of
tourism and culture, national tourism boards,
airlines, hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators,
travel trade media, public relations firms,
students, NGOs, individuals, and small-and
medium-sized businesses. Upcoming ATA events
include: ATA's 2nd Annual Presidential Forum in
September; ATA's 11th Annual Eco-Tourism Symposium
in Djibouti in November 2007; ATA's first Africa
Marketing and Investment Forum in March 2008; and
ATA's 33rd Annual Congress in Tanzania in May 2008.
For more information, visit ATA on-line at
www.africatravelassociaton.org
or call +1.212.447.1357. |
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Editor's
Comments on ATA 32nd Annual Congress, Addis
Ababa
Leading
tourism industry experts from more than 20 African
countries, North America, Europe, and Asia came
together in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia from May 6-11 to
participate in the Africa Travel Association's
(ATA) 32nd Annual Congress. Ethiopia's Culture and
Tourism Ministry hosted the event in time for the
country's millennium celebrations. Ethiopian
Airlines served as the congress' official
carrier.
Ethiopian
Culture and Tourism Minister Ambassador Mohamoud
Dirir Gheddi said "ATA is playing the leading role
in bringing the world to Africa, but it has to be
careful while promoting Africa as one unified
destination because we need to avoid falling into
the trap of old stereotypes of Africa as the 'dark
continent.'"
The
five-day program included topics such as "Branding
Africa as a Tourism Destination." The premier panel
featured UNECA Executive Secretary Abdoulie Janneh,
Ethiopian Airlines CEO Girma Wake and World Bank
tourism development specialist Shaun Mann, as well
as other private sector panelists. Tanzanian
Ambassador Daudi Mwakawago, a Strategic Advisor to
ATA's Executive Director and former UN Special
Representative of the Secretary General to Sierra
Leone, skillfully facilitated the
discussion.