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TANZANIA TO HOST INAUGURAL SWAHILI
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM EXPO (S!TE) ATTRACTING TRAVEL INDUSTRY
PROFESSIONALS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD
Dar es Salaam, Tanzania—June 7, 2013
(Dar es Salaam,
Tanzania—June 7, 2013) Tanzania Tourist Board launches its first
ever international tourism fair, the Swahili International
Tourism Expo (S!TE). The four-day tourism expo will be held in
in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania’s commercial capital located along
the coastline of Tanzania, East Africa from October 1 – 4, 2014
at the Mlimani City Conference Centre. The Swahili International
Tourism Expo will focus on inbound and outbound travel to Africa
and is expected to draw hundreds of tourism and travel
professionals from all over the world. The Expo will take the
format of a travel and trade exhibition with a conference
element focusing on topical tourism, sustainability,
conservation and other market related issues. Dr. Aloyce Nzuki, Managing
Director, Tanzania Tourist Board said, “We are extremely excited
to be able to host the first ever Swahili International Tourism
Expo. Dar es Salaam has been strategically selected as a place
for staging this premier tourism event because of its
geographical location, excellent air access; the existing ‘state
of the art’ and readily available infrastructure and amenities
suitable for establishing an international tourism fair. “ In the bid to promote tourism
in Tanzania, the Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB) partnered with
Witch & Wizard Creative (Pty) Ltd, South Africa, the exhibition
and events management company that put INDABA on the world
travel industry calendar of events. Dr Nzuki added, “We are
confident that with our partnership with Witch & Wizard
Creative, and their marketing expertise, will enable the Swahili
International Tourism Expo to grow from year to year to become
the one of the world's leading travel and tourism events for
Africa, putting Tanzania on the map as a key player in for the
tourism industry in Africa just as INDABA has done for South
Africa.” The tourism expo derived from
the word "Swahili" which is an Arab word, meaning “boundary" or
"coast" and ultimately it came to be applied to the people
living on the East Africa coast and their language. For more information on the
Swahili International Tourism Expo, visit www.site.co.tz. USA-Africa
Report What's
Ahead? Background http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/foundation/ Our
mission is to carry on the spirit and legacy of
Reverend Leon H. Sullivan, the great
African-American international
humanitarian. The Leon
H. Sullivan Foundation leverage's the commitments
and resources of the African Diaspora and friends
of Africa to promote positive change in the world.
Our work is guided by the principles that Reverend
Sullivan championed: self-help, social
responsibility, economic empowerment, and human
rights. To that end the Foundation advocates on
relevant domestic and international issues;
supports the work of the Sullivan organizations,
and provides a platform for Africa's political,
economic, and, cultural leaders. Summit quotable
quotes "What
President George W. Bush has done for Africa has
surpassed any other US President" President
Kikwete "When we
leave this Summit, let us make sure we keep
climbing their biodiveristy treasures" Mark
Green "To
solve prevailing power crisis, African leaders need
to walk the talk" Dr,
Obiageli Ezekwesili, World Bank Vice President for
African Region
Comments
from the Leon H. Sullivan
Summit Partnership
in Tourism by
Abraham Mnzava Indeed
in today's error of globalization aid and
grants alone will not achieve a total
transformation for Africa. However,
capital inflows in the crucial service
sectors as tourism have a significant
potential in increasing revenues and
boosting of employment opportunities in
Africa. The
reason why tourism holds a unique position
in Africa's transformation is because of
its comparative advantage in terms of
world life, beautiful geographical
features and its diverse cultures; for
example in Tanzania alone there are more
than 120 different dialects spoken. But
also tourism is a sector which can have
direct effects to the local communities
because the tourists are consumers of the
local products. Whereas economic growth
does not vicariously translate to
development, development of a vibrant
tourism sector offers unique opportunities
to bring about development and prosperity
to common people in the
communities. If
there should be a significant marshal plan
to pull Africa out of the claws of poverty
tourism sector should be looked at with
all the true friends of Africa.
Fortunately in Africa today tourism is
growing at 8% and it is projected that
there will be 40-million tourists visiting
Africa by 2010. This is a unique
opportunity but also a challenge, a
challenge in away that there should be
adequate infrastructures such as hotels
for the 40 million tourists. The number of
tourists in the world today stands at
about 800 million tourists a year which
means that Africa still receives little in
comparison to the other parts of the
world. If Africans in diaspora and other
friends of Africa could put an effort to
do positive publicity about Africa by
exposing its potential, I believe that
there could be more than double the number
of tourists projected to visit the
continent in 2010, however an equivalent
boom in tourism infrastructure such as
construction of both hotels, lodge and
conference facilities is required to meet
the demands of the ever increasing tourist
arrivals in the continent. Tourism
in Africa offers unique opportunities
which can create profitable win to win
partnership ventures between Africans and
friends of Africa including the Africans
in diaspora. Without partnership in
today's globalized world there can not be
a sustainable development. Today India is
a emerging as one of the world economic
powers because of part of a significant
contribution from the Indians in diaspora.
How much more can the Africans in diaspora
with the turn over of 750 billion dollars
a year, if part of that could be used to
invest in their mother land Africa how
much could it achieve? If their skills,
experiences and exposure could be put to
use in different partnership ventures in
tourism and various other sectors , Africa
could turn around from poverty sooner than
later . A saying from the Krio people of
Sierra Leon goes: "A bundle can not be
fastened with one hand" African does need
partners from her friends to join with
hands in order to succeed in this
globalized world. There
is no doubt from Cape to Cairo there is a
great awakening about the role the private
sector can play through partnerships to
bring sustainable development. The
political will to encourage foreign direct
investments in different sectors tourism
among them is also infinite. With little
wonder it is today when we find a good
number of developing African countries
fitting the bills in millions of dollars
to advertise their tourism attractions in
giant media corporations such as the CNN,
along improving their countries major
infrastructures such as roads. It is now
high time for anyone who is a friend of
Africa to join hands with the African
countries. Abraham
Mnzava Editor's
note:
The dates for the 2015 event are expected to be announced in
due course but likely to take place on the first weekend in
June again, as this time frame has proved to be suitable for
in particular local and regional exhibitors due to the low
tourism season at the time. For more information about the
just concluded tourism trade show click on www.karibufair.com or www.kaributravelmarkettanzania.com
More
photos from the Summit
Continued from Two
Page Spread on Leon H. Sullivan
Summit
The importance of tourism and infrastructure in
the socioeconomic development of Africa cannot be
overemphasized. They are critical in Africa's
development processes. Development of Tourism. In
most African countries, Tanzania included, tourism
is one of the leading sectors in promoting growth
and generating foreign exchange. According to the
UN World tourism Organization, in 2007 the tourism
sector in Africa grew at 8 per cent which is the
highest in the world.
Better
roads, railways, airports, ports and water supply
are also in greater need in Africa. Costly
transportation is an impediment to Africa's
participation in global trade. Africa is on a
steady move and in the right direction despite
imminent challenges. Things are getting better with
each passing day. I believe this Summit can also
contribute in many ways to that movement to a
better future.
June
2-6, 2008, Arusha, Tanzania
Sullivan Summit VIII
The Summit of a Lifetime
During the recently concluded 8th Leon H.
Sullivan Summit in Arusha, Tanzania, there
was a calling by one of the most
influential Africans in the Diaspora, Rev
Jess Jackson, for an "African marshal
plan". This plan will spear head economic
development in the continent of Africa.
Africa has been independence for the past
45 to 50 years, while receiving grants and
aid in tunes of billions of dollars
without a significant transformation. Yet
in the marshal plan of Europe aid and
grants were successful to bring prosperity
in Europe and America secured economic
partners from it.
We
met Mr. Mnzava in Arusha this June. The
writer has a Masters of Arts in
Development Administration Management
(Kampala International University)
,bachelors of arts in education (Makerere
University). He says, "I am a stounch
believer in tourism's potential in poverty
aleviation and its ability to improve
micro economic performance of africas poor
countries. During the the Summit there was
a call for 'Africas Marshal plan' to bring
Africa out of poverty, but in this era of
globalization where foreign aid without
partneships expecialy on service sectors
as Tourism there can not be an achievable
'marshal plan' for african
continent".