Ghana Tourism Authority, in collaboration with Africa Tourism Partners (ATP) and its lead partner, Grant Thornton, has opened registration for the inaugural Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Awards 2018 as of Monday (July 9), which will see a number of representatives from various African countries.

"Judging from the success of our two recent events, namely; Africa Business Tourism and MICE Masterclass and Africa Women in Tourism Summit – Ghana edition, we expect high-profile delegates from over 30 countries. These include South Africa, Ghana, Malawi, Mauritius, Seychelles, Namibia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Kenya, Ivory Coast, Botswana, UK, USA, Italy, Tanzania, Madagascar, Caribbean and more. These will include Ministers, CEOs and Executives of tourism authorities, hotel groups and from across the entire travel and tourism value chain across the continent.  We believe that the support we have received from NEPAD (AU), Grant Thornton, University of Brighton, Voyages Afriq and AviaDev (Bench Events), underscores the significance of this Forum,” says ATP’s CEO, Kwakye Donkor.

As a pan-African project, this is the first-ever Africa travel and tourism industry gathering designed by Africans, for Africans. The forum will convene global and African travel and tourism business leaders, thought leaders, ministers, policymakers, tourism authorities, investors, destination marketing organisations, travel trade and media to deliberate on initiatives to enhance intra-African travel and growth in the tourism industry across the continent.

The forum will take place at the Accra International Conference Centre in Ghana, from August 30 to 31, and will host more than 30 distinguished experts, including Ghana’s Minister of Tourism, Catherine Abelema Afeku; UNWTO’s Director of the Regional Program for Africa, Elcia Grandcourt; Director of Government Affairs at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Virginia Messina; Project Manager (Youth Employment for Youth) for New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), Vincent Oparah; former Deputy CEO of Grant Thornton and Adviser to South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Gillian Saunders; Professor at the University of Brighton, Marina Novelli; former CEO of Brand South Africa, Miller Matola; Dr. Kobby Mensah; Chief Marketing Officer at Travelstart, Jerome Touze; Managing Director at Songa Africa, Rosette Rugamba; Acting CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority, Akwasi Agyeman; Project Director at Horwath HTL and East Africa Platform, Carmen Nibigira; Director of Marketing: UK & Europe for the Caribbean Tourism Organisation, Carol Hay; and Regional GM: Africa & Middle East at SAA, Aaron Munetsi.

Akwasi Agyeman, CEO of Ghana Tourism Authority.

“We are very excited about the level of enthusiasm we have received from speakers, supporting partners and attendees for this unique conference and the masterclass,” says Agyeman.

“We look forward to bringing together the many global and African Travel and Tourism leaders to Ghana for a substantive discussion on thought and innovation leadership, progressive policies, intra-Africa travel, air access, business tourism, innovation and other real-world solutions to key issues facing the industry, as well as the opportunities it presents today,” Agyeman highlights.  

The programme is as follows:

• August 30: CEOs and Executives breakfast function.
• August 30: Masterclass on Sustainable Tourism Product Development and Business Tourism.
• August 31: Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Awards dinner.

To register, or for further information, contact South Africa’s Tes Proos at: info@africatourismpartners.com, tes@crystalevents.co.za, or +27 (0) 84 682 7676 | +27 (0) 21 551 3305. Alternatively, contact Doris Delong in Ghana at info@ghana.travel, or +233 20 222 2078 | +233 24 412 000.