South African Airways, the flag carrier airline of South Africa, has partnered with the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit (AYTIS) 2023. The partnership aims to offer discounted airfares to all delegates travelling to Namibia from various destinations serviced by SAA to the Summit.

The Summit is scheduled for May 31 to June 2 and will be held in the coastal city of Swakopmund. Delegates may choose to fly to Windhoek and join ground transfers provided by the event organising partners at no extra cost.

Building on the success of AYTIS 2022, this year’s Summit is set to host 350 physical delegates and over 1 500 online participants from across the world.

As the world meets in Namibia, various activities, including the Dolphin cruise, sunset cruise, cultural tours and the Dune 7 experience are among the activities the delegates can indulge in.

The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism Namibia has availed exhibition space for tourism stakeholders and delegates to showcase their products and services.

Other key activities include a B2B Speed Marketing Session, MICE and Digital Marketing Masterclass, as well as presentations of Namibia’s investment opportunities and leisure tours.

Among the invited speakers are:

• Gonaya Monei Sethora – Women and Youth in Trade Expert, Directorate of Institutional Matters and Programme Coordination (DIMPC), AfCFTA, Ghana.
• Prudence Sebahizi – Secretariat, and DIMPC Director, Directorate of Institutional Matters and Programmes Coordination (DIMPC), AfCFTA Secretariat, Ghana.
• Dr Urs Aebischer – Founder of DISEO Switzerland.
• Kele Tlouane – DDG, TEDET, Limpopo, South Africa.
• Ian Putter – Head Blockchain Centre of Excellence, Regional Director Blockchain Research Institute Africa and Board member of Hedera Hashgraph, Switzerland.
• Dr Isobel Green – Head of Department: Hospitality and Tourism, Namibia University of Science and Technology.
• Alka Bhatia – UNDP Resident Representative to Namibia.
• Shabnam Vadachia – Head of Sales Market, Fly SAA, South Africa.
• Ibukunoluwa Salau – Founder and CEO, Direx, Nigeria.
• Cornelius Ugwunwa – CEO, Kardinal Technologies Inc, Nigeria.
• Lehong Ntshabo – Managing Director, Makeeda HTW, South Africa.
• Mikul Shah – Co-Founder and CEO, Purple Elephant Ventures, Kenya.

Announcement of the top five finalists of the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge 2023 will be made on June 2. This will be preceded by a boot camp for the finalists and their mentors.

Registrations for both physical and virtual participants are ongoing. Interested persons may visit www.youthtourismsummit.com.