SANParks Vision 2040 was launched by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, Hon. Barbara Creecy, in April 2023. The beginning of a board-led process to ensure that the vision is realised. We were privileged to have Pam Yako, Chairperson of the Board of SANParks and of the Project Steering Committee to introduce us to SANParks. Her background in leadership coaching and team effectiveness, change management, strategy implementation and monitoring have honed her skills to achieve change and realise the Vision 2040. Zenande Leadership, founded by Pam Yako, conveys the rigour of her thinking and commitment to making change, skills essential to realising SANParks Vision 2040. 

At the launch of the Vision Pam Yako, that as a “township girl” wildlife and conservation is integral to who South Africans are as a nation, as a people, for re-creation and a spiritual connection.  What is required is a vision that embraces the needs and aspirations of all of us, with inclusivity, meaningful participation and which enhances our connection: “ a deliberate effort to bring all of us in our diversity … towards a common vision … it is challenging, but we are a can-do nation.” The challenges are poverty, job creation, climate change, changing tourists, and embracing technology.

SANParks’ new strategy is radical, “reimagining conservation with people, for people, and nature”, and is inviting people to “be a part of reimagining and co-creating national parks of the future.” In this video, SANParks envisage setting “a new norm for living in harmony with nature… Diverse landscapes belong to all South Africans …imagine a world where our wildlife is safe, communities thrive from their own resources being managed in partnership with their national parks. Imagine a world where local communities benefit from and invest in the sustainability of protected areas, where ownership and pride in our protected areas are shared and embraced …”

This is indeed a bold collaborative effort to reimagine and co-create a new era for conservation … leaving a better future for generations beyond our lifetime.

“Within Mega Living Landscapes diverse wildlife and ecosystems are helping us to reverse the loss of plant and animal species. All South Africans see the economic, spiritual and health benefits of nature conservation. This approach makes communities key to conservation efforts, reversing biodiversity loss and combating poaching.”

“In partnership with many stakeholders, SANParks is now co-managed and supported by government, communities and business leaders. These partnerships support the protection of plant and animal life, heritage conservation, and tourism. This contributes to the well-being of people and the environment.”

There will also be a radical change in the way in which tourism operates in national parks. The 2040 Vision is clear “SANParks will split into two entities: a successful tourism business and a government-funded conservation service. Tourism profits support conservation, reflecting a trend that we also see in the improvement of other public entities in 2040. SANParks embraces technology, becoming a global leader in conservation, heritage, and tourism technology.”

The vision is clear on both the dangers and how to avoid them

“However, rapid technology adoption leaves some people behind due to their lack of skills or access, and job losses widen the gap between tech haves and have-nots. Local communities struggle to keep pace, and tourism takes on a “Disney” feel with holograms and augmented reality, appealing to younger visitors but alienating older ones. Monitoring business and technology integration, employee satisfaction, and customer feedback is crucial to ensure a people-focused approach rather than one driven solely by technology or business.”

Wilfred Chivell, MD Dyer Island Cruises Whale Watch and Marine Dynamics Shark Tours, and Chairman Dyer Island Conservation Trust, talked about how Marine Big 5 viewing benefits conservation and the community benefits and engagement generated by their work in Gansbaai.

Geordie Ractliffe, Executive Director, of Sustainability Matters talked about the work they do as a sustainability education and youth development organisation, their purpose to: “… validate youth experience and respect their voice while engaging with the issues that will define their future.”

Nick Tucker GOPA AFC Gmbh, talked about community-owned tourism initiatives.

Glynn talked about two aspects of their work in commercialising community-owned assets. At Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge, in the Drakensberg Mountains and at !Xaus Lodge in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, TFPD has demonstrated how community-owned lodges can, through employment, local sourcing, rent and conservation fees, communities can benefit from tourism.

In Eswatini, Glynn has been working with the local community to create shared value. I published here about the success of that work last week.  

L’article Exploring Nature Positive Tourism avenues est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

This year, the Awards honoured 20 winners — businesses and organisations from nine countries: Kenya, Namibia, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

These Awards recognise changemakers making tourism better, as identified by our judges for their success in addressing environmental and socio-economic challenges. Through the Awards process, we highlight those reducing the negative impacts of travel and tourism and aim to encourage others to follow suit.

We explain our reasons for recognising each of the gold and silver winners, and we encourage the Ones to Watch to apply again once they’ve gained more experience or evidence of impact — they have the potential to become gold or silver winners in the future.

As I said during the ceremony: “These are not easy awards to win. The judging process is intense. To be in this room, to be on this recognition list, is a massive achievement. By entering these awards, you shine a light on ideas and innovation that will inspire others. We know that taking responsibility for tourism is hard, but your work has shown what is possible. Together, we will inspire the Responsible Tourism changemakers of the future.”

We recognised two TUI Care Foundation initiatives, lodges, and — for the first time this year — two groups working to make the tourism supply chain more responsible.

SILVER: Hamagriza, QwaQwa, South Africa

Hamagriza offers a restaurant, coworking hub, tours, and events, creating an immersive cultural experience that showcases the region’s unique history, traditions, and flavours. It estimates the creation of at least 20 jobs and revenue generation exceeding R500,000 for local businesses. The judges were particularly impressed by how the initiative has encouraged local pride in heritage and culture.

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SILVER: Kijani Supplies, Kenya

Kijani Supplies is a supply chain and logistics company committed to greening Africa’s hospitality sector. Founded in Kenya in 2023, it provides safari hotels with sustainable, locally sourced products, while reducing the carbon footprint associated with hotel supply and procurement. In its first year, 2024, it built a network of 112 suppliers and served 125 hotels in the Greater Maasai Mara, delivering goods worth approximately USD $585,000. It worked directly with 32 community-based micro and small enterprises, providing them with business worth USD $29,000 and supporting 170 jobs.

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This year’s awards showcased many inspiring examples. Judging was genuinely challenging. We encourage you to explore what’s happening across Africa in travel and tourism — be inspired. Brighten your day with Africa’s changemakers.

The Gold winners from the Africa Responsible Tourism Awards will automatically be entered into the ICRT Global Awards, sponsored by Sabre. These will be judged by an international panel and announced globally via a streamed event in November.

Regional awards will continue throughout the year — all are now open for entries. If you know of worthy initiatives, encourage them to apply. The judges can only select from those who enter.

Upcoming deadlines

• Latin America: 25 April
• South East Asia: 28 April
• Europe: 23 May
• India Subcontinent: 30 June

L’article ICRT Global Responsible Tourism Awards 2025 kick off at WTM Africa est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Godfrey Dambuleni, of Mixed Ideaz specialised in wire art combined with recycled metal. 

Not ideal for tourists to carry home, but authentic pieces of craft art and South Africa has a large domestic self-drive tourism market. 

Carey Moran at E’Yako Green ,“Think  green. Think local. Think us”, makes bags, folders, pemcil cases, book covers and more from upcycled billboards and telephone wire baskets.

Made in South Africa by small producers means that buying these products aids in job creation, building capacity and skills, and advancing sustainability.

Intricately handwoven by Zulu crafters, this urban version of the grass and palm bowls originally made “back home” were started by Zulu men working on the mines, where they discovered off-cuts of plastic-covered telephone wire in a myriad of bright colours, ideally suited to weaving, being fine and flexible and the night watchmen would weave their knobkerries with this wire. This medium of using telephone wire was then used to make the bowls which are worked with great precision into intricate and colourful patterns. The Zulu Telephone Wire work has gained International fame and has become very collectable. These are called soft wire telephone bowls and are very functional for foodstuffs as they are also washable. Adorning your walls with them is a great option too.

Original T-bag Designs empowers members of the Imizamo Yethu community by turning discarded teabags into works of art. 

“The T-Bag Designs workshop in Hout Bay employs people from the local townships to create a range of functional art decorated with recycled teabags. These unique products turn tea bags into works of art. We strive to create sustainable arts and crafts for homeware and decor. The tea bags are dried, emptied, ironed then painted by the T-Bag Designs artists – each one is unique. These miniature works of art are then applied to stationery, wooden trays, coasters, fabric items, wall decor and more. This enterprise provides employment and stability for a group of previously disadvantaged people in the Hout Bay area.”

Joanna Orr of Head On Design crafts iconic wildlife sculptures from sustainable and recycled materials, bamboo, birch ply and recycled board, which are flat-packed. 

All these craft products are available for online purchase – check them out, and if you are in South Africa, seek them out. They make great branded corporate gifts. 

L’article Up-Cycling at a Trade Show est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

We tend not to associate ‘overtourism’ with Africa. But uncontrolled growth in tourist numbers is unsustainable anywhere, whether an ancient European city or the rolling savannah of a sub-Saharan wildlife reserve.

The New York Times reported in January on overcrowding on the Kenyan Masai Mara, following viral online footage of dozens of safari trucks jostling for the best viewing position over two cheetahs killing an antelope.

Some might wonder how a game reserve covering 1,510 square km (583 square miles) can possibly have issues with overcrowding but Mefi Pishori Alapat, safari designer for Journey to Africa told Travel Weekly that it’s not unusual for over 200 vehicles to be competing for space in a small area. “Overcrowding has become a problem on many African safaris,” she said.

It’s not good for the wildlife nor for the safety of guests, as they are racing for the best spot.

Mefi Pishori Alapat, safari designer for Journey to Africa

One traveller’s blog provides a clear picture of the problem: “A stressed out Cape buffalo charged our car because he was separated from his herd. A scared leopard was forced into hiding after being boxed in by a mass of tourist vehicles. Hyenas sleeping on the road were awoken and startled when our car got too close. While all of these experiences were phenomenal for us, I can’t help wondering: is it fair to the animals?”

Close-up encounters with wildlife may be ‘phenomenal’ short-term, for those who want to post a viral clip to social media perhaps, but when the animals and landscapes people are paying to see are adversely affected by sheer visitor numbers, it’s bad for everyone long-term.

A 2017 report by McKinsey identified five key effects of overtourism. Local residents become alienated. Tourist experiences degrade. Infrastructure gets overwhelmed and nature damaged, while culture and heritage are threatened.

Brian Heath, CEO of the Mara Conservancy, says these effects are already being seen: a shocking 75% fewer wildebeest are staying in the Mara, and for less time, during migration season. An Oxford University researcher has found competition with humans for space is threatening cheetah populations. Meanwhile non-profit Serengeti Watch has recorded changes in impala behaviours and reduced reproductive rates due to ‘significant physiological stress in relation to roads and traffic.’ As if that wasn’t bad enough, vehicles are even running over and killing animals in some instances.

An audit found 49 tourism facilities now in the Mara reserve, and 153 camps on the outskirts, many of them unlicensed and using unaccredited guides who are under pressure from tourists to get up close and personal with the animals. In response, the Kenyan government has adopted a new tourism plan presented by the Mara Conservancy and other stakeholders to introduce new regulations.

The issue however is likely to continue to hit the headlines in the coming years as three factors combine: tourists who missed out during the pandemic are putting dream travel plans into action; the Chinese and Indian travel markets are expanding; and intra-African tourism is growing in line with the continent’s middle classes, with the population projected to double over the next 30 years.

As ever, the truth is complicated. Tourist numbers are variable across the African continent, often concentrated in certain seasons and on particular locations, such as Cape Town’s Table Mountain attractions (already beating pre-pandemic tourist numbers last year according to figures from the Western Cape Government) or the Masai Mara at river crossing time. Even within Kenya, visitor density is ten times higher at Masai Mara than some other parks and 17 times more than the Tanzanian Serengeti.

McKinsey’s report advocated tactics to smooth out visitor numbers over the year and across smaller resorts and attractions. Chris Roche, co-founder and marketing director of Wild Expeditions Africa, told Travel Weekly that high tourist density in a few key places leaves other remarkable ecosystems, like the rainforests of Gabon and the Republic of Congo, out of the equation when it comes to conservation value. Efforts to even out visitor numbers should benefit both crowded and under-appreciated destinations.

But action to balance the tourist bounty can have unintended consequences and must be carefully managed with the engagement of local stakeholders. The World Bank’s 2015 plan for the relatively under-exploited Tanzanian Serengeti was to increase its visitor numbers eight-fold in a decade, despite acknowledging the additional strain this would place on the popular Northern Circuit.

Tickets and limits on visitor time in certain areas is one solution Susan Ongalo, CEO of Kenya’s Tourism Federation, has said the country is looking at, but setting a pricing strategy to limit numbers could penalise and disadvantage domestic tourists. 

While governments, non-profits, conservationists, and tourism professionals grapple with the issue, consumers increasingly expect sustainability and environmental credentials from their providers. Will there always be people who pressure their tour guide for a close-up of stressed-out big cat, or is it possible word-of-mouth and eco-consciousness will begin to moderate both visitor numbers and expectations?

L’article African safaris so overcrowded that animals are being run over est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

1. Soap from coffee

Congolese women are making soap from coffee, an extra activity that is helping them to add more income to their small revenues. Used to work long hours in the fields near the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and coming back almost empty-handed, the 43-year-old Nsimire M’Buhendwa saw an opportunity in making soap from coffee.

I used to be a woman that left home in the morning and came back in the evening with almost nothing, not knowing how my children would study.

Nsimire M’Buhendwa quoted by Reuters

The mother of four’s life got a bit easier after she joined a women’s cooperative — Heshima Coffee — producing coffee and coffee-infused soap bars which are sold in five Congo provinces, Burundi and Rwanda.

If you look at the coffee sector, there are not many women. Women only work in the fields, but the commercial process is still very much a male-dominated field.

Solange Kwidja Kahiriri, Heshima Coffee’s founder

2. Heshima Coffee

Created in 2018, Heshima Coffee helped create a source of income to around 1,500 women and young people in rural areas of east Congo. The cooperative hands out free Arabica coffee seedlings for its members to grow the coffee. Once they return to the cooperative with the final product, Heshima Coffee negotiates directly with buyers, earning the growers a better price.

Today, they produce around 5,000 soap bars a week from coffee beans. The coffee soap is turned into large brown blocks which are cut using hot temperatures into neat rectangles and wrapped by hand, despite the frequent outages in the region.

The main challenge, Kahiriri said, was transporting beans from remote areas with poor road access. “If we had power then it would be easier for us to modernize, which would enable us to work with machines,” she said.

“Members have the guarantee of selling their coffee at a good price,” said Kahiriri in the city of Bukavu, where the cooperative is based.

Despite the limitations that Heshima Coffee’s growers face on their daily lives, they can now send their children to school while guaranteeing they don’t go hungry. The extra money they earn helps women pay for food and household costs in a country where 70% live below the poverty line.

L’article Making soap from coffee is helping Congolese women make an income est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

“I believe that we are transitioning from the pandemic phase and we will now need to manage the presence of this virus in the long term,” told Dr. Moeti a media briefing last Thursday.

Moeti said that Africa is now moving into a sort of endemic living with COVID-19, and that the expected increase of the vaccination rate will help to speed up the transition to this new phase. She added that over the two years, Africa has become faster and better at facing new surges in COVID-19 infections. And these improvements – she added – were possible despite the difficulties in accessing the vaccinations. 

Against the odds, including huge inequities in access to vaccinations, we’ve weathered the Covid-19 storm with resilience and determination.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti 

However, Moeti’s declarations are in contrast with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who believes the COVID-19 pandemic is not finished. He warned countries that new variants are likely to spread again, nullifying the progress made until now. Tedros added that populations in Africa are among the most at-risk. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, around 40 million people have been pushed into extreme poverty in the African continent, estimated the World Bank. Every month of delay in lifting Covid-19 restrictions costs Africa an estimated $13.8bn in lost GDP.

According to Moeti, only 11% of Africa’s adult population has been vaccinated, despite Africa receiving more than 670 million vaccine shots. To reach the same results achieved in other continents, Africa needs to significantly accelerate vaccine uptake.

A steady supply of doses is reaching our shores, so the focus needs to be on translating those into actual shots in people’s arms.

Dr. Matshidiso Moeti 

In the next phase of managing and living with COVID-19, the ability of countries to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 and keep cases low will be of paramount importance. Hence, Africa needs to support the local manufacturing of vaccines, medicines and diagnostic tools, said Moeti.

John Nkengasong, director of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, declared that now there are around 10 African countries actively working on a vaccine or planning to do so, with South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda, Algeria and Morocco as leading nations. However, he also added that 2022 vaccine needs will not be met. 

Despite the low vaccination rate, WHO’s data show that Africa is among the least-affected continents by the pandemic. Some experts attribute that to Africa’s younger population and the tendency to spend more time outdoors.

L’article Africa moving toward control of COVID-19, says WHO est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

1. Masai Mara Nature Reserve, Kenya

Masai Mara Nature Reserve in Kenya is probably the number 1 safari destination in Africa, it’s home to over 570 species of birds and 95 species of mammals. This place is the best place to see the Big Five (lion, cape buffalo, leopard, rhinoceros, and elephant). This is one of the key popular tourism points in Kenya, it is located in South-western Kenya along the Great Rift Valley area in Norok county, Kenya, adjacent to the Serengeti national park of Tanzania. The total area under conservation in the Greater Maasai Mara ecosystem amounts to almost 1510 km2.

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2. Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

The Serengeti National Park in Tanzania is a famous and well-known park for its annual migration of over 1.5 million white-bearded (or brindled) wildebeest and 250000 zebra, as well as for its numerous Nile crocodiles and honey badgers. This park has inspired many films and books. You can find safari accommodation in the Serengeti National Park if you prefer this to the adventure of doing the journey with a tent.

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3. Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania

Located around 180 km in the West of Arusha in the Crater Highlands area of Tanzania, Ngorongoro Conservation Area is named after Ngorongoro Crater. a large volcanic caldera within the area. This World Heritage Site houses over 25000 large animals, not including over 2 million that pass through during the migration.

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4. Kruger National Park, South Africa

The Kruger National Park is located in northeast South Africa near Mozambique. Its high density of wild animals includes the big 5: lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants, and cape buffalos. Other animals that live here include eagles and storks, as well as several other mammals and birds. Mountains, bush plains, and tropical forests are all part of the landscape.

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5. South Luangwa National Park, Zambia

South Luangwa National Park covers a vast area of 9059 square kilometers, the best part of this area being the Luangwa River, where you can see elephants, rhinos, crocodiles, and other animals gathering together to drink. The Savannah also houses the giraffes, birds, and leopards. You can take some amazing pictures of this place.

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6. Chobe National Park, Botswana

Chobe National Park is Botswana’s first national park, and also the most biologically diverse. Located in the north of the country, it is Botswana’s third-largest park, after Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Gemsbok National Park, and has one of the greatest concentrations of game in all of Africa. Chobe National Park is a true wildlife paradise and perhaps one of the best national parks in Southern Africa. Boat cruises and game drives along the river are very popular.

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7. Tarangire National Park, Tanzania

The name of this park originates from the Tarangire River that crosses the park, which is located in Tanzania’s Manyara Region. When you enter this park, you will see straight away the wild animals around you, including elephants, birds, giraffes, leopards, buffalos and more. The Tarangire Ecosystem is defined by the long-distance migration of wildebeest and zebras.

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8. Etosha National Park, Namibia

Etosha National Park is home to hundreds of species of mammals, birds, and reptiles, including several threatened and endangered species like the black rhinoceros. Located in Northwest Namibia this park is also known for having nice places to camp and take good photographs, as well as offering a self-guided safari.

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9. Addo Elephant National Park, South Africa

Addo Elephant National Park is a diverse wildlife conservation park situated close to Port Elizabeth in South Africa and is one of the country’s 20 national parks. It currently ranks third in size after Kruger National Park and the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Established in 1931 to save 11 Elephants on the brink of extinction, the park currently houses more than 600 elephants and a large number of other mammals. Bird Island is home to the world’s largest breeding colony of gannets – about 120000 birds – and also hosts the second largest breeding colony of African penguins.

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10. Amboseli National Park, Kenya

Amboseli National Park is located in Loitoktok District, Rift Valley Province of Kenya. The park is famous for being the best place in Africa to get close to free-ranging elephants, among other wildlife species. Other attractions of the park include opportunities to meet Maasai and visit a Maasai village. From this park, you can also see the highest free-standing mountain in the world, Mount Kilimanjaro.

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L’article 10 amazing safaris in Africa est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Do you know that this song is still played on the radio until today? This is one of her signature songs because the album was sold in over 33 countries and it became a big hit in Europe, Asia, and even America.

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Uma publicação partilhada por Karim Bouchetata (@karim_bouchetata)

Is it really impossible to have snow in the Sahara Desert?

Today, 24 years after that song was released, snow has fallen in the Sahara for real. Despite the fact that the Sahara Desert is one of the hottest places on earth. An area of about 9 200 000 square kilometers was turned totally white.

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This is not the first time Sahara has received snow, it’s happened 4 times so far. The first one was recorded back in 1979, the second in December 2016, the third in 2018, and the latest one in January 2021.

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This happened because the temperature suddenly dropped to -3 degrees celsius, ideal for snowfall. A lot of people left their homes to experience the snow, for many of them it was their first time seeing snow so they took lots of photographs and posted them on social media.

Heavy snowfall was also recorded across the region, in Algeria, Lebanon, Iran, and even in Syria.

L’article How often does it snow in the Sahara Desert? est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

UNICEF has years of experience organizing the delivery of vaccines for routine immunizations and disease outbreaks such as the Ebola virus.

“West and Central Africa is one of the most complex environments you will find,” says Jean-Cedric Meeus, UNICEF’s Chief of Supply for the region. “We are dealing with the challenge of delivering Covid-19 vaccines to major cities, but also to extremely remote villages. We are preparing for all scenarios.”

1. Transporting vaccines

Bringing the vaccines from manufacturers to countries is the most difficult task. Not only does it require the airlines to have enough space, but the airlines also have to make sure that the vaccines are kept stable and stored in cold temperature from the moment it leaves the manufacturer until they arrive in the specific country and are ready for use.

The facility needed for the storage is already taken care of and it is known as the ‘cold chain’  which is the critical part of UNICEF’s current support to governments before COVID-19 vaccines arrive.

Alibaba Group’s logistics arm Cainiao Network has teamed up with Ethiopian Airlines to launch a cold chain air freight for transporting temperature-controlled medicines from China to Africa, laying the foundation to respond to the need for global distribution of Covid-19 vaccines pic.twitter.com/3pmYCtH9yp

— AliResearch (@AliResearch1) December 11, 2020

2. Solar powered vaccine storage

Since 2018, UNICEF has been working alongside governments. With support from Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, they have begun to buy and install solar-powered refrigerators to store vaccines. This idea is a game-changer for regional and district health workers who often struggle to carry out routine immunizations in places with unreliable electricity and cold storage facilities.

These fridges are suitable to store vaccines and require minimum temperature of 2-8°.

How solar tech could help distribute Covid-19 vaccines in Africa pic.twitter.com/R1vYZSPuhF

— SUNTEX LLC (@SUNTEXLLC) January 15, 2021

3. Lessons learned during the pandemic

Firstly, making sure that the cold storage facilities are in place from the manufacturer to where they will be delivered. Secondly, ensuring that the airlines have dedicated enough space to transport them across the globe. UNICEF is already working with global airlines and freights to plan the delivery. 

The spread of the virus continued to grow since 2020, putting pressure on governments to save their people. UNICEF’s Regional Office for West and Central Africa, along with their partners, began to collect data for the required number of vaccines needed for routine immunizations in the region.

Lastly, the concern still remains after countries introduced travel restrictions and commercial airlines had to ground their planes. If so, the entire region could be left short of vaccine doses for measles and polio leaving millions of children at risk. 

1/2 the world’s #vaccines go to sub-Saharan Africa, but high temperatures can make transporting these drugs tricky https://t.co/YDhgHhqN4a pic.twitter.com/nfmLk2rOPc

— Pfizer Inc. (@pfizer) March 7, 2017

L’article Bringing Covid-19 vaccines to West and Central Africa est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

As the United Nations specialized agency for tourism, UNWTO has been actively guiding the sector’s recovery and restart from this unprecedented crisis. To reflect the new challenges, it has worked directly with its African Member States, including Namibia, to adapt the 2030 Agenda for Africa: Tourism for Inclusive Growth, the landmark roadmap for the responsible growth of tourism across the continent. This official visit offered a first chance to follow up on virtual meetings and advance the preparations for the restart of a sector upon which millions of African livelihoods depend.

Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili met with His Excellency Dr. Hage G. Geingob, President of the Republic of Namibia for talks on realizing the potential of tourism to drive sustainable development, including for youth, women and rural communities. In addition, the Secretary-General commended the head of state for his leadership, particularly with regards to the international tourism revival initiative which includes the key health and safety protocols drawn up by UNWTO.

Alongside this, a meeting with Vice President H.E. Nangolo Mbumba allowed the UNWTO leadership further opportunity to express support for African Member States as they use tourism to recover and grow. Additionally, the UNWTO delegation met with Honourable Pohamba Shifeta, MP, Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to identify ways of growing the country’s tourism sector, including a greater focus on gastronomy tourism, rural and community-based tourism.

A strong commitment to Africa

“UNWTO is committed to working closely with our African Member States to realize the potential of tourism to help societies recover from the effects of the pandemic and enjoy long-term sustainable growth,” Secretary-General Pololikashvili said. “The UNWTO Agenda for Africa maps our collective way forward, and I pleased to see first-hand the commitment shown by the Government of Namibia to support tourism at this vital time and embrace the sector as a driver of positive change for all.”

Highlighting UNWTO’s determination to lead by example, show travel is safe and be active on the ground when conditions are right, the delegation visited several of Namibia’s leading tourist sites. These included the Namib Sand Sea, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that is ready to welcome tourists again, and also historical Swakopmund and the up-and-coming Walvis Bay tourist destination. Secretary-General Pololikashvili met with Honourable Neville Andre, Governor of the Erongo Region of Namibia, to offer UNWTO’s strongest support for local tourism, including businesses.

Additionally, the Namibia Tourism Expo provided an opportunity for UNWTO to engage with public and private sector leaders from across the region and sent a clear message to the world that Namibia, “The Land of the Brave” is open and ready to welcome tourists again.

L’article UNWTO Committed to Africa est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.