After three (3) consecutive years in Botswana, the 7th Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) & Awards (www.tourismleadershipforum.africa) held at The Grand Palm Hotel Casino Convention Resort in Gaborone, Botswana, from the 3 rd to the 6 th of September 2024 concluded with resounding success.
Themed “Charting a new path forward for Intra-Africa travel, tourism & investments,” ATLF 2024 was officially opened by the Vice President of the Republic of Botswana, His Honor Mr SlumberTsogwane, UN Tourism Secretary General – Zurab Pololikashvili, the Minister of Environment and Tourism, Botswana, Hon. Nnaniki Wilhemina Tebogo Makwinja and the AfCFTA secretariat and was hosted by Botswana Tourism Organisation in collaboration with UN Tourism, AfCFTA BDO and Africa Tourism Partners.
In his statement during the official opening of the ATLF 2024, the Vice President of the Republic of Botswana, His Honor Mr. Slumber Tsogwane acknowledged ATLF’s significant role as a vehicle in boosting economic growth across the African continent. “Africa Tourism Leadership Forum is a Pan-African dialogue platform that unites key stakeholders from Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality and aviation sectors to network, share insights and devise strategies for growing intra-Africa travel and tourism while enhancing the brand equity of destination Africa”.
The ATLF hosts senior pan-African government dignitaries including Heads of States, Ministers, senior African government tourism officials, policymakers, Directors of Tourism, Development Agencies, Principal and Permanent Secretaries CEO’s and executives of travel, tourism, aviation, youth, startups, women in tourism, travel and hospitality companies. ATLF 2024 was preceded by Intra – Africa Travel and Tourism Business-to-Business Sessions, Exhibition, Destination Showcase and Entrepreneurial MICE Masterclass. The Forum was attended by over 800 physical and over 2000 virtual delegates cumulatively over the four (4) days from over 95 countries.
ATLF 2024 celebrated the Africa Tourism Leadership Awards in nine (9) categories, recognizing
the progressive contributions of individuals and organizations to the African tourism industry. Th
winners were selected based on their exceptional achievements in sustainability, innovation,
entrepreneurship, and community engagement. Mr. Roger Foster, CEO and MD of Airlink, South
Africa won the Destination Africa – Lifetime Award while Ms. Keitumetse Setlang, CEO,
Botswana Tourism Organisation and Ms. Elcia Grandcourt, Director, Africa Department, UN
Tourism received special recognition awards for their immense contribution to the growth of
tourism in Africa.
Additionally, winners of the Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Challenge were announced at the
ATLF. Joseph Owiredu from Ghana emerged the winner while Rosalia Haufiku Laudika from
Namibia and Ajena Jafar took the 1 st and 2 nd runner up positions respectively. The Africa Youth in
Tourism Innovation Challenge aims to empower young people to develop their projects from
ideation to the implementation of bankable solutions in the tourism and travel tech sectors.
For more information contact Rejoice Chishamba at [email protected]
Tel:+27 11 318 1741 / +27 81 303 7030.
About Africa Tourism Partners
African Tourism Partners (ATP) – www.africatourismpartners.com is a UN Tourism affiliated award-winning Pan-African tourism development and strategic destination marketing advisory firm. The firm specializes in tourism and MICE strategy formulation, investment facilitation and promotion, research, master planning and destination market development and capacity building across Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation and golf sub-industries. Our clients and partners include but are not limited to UN Tourism, World Bank, MastercardFoundation, NEPAD, AfCFTA, South African Tourism, Ghana Tourism Authority, Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Rwanda Development Board, Rwanda Convention Bureau, Rwanda Chamber of Commerce, SAACI, RwandAir, SAA, Ethiopia Airlines, Tanzania Tourism Board, Kenya Tourism Board, Uganda Tourism Board, Gauteng Tourism Authority, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Nigeria and more.
About UN Tourism
The United Nations Tourism is the United Nations agency responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. As the leading international organization in the field of tourism, UN Tourism promotes tourism as a driver of economic growth, inclusive development and environmental sustainability and offers leadership and support to the sector in advancing knowledge and tourism policies worldwide.
About AfCFTA
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is a free trade area encompassing most of Africa. It was established in 2018 by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement, which has 43 parties and another 11 signatories, making it the largest free-trade area by number of member states, after the World Trade Organization, and the largest in population and geographic size, spanning 1.3 billion people across the world’s second largest continent.
Contact details:
For more information about the awards partnerships, sponsorships, registration, and enquiries,
please contact Ms. Rejoice Chishamba at: rejoice@africatourismpartners,.com / +27 (0) 11 318 1741/ +27 (0) 81 303 7030.
