“Africa has a big market of 1.2 billion people which we must exploit to our advantage by increasing intra-trade and intra-travel among us,” – said President Yoweri Museveni in POATE 2020.

The 5th edition of the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE) commenced on 4th Feb 2020 for 3 days in Speke Resort (Munyonyo, Kampala) with the unique theme – “Promoting Intra-Africa Travel”. The theme focused on raising awareness about the untapped potential presented by emerging African travel markets.

POATE2020

The opening ceremony of the exhibition was addressed by Rt. Hon. Gen (Rtd.) Moses Ali the First Deputy Prime Minister and Deputy Leader of Government Business in Parliament, on behalf of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni. Along with Hon. Moses Ali, Hon. Tom Butime – Minister of Tourism, Wildlife & Antiquities; Hon. Godfrey Kiwanda – The Minister of State for Tourism Wildlife & Antiquities, Alain St. Ange – President of African Tourism Board; Ms. Pearl Hoareau – President Uganda Tourism Association; Hon. Daudi Migereko – UTB Chairman; Mrs. Lilly Ajarova – the CEO of Uganda Tourism Board; members of Parliament, and officials from Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities were present.

Uganda’s First Deputy Prime Minister: Hon. Moses Ali

In a speech read by Rt. Hon. Moses Ali, President Yoweri Museveni thanked Uganda Tourism Board for organizing the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo, saying that it would go a long way in “expanding business opportunities in the tourism sector in Uganda and the entire East African region.” He also added – “Since the Ugandan government had achieved commendable progress in addressing some of the strategic bottlenecks which hindered Uganda’s prosperity, it was time to focus on intra-African business.”.

Uganda Tourism Board CEO, Lilly Ajarova

The CEO of the Uganda Tourism Board – Mrs. Lilly Ajarova, in her opening remarks, revealed that Tourism in Uganda contributes nearly 8% to GDP, employs over 667,000 Ugandans; which is over 6.7% of Uganda’s total employment. Additionally, the sector also contributes USD1.6b in foreign exchange earnings.

“It is now easier to get into Uganda by air from virtually anywhere around the world with 32,735 flights in and out of Uganda in FY18/19. With Uganda Airlines, there will be faster and more convenient direct routes especially from Africa.” – said Mrs. Lilly by bringing into attention the ease of accessibility.

In a speech, Board Chairman of UTB, Daudi Migereko said POATE is an opportunity to interact and bring in more business for travel industry in Uganda. He also mentioned about the positive growth trajectory of Ugandan tourism industry where visitor numbers (arrivals) have grown by 19% in last five years and the number of leisure visitors has grown twice by 38%. Mr. Daudi also welcomed the investment opportunities in the hospitality sector and promised positive returns.

MOU signed between Uganda Airlines and Uganda Tourism Board.

During the opening ceremony – Mr. Ikechi Uko presented Mrs. Lilly with the “Top 100 Tourism Personalities award”. In addition, the MOU was signed between Uganda’s National Carrier – Uganda Airlines and Uganda Tourism Board.

POATE 2020 made a strong case for investment in the Uganda tourism sector by revealing following statistics:

• Forex earnings from the sector have grown by 22% over the last 5 years from USD1.31 billion to USD1.6 billion an average growth of 4% per year;
• The sector in 2018, contributed USHS8.3 trillion worth of GDP – equivalent of 7.7% of Uganda’s GDP;
• The sector created 670,000 jobs in 2018 (6.7% of total employment) – 90% of these jobs are in the hospitality sector which employs 58% females and 77% youths (18-30 years);
• The 2019 World Economic Forum, Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index ranked Uganda as the No.1 most price competitive destination in the East African region and the 39th out of 140 countries in the world.

For more information on POATE, please visit: https://poate.co.ug/
For more information on UTB, please visit: https://www.visituganda.com/

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The African continent has been home to a growing travel market, and the major disruptions in the region have not gone unnoticed. While a concentrated effort has been on promoting conventional travel and tourism, business trips and MICE events are stealing the stage.

The African economy is on a rise as far the tourism and travel industry goes, and its conference venues are also flourishing, entering a new age of innovation, and representing a fresh image of the continent to travellers.

One such upcoming venue includes The Cape Town International Convention Centre(CTICC), which serves as the host to some of the city’s biggest events, conferences and exhibitions. It is an easily locatable landmark, barely a half hour drive from the international airport, and greeting travellers who are making their way to the spectacular V&A Waterfront and the city centre.

CTICC runs as a partnership between the City of Cape Town, the Western Cape Government and Business Cape. The venue excels in presenting its innovative design and sharing of seminars that focus on idea origination and culture. Within its walls are contained quality 5-star accommodation facilities, attended to by knowledgeable and passionate staff. The large trade and show space can be divided into various banquet and conference venues with catering available.

The venue catered to 482 events in 2017 alone. Some notable occasions to have graced its floors include the Cape Town International Jazz Festival. CTICC has been previously awarded the Best Large Conference Venue by Business Traveller Africa, and is all set to host the World Ophthalmology Congress in 2020, with an expected attendance of more than 15,000 delegates.

With many options to fill up and refresh, including the the Marimba Restaurant and Cigar Bar, an African-themed restaurant with set menus or buffet options, the CTICC lives up to its name as the best exhibition space in Cape Town.

Learn more about the venue, here.

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Africa’s scenery, wildlife, beaches and wine have kept luring travellers to the continent for a long time now, acting as the key contributor to the tourism industry’s growth. However, business tourism is now also on the rise, with its new-found recognition as an important, untapped segment.

By targeting business travel, the number of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions, Africa is leaving no stone unturned to make sure that MICE events increase over the coming years. Recently, Africa Tourism Partners (ATP) and Grant Thornton announced that they will host the first ever Africa Masterclass in MICE in Johannesburg, from February 20-23, 2018. Themed ‘Growing destination tourist arrivals through business and events tourism leadership development’, it is a professional development programme that aims to enhance the skills of professionals and public officials in the African MICE sector.It will also focus on how tourist destinations in Africa can optimize the value of business and events tourism.

TravHQ spoke to Kwakye Donkor, chairman at ATP, about what he envisions for the MICE sector.
Business tourism has now become a key agenda in Africa. How did the transformation take place – from a leisure hotspot to a business travel hub?
Africa has always been a business tourism hub. There is, however, more hype and global awareness about business tourism now than ever. The primary reason being that both the Public and Private sector in Africa have committed to work in unison to position their tourist destinations on the continent as such, thereby increasing their investments in business tourism development. These are in the form of building more business hotels, conference centers, establishment of more convention and visitors bureau and more commitment in business tourism marketing.

How do you see this MICE masterclass helping the African tourism industry overall?
This is the first of its kind and Africa Tourism Partners and its lead Partner, Grant Thornton see it as a professional development programme for both experienced and inexperienced professionals in the industry. It also aims to sharpen skills in the industry and create a peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing opportunity. Ultimately, we wish to use this novel initiative to close the industry skills gap in order for destinations in Africa to grow their tourists arrivals through business tourism.

What are the key destinations in Africa that could potentially become/already are MICE leaders?
Almost all African destinations have the opportunity to become MICE destinations . This is because each destination is unique in its own way for meetings, incentive travel, conferences and conventions.

What are your main target markets globally?
We are inviting all African and Middle East Destinations officials /representatives, marketing directors, sales directors, CEOs of tourism authorities and CVBs, as well as all stakeholders in public and private sector to participate in the Masterclass. We also take this opportunity to invite all interested parties across the globe to attend and learn more about Africa’s MICE /business tourism sector.

The government has also taken up a number of initiatives to expand the MICE horizon in the country. Any particular initiative that you think worked the best so far?
Yes, this is true, African governments are doing their best to grow the industry as a key sector for African tourism economies and there are different approaches. Given that each destination is unique, destinations will adopt and implement initiatives that suit them best. This is a good approach as it gives way to diversity and uniqueness.

What are the challenges that you foresee in growing Africa as an important MICE destination?
The biggest challenge is the cost of air travel to most MICE destinations in Africa. This is, however, being resolved as a result of the emergence of low cost carriers.

How do you expect the segment to grow in the next 5 years?
I cannot put figures to this, however, we are very positive that this segment will continue to grow given the commitment by industry stakeholders to create more awareness about their offering, which are on par with the rest of world.

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As African continent has been a home to a growing travel market, the disruptions in the region have not gone unnoticed. The economy is on a rise as far the tourism and travel industry goes. The surprise came this year when the brisk growth was not from the wildlife, among which the biggest attractions are the “Big Five” of lion, buffalo, rhinos, leopard and elephant but from travel linked to the continent’s technology start-ups. They are flourishing across Africa which has entered into a new age of innovation, boosting economies and offering a fresh image to international tourists.

While a concentrated effort has been on promoting business trips and app development, these start-ups steal the stage. Take a close look.

Hotels.ng

This Nigerian start-up was founded in 2012 and it connects more than 14,000 hotels across 21 regions of Nigeria. It secured USD1.2 million in funding last year from Omidyar Network and EchoVC seeking to fuel expansion plans which would cover 90 per cent of Nigerian hotels in next two years.

AwesomeSouthAfrica

AwesomeSouthAfrica is a touring app designed for hospitality vendors to connect to the locals and the travelers. Its location based wireframe picks up things to do or simply indulge in sightseeing with its extensive database across the country. Ranging from a wide category of experiences that include, Eat, Sleep, Adventure, Beauty, Wine/Beer, Shops, Arts, Crafts, Entertainment, Nightlife, Conferencing, Weddings, Tours, Golf venues and more, AwesomeSouthAfrica tends to business to help them list their services and actively communicate with the traveler constantly and directly.

SleepOut

The Kenyan startup SleepOut helps travelers to secure bookings with individual hosts offering a place to stay, almost like the Airbnb model. Launched in 2011, the start-up secured USD200,000 in funding from an Amsterdam-based investor which now has a presence over 10,000 unique places to sleep in 27 African countries and 68 countries worldwide.

Gummie

South African activity planner makes a fine curated online place for adventure travelers in South Africa. They list handpicked tours around Cape Town and Johannesburg and aims to set itself apart by targeting the millennials- people between the age of 20-35. The start-up turns to expand by listing the tour-operators to allow them publishing their offers on the site.

Airshop

Ivory Coast’s Airshop caters to the shopaholic inside us. The site provides a platform that allows users to purchase goods and pick them up at a duty free shop while travelling.

Timbuktu

Timbuktu brings self curated safaris online with the expert advice from the ground in Africa. The site prides on encouraging travelers to create their own safaris in their own suited time, their own way by cutting out any additional cost that had to incur if they were presented by a handpicked itinerary from a tour operator.

Safari Yetu

Safari Yetu, a Tanzanian startup makes travel bookings by bus across East Africa easy. The company, such as the RedBus model, provides a mobile and online solution to booking and purchasing bus tickets, saving passengers time and money. After booking seats and making a payment, passengers receive their tickets on their phone or email.

Safe Motos

Billed as Africa’s answer to Uber, Safe Motos, a Rwanda based startup targets famous motorcycle taxis in the country such that the app is designed to prevent the rising no of road accidents encouraging safe driving and responsible drivers. Interested drivers have at least three years of experience and carry smartphones with SafeMotos app installed on their motorbike taxis.

Jumia Travels

Before June 2016, Jumia Travels was called Jovago, which prides itself on being Africa’s no 1 hotel booking website with around 25,000 hotels in Africa and 200,000 in the world.

Tastemakers Africa

The content driven mobile app acts as an interactive platform where travelers are guided to the point of inspiration of taking an African trip. By providing a hybrid booking experience the travelers are accompanied with information and advice during the planning process and throughout the time they are at their destination. The app launched in 2014, and covers Accra, Cape Town, Johannesburg, Lagos, and Nairobi.

Got more to contribute? Write to us at editor@travhq.com

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