African Tourism Board says Shalom to its newly appointed Ambassador to Israel

The African Tourism Board appointed Dov Kalmann as its ambassador to Israel last week.

This announcement was made during the World Travel Market in London.

Kalmann (60, married +3), has recently stepped down as CEO of Noya Holidays. Since then he is focused on creating a marketing bridge between foreign tourism brands and entities that have an interest in the booming Israeli outbound market.  Kalmann is operating these projects through “Pita Marketing”, a brand that belongs to Kalmanns’ company Noya Marketing & Tourism Ltd.

Kalmann reacted with excitement about the nomination as the “Ambassador” of Africa in Israel: “This nomination is not merely an expression of appreciation but actually obliges us to create a change of the awareness of Africa on the Israeli market. Israel is only a few flying hours from one of the most exciting travel destinations that are so appealing to the curiosity of the Israelis but are still so unknown. The many new airlines operating direct flights to Africa enable combining a safari with a pampering beach vacation in the Indian Ocean; a trip including fabulous soft-adventure experiences for families and couples in South Africa with one-to-one encounters with gorillas in Rwanda or Uganda; visiting the most amazing waterfalls in Tanzania; exploring the Jewish roots in Ethiopia and joining colourful musical and cultural experiences. Kalmann added: “There is another aspect that makes Africa so unique which I define as “inspirational tourism”. Nothing compares to joining a colorful Sunday morning praying in a local church, a tribal market, or a home-stay lunch with a local family in a township. These are life-changing experiences that do not compare to visiting monuments or standing in line with masses in an attraction park. These are emotions that no-one forgets. And that in my view is the Unique Selling Point of Africa.”

Pita started the Africa promotion in March with a first-ever conference to be attended by tens of leading African tourism players and their Israeli counterparts. “Our partner in South Africa published this event and within 24 hours, tens of leaders of African tourism brands had already signed up. We are planning a mass African festival on the streets and squares of Tel Aviv. We will organise trips by bloggers and other opinion-makers. We will invite all African ambassadors to a think-tank event. We will create a Hebrew facebook on Africa and much more. The nomination has created even more positive energy and passion in order to do what we have done for Thailand – make Africa into the top travel destination of the Israelis.

African Tourism Board Chief Marketing Officer Juergen Steinmetz said: “We are privileged to have Dov on our team. He is well motivated and qualified to encourage travelers to look at opportunities throughout the African continent when exploring a new series of holiday destinations for the Israeli market. I love his out of the box approach and we welcome him to our team with a Shalom.”

The African Tourism Board is an NGO based in Pretoria, South Africa with a philosophy to have tourism as a catalyst for unity, peace, growth, prosperity, job creation for the people of Africa -with a vision where Africa becomes one tourist destination of choice in the world.

More information on the African Tourism Board: www.africantourismboard.com

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