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African aviation industry leaders unite in Kenya at Routes Africa

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The African aviation market will grow to over 356 million passengers by 2038, according to International Air Transport Association latest forecast. Over 24 million jobs on the African continent are already supported by the travel and tourism industry. Routes Africa will play a pivotal role in supporting growth in air services and stimulating economic development across the region.

Leaders from African aviation industry unite in Kenya is the longest standing and most established aviation forum dedicated to enhancing intra-Africa air connectivity. Routes Africa 2019 is hosted by Kenya Airports Authority (KAA), a State Corporation that is charged with the responsibility of providing and managing a coordinated system of airports in Kenya.

African Tourism Board is represented at the forum by its President Alain St.Ange  – the former Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine.

Speaking during a media briefing at the event, Alex Gitari, Ag. Managing Director & Chief Executive, KAA said: “Over the last two years, we have been implementing an ambitious strategy to deal with one of the key challenges also facing the aviation sector in the continent namely, expansion and improvement of capacity at our main airports. Routes Africa is of prime importance, not only to Kenya Airports Authority but to our nation and the region at large. The aviation industry plays a critical role in Kenya’s development agenda.”

Steven Small, brand director of Routes, said: “Over 5% of Kenya’s GDP is generated through tourism, which is both stimulated and supported by the aviation industry. Routes Africa 2019 comes at an exciting time for Kenya Airports Authority. I am delighted so many leading airlines are present to witness the considerable investment that has been undertaken, by the team, to facilitate this increasing market demand.”

Raphael Kuuchi, Vice President, Africa, IATA, added: “Routes Africa is critical to the development of air services on the continent and these forums have made a real impact on the region. Kenya is the top three aviation markets in Africa where growth is forecast to be the strongest over the next two decades but if the full potential of the industry in Africa is to be realised, airspace in the region needs to be liberalised.”

The remodelling and modernization of Kenyan airports is a key flagship project under Vision 2030, Kenya’s economic blueprint. By encouraging new route development, KAA hopes to grow both passenger and cargo traffic at the JKIA, Mombasa International Airport (MIA), Kisumu International Airport (KIA) and the Eldoret International Airport (EIA), all of which are currently undergoing upgrades and infrastructural works.

Routes Africa brings together 250 decision makers from airlines, airports, governments and tourism authorities to plan new flights and strengthen existing routes. The excitement in the African aviation market is reflected in the high level airline attendance at the event. Airline CEOs and senior network planners from the region’s leading airlines including Air Zimbabwe, Egyptair, Emirates and Uganda Airlines will look to hear new route opportunities.

The conference programme sees top-level speakers discussing the factors driving change, presenting challenges and offering opportunities for the African aviation market. Vuyani Jarana, Former CEO of South African Airways; Allan Kilavuka, Chief Executive & Managing Director of Jambojet; and Raphael Kuuchi, VP of Africa, IATA are amongst the industry influencers taking part in the conversations that will help set the commercial and political agenda for the aviation community for the coming year.

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African Tourism Board at University of Africa Women’s Forum

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Tourism is one of the driving forces of sustainable development. The African Tourism Board (ATB) was invited to contribute to an event hosted by the University of Africa (UNISA) Women’s Forum.

The event was chaired by Dr. Sheila Kumalo of UWF and a Professor at the University.

Unisa Women’s Forum has the objective to emancipate and push for women dialogue in the university.

It’s supposed to inform women within the academic framework in realizing the need to empower and offer an opportunity to play a pivotal role in the growth of the  African economy and re-addressing the inequalities.

African Tourism Board at University of Africa Women’s Forum

The University of South Africa (UNISA) is in the top 1000 on the global list of best universities. It is one of the eight South Africa Universities to make the Times Higher Education World Universities Ranking in 2018.

In his opening remarks the ATB Chairperson, Mr Cuthbert Ncube acknowledged Women’s massive contribution to the global economy, tourism, the underrated power that Africa has and what Africa can achieve if united as a continent.

“Being part of The Unisa Women’s Forum today is such an honor. Women are powerful and have a  tremendous impact on every aspect of our lives socially and economically. According to the World Economic Forum empowering women to participate equally in the global economy could add $28 trillion in GDP growth by 2025.

“Their participation in the economy would stimulate wider benefits. Societies with greater gender equality not only offer better socioeconomic opportunities for women but also tend to grow faster and more equitably. There are gains in poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, consumer choice, innovation and decision-making on a wider set of issues.  It is on this background that a strategic partnership will surface and benefit powerful women with a vision of bettering our societies and economy at large.”

For years, tourism has been one of the stabilizing pillars of the global community creating jobs, supporting the development and spreading of technology and ideas, boosting productivity, expanding consumer choice and enabling cross-border communications channels and supply chains. Real transformation and unity in Africa need the reversal of many stereotypes and tourism can be at the forefront of transforming knowledge and uniting Africa as a whole.

As Africa rises to its true potential, as it takes its rightful economic place among the nations, the door cannot be slammed shut in women’s faces. Women deserve their place in the African sun, and, as Ms Dlomo asserts: “Finding a place in the sun begins with finding the confidence to believe in it, the courage to insist on it and, crucially, the voice to claim it. It is time for the women of Africa to make a noise.” I hope more women will find their voice in the corporate world and assist  in pushing the agenda of united Africa, not only through Tourism but through any economic sphere possible.

More on the African Tourism Board go to www.africantourismboard.com

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Minister Bartlett proposes tourism crisis communication strategy for the Caribbean… Global Resilience Centre to formulate

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Jamaica’s Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre has been tasked with developing a tourism crisis communications strategy which will help Caribbean nations ‘build back better’ following a disaster.

Speaking at the opening ceremony of a Tourism Crisis Communications and Disaster Risk Management event yesterday at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, the Minister said, “In responding to the call to build tourism resilience in the Caribbean, I am very proud that the region’s first resilience centre was recently established at the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus Jamaica.

“The Centre is going to focus heavily on crisis communication and will develop an official Tourism Crisis Communication Strategy. We believe that we have established ourselves to provide part of the institutional framework and the physical capacity that the region needs to implement and to have actualised some of the outcomes which we seek to have from our efforts,” he added.

The facility, which is the first of its kind, will assist with preparedness, management and recovery from disruptions and/or crises that impact tourism and threaten sector-dependent economies and livelihoods.

It is focused on deliverables including the establishment of an academic journal on resilience and global disruptions, the drafting of a blueprint for resilience, the creation of a resilience barometer and establishment of an Academic Chair for resilience and innovation. This is in keeping with the Centre’s mandate to create, produce and generate toolkits, guidelines and policies to guide the recovery process following a disaster.

“Building resilience will require a system-approach based on strengthening collaborations at the national, regional and international levels among tourism policymakers, lawmakers, tourism enterprises, NGOs, tourism workers, education and training institutions and general populations to reinforce institutional capacity to anticipate, coordinate, monitor and evaluate actions and programmes to lower risk factors,” said the Minister.

While the Centre has been created to assist all tourism nations across the globe, the Minister shared that the Caribbean is particularly vulnerable because it is the most tourism dependent region in the world.

“The most recent economic data indicate that the livelihood of one in every four Caribbean residents is linked to tourism. While travel and tourism contributes to 15.2 % of the region’s GDP in general and over 25% of the GDP of more than half of the countries. In the case of the British Virgin Islands, tourism contributes to 98.5% of GDP.
These figures underscore the importance of developing strategies for mitigating potential hazards that can destabilize tourism services in the region and cause long-term setback to sustainable growth and development,” he said.

During his presentation, the Minister announced that the Centre’s physical space is about 90% completed but is globally linked.

“Next week we go to Kenya to launch at the Kenyatta University, the first satellite centre for the Global Tourism Resilience and Crisis Management Centre and then we will head to Kathmandu in Nepal on the first of January to launch the second one. There are also a number of others, which will be launched in 2020,” he said.

The two-day event is being hosted by the Ministry of Tourism in collaboration with the IDB’s Environment, Rural Development and Disaster Risk Management (RND) Division and their Caribbean Country Department.

Over 50 local and regional experts in the field of tourism crisis management and communications and disaster risk management have participated in the event, which is taking place under the theme “Reinforcing Crisis Communication as a Critical Element of Caribbean Tourism Resilience and Disaster Risk Management.”

The event also forms part of part of the IDB’s series of consultations with authorities known as Regional Public Dialogue.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Global Oversight of Travel Advisories Needed, says Bartlett

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The Minister of Tourism for Jamaica, Hon Edmund Bartlett is taking an important step in saying there is a need for global oversight of travel advisories issued for destinations. The Minister made the call at the World Travel Market (WTM), which is being staged in London November 4 to 2019.

Speaking on a WTM panel discussion on ‘Taking responsibility for Safety and Security’, Minister Bartlett said, “this call for global oversight is being made in the context of the significance of tourism as a main economic driver in an increasing number of countries and implications that these advisories can have on the economic viability and stability of countries who are heavily tourism-dependent.”

Travel warnings or advisories are issued by governments to enable travelers to make an informed decision about a particular travel destination and to help travelers prepare adequately for what may be encountered on their trip.

Minister Bartlett, who also made the call at the launch of the World Travel and Tourism Council Crisis Readiness Report in partnership with Global Rescue which was held today during WTM, said whilst Jamaica has not been severely impacted by travel advisories there are other countries who have been.

Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife, Hon Najib Balala, also agreed with the sentiment and highlighted the negative impact of old information regarding security and safety issues remaining for years on platforms such as websites, even after the event shave passed.

Globally, tourism represents 10 percent of global GDP and employs 1 in 10 workers of the world. Some small and highly dependent tourism countries have GDP dependence of up to 90 percent as is the case in of a number of Caribbean countries.

“Travel advisories weigh heavily on the decisions of tourists to visit destinations. Many times, these advisories do not have timely review and consequently continue to carry a perspective on the destination which may long have changed thus putting at risk the economic viability of those communities.

There should be a global body that offers some oversight in the area and would intervene on behalf of some of these countries to have adjusted advisories that reflect a more accurate picture as to what is happening,” Minister Bartlett said.

The WTM is a major promotional platform for the JTB. It will feature many Jamaican companies, creating the ideal opportunity to meet industry professionals and conduct business deals. Through its industry networks, the WTM also creates personal and business opportunities while also providing customers with quality contacts, content and communities.

During the WTM, Minister Bartlett will also use the opportunity to increase in outbound travels from the UK, Northern Europe, Russia, Scandinavia, and Nordic region to grow arrivals from these markets.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Jamaica welcomes 700,000 more visitors over 3 years: Earnings to reach US3.7 billion

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Jamaica Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett has indicated that Jamaica has welcomed an unprecedented seven hundred thousand (700,000) visitors over the last three years. The tourism minister also highlighted that the island is set to earn US3.7Billion by the end of the year, which represents an almost doubling of foreign exchange over the same period.

Speaking at the 15th-anniversary celebration of Sunset at the Palms Resort in Negril yesterday, Minister Bartlett said, “The growth in our arrivals and earnings is underpinned by strategic targets set in my 5x5x5 plan. In 2016, our target was to bring 5Million visitors and earn US5Billion by 2021, now we are already at 4.5Million visitors of the 5Million and US3.7Billion of that 5Billion in earnings.”

Current data from the Jamaica Tourist Board, an agency of the Ministry of Tourism, has forecasted growth in stopover arrivals for September to December of 7% or 807,796, which would end the calendar year 2019 with 2.68M arrivals or an 8.4% increase over 2018. The earnings from the full year of stopover arrivals is estimated at US$3.49Billion or a 12% increase over 2018.

Data also shows that overall, Jamaica’s winter season is trending strongly with the Canadian market up by 29,000 new seats; the United States showing double-digit growth and South America and the Caribbean doing well.

With stopover and cruise arrivals combined, the island is expected to welcome 4.303 million visitors by the end of the year.

“Based on these figures, tourism has become the leading contributor to the growth in GDP in Jamaica. We recognize also that with this growth, comes an even greater responsibility to ensure safety, security, and seamlessness in the destination and we remain committed to keeping our enviable record of visitor safety.” added Minister Bartlett.

The Minister also highlighted that the unprecedented growth in arrivals and earnings could not be done without the sector’s dedicated workers who remain the key ingredient in the continued success of the sector.

Sunset at the Palms Resort, which marked its 15ths anniversary, was the first in the world to receive certification for Environmentally Sustainable Tourism by the U.K.’s Green Globe. The resort has also won the prestigious Governor General’s Award for overall architectural design among many others. The management of the hotel, led by Mr. Ian Kerr, recognized several members of staff for their years of service to the hotel.

More tourism news about Jamaica.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944