World Travel Market Africa 2019 wrapped up on Friday with new connections and a sense of excitement about where African travel and tourism is headed in the future.
The final day of WTM Africa 2019 focused on digital trends and technology in tourism
The Travel Forward with E-Tourism Africa Seminar was facilitated by E-Tourism Frontiers Digital business leader Mavin Waganda.
Launched in London in November 2018, Travel Forward focusses on future-proofing travel businesses in the digital age, helping ensure relevance and improving revenue-generating opportunities.
During Waganda’s opening presentation, he discussed ways to cut through digital messaging clutter, citing the example of consumers’ increasing role in influencing the quality of content they consume and an inclination towards working with micro-influencers, because of the way they attract genuine engagement.
Deputy Director General: Economic Operations, Western Cape Government, Rashid Toefy, moderated a panel discussion at the inaugural African Tourism Investment Summit on public-private partnerships in tourism infrastructure development, featuring AfriCatalysts CEO Dumi Jere; Chairman & Founder of Mantis Group, Adrian Gardner; National Basketball Association Africa Vice-President & MD Amadou Fall and SANParks CEO Fundisile Mketeni.
Gardner stressed the importance of including local communities in the public-private partnership space, to help upskill them and boost micro-economies. “If we don’t involve communities going forward, the future of the wildlife space in Africa is in trouble,” he said.