UN Tourism has united its Member States to focus on promoting “Brand Africa” and exploring new opportunities for growth and diversification across the region.
Held within the framework of the Regional Commission for Africa, “Promoting Africa to Unlock Tourism Investments and the Sector’s Growth Potential”, brought together public and private sector leaders to identify new opportunities and find shared solutions to the most pressing challenges. The Forum formed part of UN Tourism’s wider emphasis on empowering its Members to advance a new, positive narrative for the sector across the continent.
Celebrating uniqueness of African tourism
Welcoming the high-level participants, UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed the importance of working closely with African Member States on promoting both the uniqueness and the diversity of tourism in the region. His sentiments were echoed by Executive Director Natalia Bayona, who also emphasized the urgent need to grow investments into the sector to fuel innovation and creativity, thereby putting African destinations more firmly on the global tourism map.
Alongside key UN Tourism experts, stakeholders included the CEO of Zambia Tourism Agency, as well as the heads of Africa Tourism Partners, and key figures from leading civil society actors and businesses from the region, including Meta. Discussions focused on strengthening Brand Africa, including through greater public-private collaboration. Delegates also shared their insights into revolutionizing the image of African in order to drive greater tourism competitiveness, while top media thinkers provided their insights into Think Tank discussions on “shifting the narrative” of African tourism.
Investments to advance Brand Africa
Reflecting the importance of investments for advancing Brand Africa, the event also saw the official launch of the latest in UN Tourism’s series of Investment Guidelines. The latest publication, focused on Zambia, again provides vital information for international investors, identifying key areas of growth and other opportunities within Zambia’s burgeoning tourism sector.
