Committees have been created to ensure a hitch-free conclave in Buea from October 16-20.
Preparations are hotting up in Cameroon ahead of the 38th congress of Africa Travel Association (ATA) billed for Buea from October 16-20, 2013. Stakeholders in the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure are working tooth and nail to render the event hitch-free so that at term, the rest of Africa and the world would have better understood the tourism potentials of Cameroon and possibly created networks that could boost the sector.
A preparatory meeting held at the Ministry of Tourism and Leisure on Monday October 7 and the various committees created are already fine-tuning strategies on how to hit the target.
Information on ATA’s website shows that the World-classed Buea congress provides a networking, learning and agenda-shaping platform for 300-500 travel professionals from around the world. It will address timely industry topics and offer professionals development opportunities. There will equally be roundtables for tourism ministers, an African Bazaar for buyers and sellers, networking events, host country day(s), and pre- and post- country tours.
According to a tentative timetable, the conference will serve as an opportunity to sell Cameroon’s tourism potentials, hold discussions on new markets as well as carry out media trips in the Littoral and South West Regions for the first and Littoral and Centre Regions for the second. Besides selling Cameroon’s tourism destination to the rest of the world with the view of improving the number of tourists who visited Cameroon from 817,000 in 2012, the Buea ATA confab will also be an opportunity to seek ways of attaining the objectives of the 1975 association in promoting travel, tourism and transport to and within Africa, as well as in strengthening intra-Africa partnerships. ATA advocates Africa as a leading global travel destination, raises awareness of Destination Africa's diverse travel products, promotes positive news on Destination Africa, develops and promotes travel programmes to and across Africa and assists country and private sector members with marketing and promotions.
It also serves as a liaison on tourism matters in Africa between member countries, presents opportunities for members to market and showcase their products and services, offers members continual education, training and learning opportunities, helps members increase business through exposure, networking and referrals, organises events where tourism stakeholders meet to discuss issues of common interest and concern as well as conducts research with partner organisations on tourism matters in Africa.
ATA partners with the African Union Commission to promote the sustainable development of tourism to and across Africa. Its annual events in Africa and the United States like the one in Buea, bring together industry and government leaders to shape Africa’s tourism agenda.
