#ATA News Updates August / September

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2 0 1 9

DIRECTOR’S LETTER

As we enter the last third of 2019 and prepare for 2020, we are reflective and this has been a very impactful year-to-date for ATA. Travel and Tourism communities across the world have recognized that to attract long-term sustainable impactful promotion of Africa’s tourism sector…

CRISIS PLANING AND GOVERNMENT LIAISON HIGHLIGHTED AT AFRICAN RESILIENCE SUMMIT

The need for effective crisis planning and better liaison between governments, businesses and local communities were highlighted at the African Resilience Summit.

TUNISIA ATTRACTS A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRAVELLER

One of Arab world’s most tolerant countries boasts beautiful beaches, pre-Roman ruins, and hassle-free souks.
Chic new hotels and renovated riads in the heart of the medinas are luring more affluent visitors.

GORILLA TOUR FARE NO OBSTACLE AS U.S. TOURISM TO RWANDA DOUBLES

Rwanda saw a 114% jump in tourists from the U.S. last year despite doubling gorilla-tracking permit prices to $1,500 each, the country’s top tourism official said.

?PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA TELLS JAPANESE INVESTORS SA ‘HARD AT WORK’ SIMPLIFYING VISA REGIME

Ramaphosa was addressing a South Africa-Japan business forum in Yokohama on Wednesday morning. The president is in Japan to participate in the seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

TASTEMAKERS RAISES $1M TO SELL AFRICA EXPERIENCES TO THE WORLD

New York-based startup Tastemakers has raised a $1 million seed-round — led by Precursor Ventures — for its business that connects Africa adventures to global consumers.

GHANA DRAWS AFRICAN-AMERICAN TOURISM WITH ‘YEAR OF RETURN’

The West African nation is banking on the commemorations to give a major boost to the number of tourist arrivals as it encourages the descendants of slaves to "come home".

EGYPT TOURISM MINISTRY, MASTERCARD DISCUSS COOPERATION OVER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Egypt’s Minister of Tourism Rania Al-Mashat discussed with the President of Mastercard Middle East and Africa, Raghu Malhotra, ways to boost bilateral cooperation especially in the field of digital transformation for renovating tourism using electronic applications and platforms, data analysis, and digitization.

THE 7 AFRICAN COUNTRIES ON TIME MAGAZINE’S WORLD’S GREATEST PLACES LIST

TIME released its second annual list of the World’s Greatest Places, which highlights 100 destinations around the world that are breaking new ground, leading industry trends and offering visitors an extraordinary experience.

WHAT AND AFRICAN FREE-TRADE DEAL MEANS FOR THE WORLD
“We need to all acknowledge and celebrate the fact that as the rest of the world is raising barriers and building walls, Africa has decided to embrace change,” Albert Zeufack, the World Bank’s chief Africa economist, said at a plenary session at the forum.

FESTIVALS CAN TRANSFORM CITIES BY MAKING SPACE FRO OVERLOOKED PEOPLE AND CULTURES
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced Cairo, Dakar, Lagos, Luanda, Rabat and either Monastir or Tunis as the host cities where the inaugural BAL regular season will take place and Kigali as the host city for the first-ever BAL Final Four and BAL Final.

BASKETBALL AFRICA LEAGUE ANNOUNCES 7 HOST CITIES FOR INAUGURAL SEASON

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Rabat (Morocco) and either Monastir or Tunis (Tunisia) as the host cities where the inaugural BAL regular season will take place and Kigali (Rwanda) as the host city for the first-ever BAL Final Four and BAL Final.

?MANTSHO’S PALESA MOKUBUNG ON HER H&M COLLABORATION
The Mantsho x H&M vibrant collection celebrates the elegance and diversity of Africa with modern edgy designs created for the stylish, carefree woman.

MADE IN AFRICA: NEW TAGLINE FOR LUXURY
Luxury is slowly changing, from concept to market, as the industry broadens its scope and more global players set their eyes on our continent. Is this a new African dawn for the luxury industry?

THE CULINARY ENTREPRENEUR SETTING THE JOLLOF BATTLE IN WEST AFRICA
There have been various attempts to settle the Jollof food debate once and for all especially among some West African countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Cameroon and Liberia.

SOUTH AFRICA RESTAURANTS NAMED ON WORLD’S BEST RESTAURANTS 2019 LISTS
A restaurant in South Africa’s Khayelitsha township in Cape Town – 4Roomed The Restaurant – and Le Wine Chambre in JohanneSburg have been named as two of the world’s best restaurants of 2019.

?WITH AFRICAN MUSIC ON THE RISE, AFRO-THEMED DANCE PARTIES GET TO WIN, TOO
Over the last two to three years, there has been an extreme increase in demand for various genres of African music in places like Washington, D.C., New York, London, and Paris, cities that for years already maintained a high concentration of Afro-themed functions to serve their diverse populations.

BEYONCE CHAMPIONS AFRICAN MUSIC STARS WITH LION KING SOUNDTRACK
Some of Africa’s biggest music stars look set for success on a global scale having been handpicked by US singer Beyoncé to appear on her Lion King-inspired album.
The 14-track companion piece to the Disney film is filled with sounds akin to music currently rocking the continent. Beyoncé, who curated and produced the project, has called it a "love letter to Africa".

HOW KENYAN-BORN ARTIST WANGECHI MUTU IS TAKING OVER THE MET

Four six-and-a-half-to-seven-foot-tall bronze female figures—part African queens, part cyborgs—will take up position in the building’s exterior niches facing Fifth Avenue that have stood empty for more than 100 years. The sculptures are the work of the Kenyan-born artist Wangechi Mutu, and this homecoming, if you can call it that, carries all manner of poignant historical, political, and redemptive narratives along with it.