LOOKING FORWARD BY LOOKING BACK
(Posted 02ndJune 2015)
When the Africa Travel Association returns in November to Nairobi, to stage the organization’s 40th World Congress, memories rushed back on the 10th such congress way back in 1985, the first I attended since arriving in Kenya many many years earlier.
Like this year was the venue back then the Kenyatta International Conference Centre where members of ATA based in North America and from across the continent of Africa assembled to conduct ‘business’.
Doing business 30 years ago of course was different. Kenya was, like in 2015, keen to showcase her attractions from the sunniest side. From the Indian Ocean beaches, that trip back in time when visiting the Lamu archipelago to the rich fishing grounds off Watamu and on to the shores of Mombasa to the famous safari parks, visitors had choices where to go and what to see. Of course, the tools of promotion 30 years ago were different from today. Pictures taken in the exhibition hall, where the Kenyan tourism industry staged a trade fair with the who is who having taken stalls and showing off their offerings, were of the kind which required a film to be dropped at either a chemist of a photo shop, not to be mistaken with what is today known as ‘Adobe Photoshop’ but rather one where films were developed in a dark room and then printed. One would collect them, if lucky, a day later, often two or three, and a pocket would contain the negatives and either the 24 or 36 pictures, depending on the type of film used.
True, the stalls, at least some of them, also featured ‘moving pictures’ trying to capture the attention of the conference delegates strolling through the trade show, but those moving pictures were originating from VHF tapes and using bulky TV’s – state of the art then, imagine.
There were no social media in those days, and the only social part of the print media back then were the society pages and of course the travel sections, which over the days of the congress were full of reports about the congress, impressions and interviews often written up by reporters in short hand and then typed out back in the paper’s offices before, after being sanctioned by the editors sent for setting and printing. Instead of looking at smart phones and tablets, as we do today to see where our posted pictures appear and how often they are re-tweeted and shared, in those days we shared the dailies, flicked through from front to back to see if our images had been caught and what caption the reporters had put to describe our various poses.
Andrew Young, former US Ambassador to the UN and at the time Mayor of Atlanta, was the highest profile visitor for the 1985 Congress and those who dared to ask were lucky to have their picture taken with them, and in some cases received prints the next day as a memoire.
If I remember right did Andrew give a key note speech and got a standing ovation from the audience which included the then Kenyan Minister of Tourism and Wildlife, Hon. Andrew Omanga, a fine gentleman by any standard.
In 1985 I was working for Serena Hotels as Group Sales and Marketing Manager, the titles ‘Director’ strictly reserved for members of the Board in those days, and, lo and behold, did we win the first prize as best exhibitor during the ATA 1985 Trade Show, a golden touch never lost. Our printed stand displays made of super enlarged pictures, African fabrics and flower arrangements, the video clips shown and most important back then, colourful high gloss brochures, produced for the purpose, no doubt swung the vote in our favour though I do credit the fabulous sales team I had at the time who engaged every visitor who came by the stand with a smile and product competence, a hallmark Serena still maintains to this day.
Those were happy days in Kenya, demand for safaris and beach holidays rocketing after the 1982/3 downturn and in particular the American market responding to the ATA Nairobi event with force by filling the lodges and hotels to the brim until the crash at the New York Stock Exchange put a damper on things again.
Kenya has faced ups and downs in the past and has over the decades shown a remarkable resilience to recover from downturns, and no doubt will the 40th Africa Travel Association Congress in November this year equally play a part to showcase Kenya once more from its sunniest sides.
The 2015 Congress will again bring together Africa’s friends from around the world, the ATA African member countries and many tourism stakeholders who will over the space of 6 days will brainstorm, interact and network. Notably will the ATA 2015 Congress provide a platform for the ATA Young Professionals Forum which took the Kampala stage a year ago by storm, set up ministerial round table discussions, B2B sessions and of course the quintessential African Bazaar without which no ATA event is ever complete.
For Congress details and to sign up for participation click on www.africatravelassociation.org or else visit www.africatravelassociation.org/ATA-Event.asp?id=3;6
See you in Nairobi from the 09th to the 14th of November, for many things but also to celebrate my own return to another Nairobi Congress, three decades after attending my first.
