fbpx

World Travel Market Bringing The World To Africa

World Travel Market Bringing The World To Africa

Stakeholders from around the world in all categories of the travel industry will converge in Cape Town in late April and early May for the inaugural World Travel Market Africa.

Three shows are planned at the Cape Town International Convention Centre during Africa Travel Week:

International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM), April 28 – 30

Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings (IBTM): April 28 – 30

World Travel Market (WTM): May 2-3

Africa Travel Week exhibitors will travel to Cape Town from other parts of Africa, the U.S., Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Mediterranean. Products include accommodations, the airline industry, destination management companies, tourism boards and more.

Mark Walton, a consultant for Moguldom Emerging Markets, will be traveling there from the U.S.

Focused on women, multicultural and emerging markets, Moguldom Media Group has emerged as a global leader in the digital media realm with websites such as Bossip, StyleBlazer, AFKInsider and MadameNoir. Now Moguldom is about to launch AFKTravel, a one-stop Africa travel website focused on how to get there, where to stay, and how to book travel.

Holding the inaugural World Travel Market Africa event in Cape Town is proof that World Travel Market, which is held in London, has seen fit to spin off a focus on Africa on the African continent, Walton said in an interview with AFKInsider.

“It’s encouraging that there are more exhibits of this type coming to the continent,” Walton said. “It shows there is vibrancy and forward movement in the travel space when it comes to Africa. No development is going to happen on the continent until people travel there. Whatever I’m looking to do to accelerate development on the continent has to start with a trip.”

It should be exciting to get the viewpoints of people coming from the continent promoting Africa travel, Walton said. “The fact that there’s now increased attention on travel opportunities — both leisure and business — just means it’ll help to accelerate this development process. More people are thinking now, ‘How do I get to the continent?’ It all starts with travel. You’ve got to get on a plane.”

Africa Travel Week, with its attention on the variety of travel experiences Africa offers, will help the continent compete with parts of the world that have had a monopoly as travel destinations, Walton said.

“It’s putting Africa on more of an equal plane with other destinations around the world,” he said.

Moguldom has a history of exploring new markets and going places before everyone else does, according to Walton. The company launched AFKInsider in July 2013 — a website dealing with business news in Africa that Walton said is leading the conversation for helping the world understand the advantages of doing business on the continent.

This month, Moguldom is launching AFKTravel.

“AFKInsider is a one-stop shop for business news in Africa,” Walton said. “AFKTravel is a one-stop shop for travel to Africa and around Africa.”

Other companies that plan to be at Africa Travel Week include tour operators who offer encounters with wildlife in its natural environment, such as AfricaMarine Dynamics, Ocean Blue Adventures and Waterfront Adventures, eTurboNews reports.

Pan-African hotels and lodges will also be exhibiting at the show, including Lion Roars, the Flamboyant Beachfront House, Inverdoorn Game Reserve and Iziba Safari Lodge and The Three Cities Group.

Inverdoorn plans to use World Travel Market Africa as a platform for its mission of re-introducing free-roaming species to the Western Cape and raising awareness for cheetahs in a unique environment, Marketing Manager Claudia Hauter told eTurboNews.

The Three Cities Group chose World Travel Market Africa as a place do business because “it bolsters the emerging and growing Africa markets as well as showcasing Africa,” said spokeswoman Erica Gardner.

Thompsons Africa, awarded South African Tourism Best International Tour Operator for five consecutive years, will also be exhibiting at the inaugural event.

World Travel Market Africa will also give international brands a way to connect with growing African markets, according to eTurboNews. “We hope to explain the value that TripAdvisor can bring to hospitality businesses in Africa that want to connect with our 260-million unique users globally,” said Doros Theodorou, a TripAdvisor director.

World Travel/Rail Europe will be there. So will travel representatives from Dubai, Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Turkey, all hoping to promote the development and marketing of their destinations while interacting and networking in a fresh new environment.

This inaugural event will promote Africa to the world and the world to Africa, said Polly Magraw, World Travel Market Africa Exhibition Manager.