ATM 2022: Hon. Philda Nani Kereng, joins other Tourism Ministers on a Roundtable at ATM/ITIC Middle East Investment Summit Today
As the Arabian Travel Market kicks off today in Dubai, Hon. Philda Nani Kereng, Minister of Environment and Tourism, Botswana will join her other colleagues on a Ministerial Roundtable at ATM/ITIC joint Middle East Investment Summit where she hopes to have a robust discussion from African perspective on the topic: “What is Driving Investment in Travel and Tourism Sector ?”.
The roundtable starts from 13:15-14:15, hour local time, at ATM Global Stage, which is expected to be an all engaging discussion, looking at the caliber of resource personalities from different divides of the world, but hoping to arrive at an answer to the question raised as it concerns investment in tourism and travel.
Other panelists on the Ministerial Roundtable include; H.E Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs & Chairman of Emirates Tourism Council of the United Arab Emirates’ Ministers of Tourism; H.E Nayef Al Fayez, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Jordan; Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica.
The Middle East Investment Summit aims at creating a solid platform for the global tourism investment players to converge, network and ultimately deliberate on the best practices globally in investment tourism and finding a way to leverage on it.
Botswana has been upbeat about creating synergy amongst countries, promoting domestic, regional and continental tourism.The country recently held Khawa Dunes Challenge and Cultural Festival where the issue of value chain was given a top priority.
Hon. Kereng has been more emphatic on the urgent need for Africans to collectively market the continent, hammering on this thought at different tourism fora such as the ATB Unveiling in the Kingdom of Eswatini, the World Travel Market – Africa in Cape among others, where she passionately drove her message home for the betterment of the continent in terms of tourism investment and collaboration. And she might shed more light on those aspects and much more when she has the floor today in Dubai.
It is expected that later in the year, Botswana will be hosting an investment and cultural event in Gaborone , the country’s capital, Ceteris Paribus.
Meanwhile African Tourism Board under its Executive Chairman, Cuthbert Ncube has also been creating the expected connectivity among all destinations within Africa and beyond by following one of its mandates of bridging the gaps among memebr states which it recently did at the just concluded Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban, South Africa.
The organization collaborated recently with ITIC at the recently held ATM-Africa in Cape Town where they had some Ministers of Tourism including Hon. Kereng discussed tourism investment and the opportunities therein for Africa. ITIC has also shown greater determination to position itself as the tourism investment promoter of international repute under its able CEO, Ibrahim Ayoub.
