From the desk of the CEO

The ATTA® event portfolio, run by our wholly owned subsidiary Experience Africa Events Ltd will grow globally, so our supplier members can shape and decide which global markets they wish to access. This will ensure that members can benefit from a combination of unrivalled digital and physical access to key source markets for African tourism. Experience Africa Events will deliver preferred and ‘Early Bird’ event access for our Tour Operator members at selected events in 2024 offering a new benefit for members. Many of our networking events will now be free to our members and, with a growing membership base, we encourage you to register early to avoid disappointment. Furthermore, these events have been extremely well attended over the last year and as a result we will be limiting the number of tickets available to non-members in the coming year.

In 2023, we recorded our largest ever number of exhibitors at Indaba and this is set to grow in 2024 building our position as the largest network, highlighting quality assured brands at Africa’s foremost industry event. We Are Africa followed Indaba with over 80 ATTA® members taking part in an exhilarating gathering of luxury operators. In June, our flagship event, Experience Africa took place in London with over 155 exhibitors joining us from across the continent to meet with over 300 buyers from all continents, and we paid a particular warm welcome to our strong delegation from China. Over 5,800 meetings were held over the three days as we welcomed new destinations including St Helena and Sierra Leone. ATTA® launched new events in Cape Town, Addis Ababa and Kigali. Our members have benefited from turn-key event solutions as we continued our partnership with On Show Solutions and their Africa Showcase roadshows.

We will shortly return to WTM London with the stand selling out in record time resulting in more space being secured. Finally, our popular webinar platforms continue to grow momentum and engage new audiences. Look out for new event and digital training platforms in 2024, free for agents to register and access.

The ATTA® digital platforms, web, email, and social media deliver up to the minute, relevant tourism news and content, distributed around the world.   Further strategic investment in people and technology throughout 2024 will ensure ATTA® delivers a member-driven digital strategy to showcase member’s brands to an engaged global industry.   We launched our new ATTA® website this year, recently nominated for the best transformational membership platform at the Association Excellence Awards 2023, spanning every single sector, beyond tourism.  The website will develop further, so that new and existing members can upload their content with ease.  Look out too, for news on how ATTA® will grow to showcase African tourism, launching digitally in global markets, to quality buyers and media, making international access easier.

There is a symbiotic relationship at ATTA® events, which ensures the right number of quality buyers and industry, are in front of quality suppliers.  The continent of Africa is inclusive space, and ATTA® will expand into key markets, grow African membership and fully realise the ambition of a pan-African tourism association.  Similarly, ATTA® will facilitate market access to the key source markets, the UK, across Europe, the US, South America, India, SE Asia, China, and Australia.   China for instance, is widely forecasted to be one of the fastest growing African tourism markets in 2024 and we will shortly announce how ATTA® will offer our members market access directly into China, to support your growth.

There are exciting new benefits planned for 2024.  We have retained key benefits from 2023 such as online profiles, access to advisors, preferential rates at MKTE, WTM London and Africa, ITB, Experience Africa, Pure, We Are Africa and more.  We continue to provide one complimentary webinar, one complimentary job post and the opportunity to submit your news, to buyers and media across the world.  We have created a new partnership with Weeva that offers ATTA® members, new to this digital sustainability platform, a 15% discount and have welcomed SATOA members into the ATTA® membership family. The Africa Hub will change (free from January 2024) so their team will be in touch with those ATTA® members that decided to join ensuring your subscription will continue.

We will be renewing our advisors and professional partners to support members and we will work with tourism boards to promote the recruitment of buyer and media, to attend fam trips and events in 2024.   ATTA® has kept the membership renewal below inflation at under 5% (£20; US$25 R475 KSh3,600) recognising that some members are still building back from the challenges since 2020.   To ensure that ATTA® members benefit from web responsive design in the future (that presents different online content to different audiences and how different users interact) we have streamlined membership into five categories for this year’s October renewal:

1.  Tour operator buyers & travel industry
2.  Product suppliers & representation
3.  Media & Influencers
4.  Charities & community projects
5.  Tourism boards and professional partners. 

New initiatives in 2024 will be introduced to support members through our new partnership with Global PR agency Finn Partners.  The global travel media already have a strong weekly digital engagement with our members’ news, and we will pioneer new strategies offering media the opportunity to join as members.  We will also be listening to media through Finn Partners, tuning-in, and offering ATTA® members the opportunity to join our press releases, to elevate their voice, at key events.

It’s clear that now is the time to accelerate the pathway to support sustainable tourism with immediate action.  The ATTA® Sustainability Charter has supported numerous brands across the continent since its launch.  In 2023, ATTA® began to pioneer a new sustainability pilot, “ATTA® for Action”, in South Africa’s Western Cape. This initiative will shortly open the membership door to selected and verified tourism community projects, for the global travel industry to connect, and shine a light on positive, sustainable tourism initiatives.  ATTA® will continue to be the voice of members, showcasing the best in sustainable, responsible tourism.  We believe in shaping the expectations of travellers to the continent, developing the right platforms, and representing our members voice on the evolution of tourism to the continent.  For instance, at the leading China travel industry event in Beijing in November, ATTA® will place a spotlight on our member’s sustainability initiatives, to the largest travel industry audience event in China. 

We will continue to represent ATTA® members on key issues in 2024.  ATTA® has developed a new relationship with the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) giving member’s access to engage in research, to shape global political policy on key tourism issues.  ATTA® will represent members at the first ever WTTC global conference held on the African continent in Kigali.  We will reach-out to members, to get their views on critical topics such as improved air access prior to attending the African Travel Leaders Conference in Botswana.  ATTA® will continue to work in close correspondence with key global travel bodies, attending the USTOA, US Tour Operators Association, conference in Los Angeles.  We will continue through our membership of the FTC (Future Travel Coalition) our monthly dialogue with ABTA, Association of British Travel Agents and other leading tourism associations. Together we’ll work hand in hand to unite the common objectives of African tourism and ministries.

ATTA® has restructured the team supporting our members from our new London Office in Fulham, with the appointment of Sanchi Radge and Blessing Bello, introducing fresh new thinking on digital and social media, both with academic backgrounds in tourism.  Alongside my appointment as ATTA® CEO in May, Chris Mears was appointed to the new position of CEO Experience Africa Events, delivering the ATTA® global event portfolio and digital webinars. Our President Nigel Vere Nicoll was appointed Group CEO across both companies. Our Chair Nick Aslin (Zambian Ground Handlers) representing the members, plays an extremely active role on the board of both companies. Former Chair John Corse, (Serengeti Balloon Safaris), also representing the members, remains on the Board of Experience Africa Events. To strengthen our sustainability programme in Africa, Ingram Casey (Escape + Explore) and Melissa Foley will be working with us.  Lin Yu (Travel World China) will represent ATTA® in China, and further global appointments, will be announced supporting ATTA® as we grow market access around the world

We can’t do this, without the support of our partners, so a thank you from all of the team to our members and to the many companies providing support  to your association across multiple disciplines including,  Ethiopian Airlines, South African Tourism, Painted Wolf Wines, Travel Africa Magazine, Africa Hub, Vamoos, Res Request, Victoria Falls Hotel, EcoTraining, Profitroom, Bean There Coffee, Under the Influence, J.W Seagon, Rwanda Development Board, Weeva and Wesgro.

On 12^th October ATTA® turns 30, and so at every event in the next year from Sanganai to Shanghai, we will be celebrating with ATTA® members across the globe, thanking you for your support throughout the years.  You will shortly be able to download a new ATTA® logo, designed to celebrate the thirty years of ATTA® powering, connecting and sustainably supporting the African travel industry.