Namibia is set to host the 5th Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge from 31 May to 2 June 2023. The event is expected to be a transformative platform for African youth, entrepreneurs, start-ups, small enterprises and students to generate income and advance their careers.
The summit is being hosted by the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism in Swakopmund, a coastal city in Namibia that boasts beautiful sandy beaches. In collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and BDO, the summit will feature a desktop exhibition, SME digital/social media and entrepreneurship masterclass, and SME trade offerings, including tour operators, tourism accommodation facilities, transport service providers, educational institutions, travel and marketing technology start-ups and incubators, employment agencies, and professional development.
One of the major highlights of this year’s summit is the hosted buyer program. The Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has crafted a program that will run concurrently with the summit. Hosted buyers will have access to informal networking events, including the Investment Business in Tourism networking meetings organized by the Namibia Investment Promotion and Development Board (NIPDB) and B2B sessions. The program is designed to market Namibia to the world and give buyers from across the globe an opportunity to network with industry’s key decision-makers and stakeholders on an exciting and informative platform as well as all the continents’ leisure tourism options and negotiate the best deals on products and services under one roof. Meetings with exhibitors will be facilitated by a matchmaking system.
The faculty for this year’s summit includes renowned experts in the tourism and entrepreneurship industries, such as Elcia Grandcourt, Director of the Africa Department of UNWTO, and Hon. Pohamba Shifeta, MP Minister of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Namibia. Mentorship of the Innovation Challenge finalists has already commenced, with mentors assisting mentees to fine-tune their projects ready for presentation at the summit. The top three finalists will be announced on the last day of the summit.
Registrations for both physical and virtual participants are ongoing, and interested persons may visit the summit’s website, www.youthtourismsummit.com, for more information. The summit will be organized by African Tourism Partners (ATP), an award-winning Pan-African tourism development and strategic destination marketing advisory firm. ATP specializes in tourism and MICE strategy formulation, investment facilitation and promotion, research, master planning, destination market development, and capacity building across Africa’s travel, tourism, hospitality, aviation, and golf sub-industries. For more information about the summit, exhibition, partnerships, sponsorships, and registration, please contact Ms. Rejoice Chishamba at [email protected] or +27 (0) 11 318 1741 / +27 (0) 81 303 7030.
