9th Edition of INVESTOUR 2018

The 9^th edition of the Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR),  that took place on the 18^th of January 2018, gathered over 400 participants from more than 40 countries, including 35 countries from Africa. Joining were participants from Argentina, China, France, Italy Netherlands Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, USA, among other countries. More than 28 Ministers of Tourism and Heads of Delegation from Africa attended the Forum. The Forum counted with the presence UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili, and the Secretary of State of Foreign Affairs of Spain, Ildefonso Castro.

The round-table sessions yielded interesting conclusions about the perception of Africa on the international scene and how Brand Africa could position itself to impact tourism in the region, and the importance and the role of biodiversity to enhance local communities’ involvement and develop sustainable livelihoods.

The B2B sessions hosted around 132 meetings between 20 international companies, and the promoters of 46 African tourism development projects from Algeria, Cameroon, Union of Comoros, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Sudan, Somalia and Zambia.

On the occasion of the Ministerial lunch, UNWTO presented to Member States a proposed Special Programme for Africa. The Ministers and Heads of delegations discussed the areas of work and issues that are relevant to the continent and agreed to reconvene on the sidelines of ITB in Berlin early March 2018, to  finalize this Programme.

The success of this edition was reinforced by the kind support and generosity of our sponsors and partners. This year’s Forum was sponsored by Horwath HTL, the world leading consulting firm specialized in hotels, tourism and leisure, Quantum Solutions Emerging Markets specialized in the promotion, design, and execution of projects in the areas of infrastructure, capital goods, and services and INFECAR, the Trade Fair Institution of the Canary Islands.

Partners of INVESTOUR included eBiz Africa Review, China Business Network, Chimelong, Ethiopian Airlines, the Spanish Madrid Chamber of Commerce, Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV), Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX) and The Spanish Exporters and Investors Club.

The closing remarks of the event were given by Luis Padilla Macabeo, co-founder of INVESTOUR and Deputy Regional Minister for External Affairs of the Government of the Canary Islands in Spain.