War. Terrorism. SARS. A rotten economy and now, State Department
warnings advising against travel to an entire region of the
continent. Let's face it: It's a rough time for tourism in Africa.
Yet the Africa Travel Association (ATA) let none of these
considerable obstacles stand in the way of its 28th International
Congress, held May 11 to 16 in the dual venues of Lusaka and
Livingstone, Zambia.
"At the most trying moment in the travel industry, when other
travel industry meetings have been postponed, the ATA has forged
ahead," said ATA president Zakia Hamdani Meghji, who is Tanzania's
Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism.
At the opening ceremony at Lusaka's InterContinental Hotel,
Meghji said the success of ATA meetings and symposia in various
African countries in the post 9/11 era is "a clear indication that,
contrary to the perception of many, the African continent is a safe
destination even in times of global crisis."
Although "ethno-tourism" was the official theme of the congress,
finding ways to market Africa to nervous consumers was foremost in
the minds of the nearly 300 tour operators, travel agents and
tourism officials from 11 African countries, the U.S. and Canada
who attended the event.
Apt and awkward
The timing of the Congress couldn't have been more apt, or
awkward. Even as panel discussions entitled "Safety and Security
Issues for the Tourism & Hospitality Industry" and "Tourism and
Disaster Management" were under way, bombs were ripping through
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and intelligence agents in east Africa were
tracking the movements of one of the FBI's most wanted Al Qaeda
suspects, Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, accused in the 1998 embassy
bombings in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
By the final days of the Congress, the U.S. State Department had
advised travelers of the "credible threat" of terrorist attacks in
Kenya and across the region, while Britain and Israel suspended all
flights into Kenya indefinitely.
Tourism officials from Kenya as well as neighboring Tanzania and
Ethiopia brushed aside the warnings. They blamed a "negative media"
for tainting Africa's image by giving front-page prominence to the
country's ills and pointed out that terrorism can happen anywhere,
at any time.
"Tourists returned to New York after 9/11. They should not be
afraid to return to Kenya. Don't leave us when we have problems,"
said Beth Mugo, Kenya's assistant minister of tourism.
Mugo insisted that Kenya is a safe destination and not a "soft
spot for terrorism." She backed up her claims by announcing the
establishment of a new national "tourism police force" dedicated to
providing heightened security.
Still, Kenya has been losing the battle between "perception and
reality" ever since the embassy bombings, with the number of annual
visitors dropping from 2 million to under a million. Tourism
figures also are down in other popular African destinations, such
as Tanzania, Morocco and Zimbabwe.
The exception to the rule, thanks to a massive publicity
campaign, South Africa has emerged as one of the leading tourist
destinations on the continent, with 6.4 million visitors last year
-- an 11% increase.
Local tour operators face even tougher times ahead: A recent
survey conducted by the Travel Industry Association shows that 71%
of Americans aren't interested in traveling overseas this spring
and summer and will instead vacation domestically.
Yet such trends could be reversed, said many delegates at the
congress, if travelers were better informed.
"Africa is not like what you see on TV," said Sherryl Cobbs, a
travel agent with American Express Corporate Services. "Unrest in
one country doesn't mean there is unrest in another."
Uphill battle
Alyse White, a founding member of the ATA who has traveled
widely in Africa, characterized the level of global understanding
about Africa as "abysmal."
"I've had educated people, even teachers, ask me questions like,
'Are there any hospitals or factories over there?' It's an uphill
battle," said the spry, 94-year-old White, a veteran of all 28 ATA
congresses.
In order to get the word out to U.S. travel agents and tour
operators that Africa is open for business, tourism ministries and
companies with an interest in developing tourism on the continent
have launched campaigns and created incentives to attract new
clients.
Tanzania, for instance, reduced the entrance fees to all game
parks in the southern half of the country, which remains relatively
unknown compared with more familiar, northern destinations like the
Serengeti.
Zambia endorsed an ambitious, community-based tour-ism project
that will allow visitors to take part in ceremonies and learn
traditional healing methods of the local tribes living alongside
the thundering waters of the magnificent Victoria Falls.
South African Airways introduced a selection of nine- to 13-day
holidays, ranging from $1,699 to $4,177, which feature everything
from jaunts through the country's famous wine country to bush camp
safaris to diving with great white sharks.
Small scale
Understanding that natural resources (national parks, game
reserves, wildlife) and indigenous tribes are among Africa's
greatest assets, many of the tourism officials who attended the ATA
Congress said they are less inclined to woo outside investors who
will dot the landscape with monolithic resorts.
Instead, they prefer banking on small-scale, upmarket lodgings
and luxury tented camps, such as Chiawa Lodge in Zambia's
spectacular Lower Zambezi National Park or Sand Rivers Selous Lodge
in southern Tanzania's remote Selous Game Reserve.
Also preferred are eco-friendly, community-based tourism
projects to help buoy national GDPs and offer local populations
constructive, economic alternatives to poaching and subsistence
farming.
"These enterprises won't solve all of our problems," said Chief
Mukuni, an ATA guest speaker and Zambian tribal leader with a snake
skin crown and a bachelor's degree in economics from the University
of Zambia.
"But would tourists not feel more rewarded knowing their
experience helped contribute to conservation and taught local
people they have something of value? Africa certainly needs more of
that kind of tourist."