In a strategic move to drive business opportunities within the travel and tourism sector, Africa Travel Week (ATW) has partnered with Invest Africa, a leading pan-African business platform promoting trade and investment in Africa. The alliance provides a strategic platform for stakeholders to drive investment initiatives for economic recovery and development during the African Tourism Investment Summit (ATIS). The Summit is set to run alongside World Travel Market Africa (WTM Africa), ATW's flagship B2B travel trade show, scheduled from April 7 – 9 2021 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). "ATIS creates an important touchpoint for policymakers and investment professionals from around the globe to engage and secure business," explained Amanda Wellbeloved, general manager of Travel, Tourism & Creative Industries at Reed Exhibitions Africa. "As international travel returns, our goal is to create continued opportunities to rebuild our industry and we are excited to be able to leverage our partnership with Invest Africa to ensure that." Invest Africa maintains a global footprint of more than 400 member companies, comprising multinationals, private equity firms, institutional investors, development finance institutions, professional service organisations, government bodies and entrepreneurs. "Invest Africa is delighted to be partnering with WTM Africa in 2021 to support the summit's agenda of promoting investment into the travel and tourism sectors across Africa," added Karen Taylor, CEO at Invest Africa. "We are dedicated to playing a central and influential role in Africa's socio-economic growth by guiding sustainable capital towards the continent and WTM Africa represents a key fixture in the calendar for ensuring commercial success in Africa's travel industry." To kick-start the partnership, Africa Travel Week and Invest Africa will host a virtual investment session on Wednesday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. (CAT), entitled Investment: Driving Africa's Travel & Tourism Value Chain. Confirmed keynote speakers include Ramsay Rankoussi, who leads Radisson Hotel Group's strategic growth across Africa and Turkey, as well as Rick Taylor, CEO of The Tourism Business Company. "Much like our upcoming webinar, ATIS will host various thought leaders from around the globe who will contribute their learnings, expertise, and unpack various investment opportunities Africa has to offer, not just in the travel and tourism sector, but also in lateral sectors that contribute to the industry," Wellbeloved concluded. — SG
