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Hands
Across the Ocean
These exclusive editions will be available to
the travel trade on a complimentary basis at a year
round series of expos and
conferences. In addition,
host
countries of ATA events can now purchase bulk
copies of their specific Grand Tour Editions at one
third of retail for resale or promotional purposes
internationally. Speaking of numbers, our first
three shows in 2004 topped the 50,000 mark in
attendance, including the travel trade and public.
Much more is on the way from now throughout ATA's
Jubilee Year. The five keys
to future success of ATA and your reason for
joining our ranks are:
(1) Our High Profile (2) Our
World Class Events and Partnerships (3) Our
Economic Focus (4) Our Multi-Lingual Capacity and
(5) Our Business to Business Network. How high profile is
ATA? With
over 50 thousand page views weekly on our site, an
amazing average visitor session length of 10
minutes, and up to 32 thousand hits daily, the
results speak volumes. Our magazine's online
subscriptions come from every continent. Why such
on-line popularity? The answer is simple -
"positive content, over 1,000 pages of it. North
Americans, who form most of our readers and viewers
are hungry for current, upbeat news about Africa,
as opposed to the distorted images projected by the
mass media. What they see on the ATA site is proof
that our approach is on target- a goal of which our
founder, Murray Vidockler would be justly
proud. 1: HIGH PROFILE- How does
it benefit Travel Agents? • Fatter Paychecks: Discovering new ways to
profit from higher commissions of long-haul travel
and longer stays. • Africa-Oriented Seminars - targeting
special interest markets. • Focused Networking: Developing Top 100
circle of contacts. • Industry Alliances. Getting to know
tourist boards, hoteliers, airline officials and
ground operators. • Real Life Experiences: Seeing more of
Africa's culture and customs first hand. • Education and Training: Learning about
Africa's destinations and tourism products. • Marketing Savvy: Targeting specialized
markets, such as African Americans, seniors,
corporate, educational and adventure travel. • Social Networking: Attending congresses
and symposia in Africa and worldwide. Broaden your
horizons at chapter functions. Photo- Africa
Travel Magazine was in high demand at Africa Travel
Association's exhibit in the Adventures in Travel
Expo, Javits Center, New York City, January 2004.
Over 22,000 attended this event, and another 15,000
visited IATOS Outside Travel Show in Chicago. In
2004, fifteen major trade shows are on our
agenda. WORLD CLASS EVENTS: A popular link on ATA's
website is "ATA EVENTS," where the Association is
winning its high profile. Having powerful
decision-makers at the helm is a prime reason. Did
you know that the Africa Travel Association's Board
of Directors usually includes no less than eight
(8) African Tourism Ministers? ATA's Events
Calendar reads like a CNN World News Report: KENYA, EAST AFRICA:
Preparations are
underway for ATA's
30th Anniversary Jubilee
Year, with the ATA
30th Congress in Nairobi, Kenya (May 15-20,
2005). CAMEROON, CENTRAL
AFRICA: Cameroon hosted ATA for the second
time, with the ATA 29th International Marketing
Congress in Douala, May 2-7, 2004. The theme of
ATA's last event in Cameroon, 2001 was "Ecotourism,
Culture and Investment," echoing a desire to put
business and income generation for African
countries high on the agenda. Statistics by
Webtrends for show that "The Cameroon Story" is one
of the most read page on ATA's 1600-page web site.
Cameroon's profile in North America is being
greatly enhanced by its involvement with ATA. ZAMBIA, SOUTHERN
AFRICA. As President of ATA, Zambia's
Tourism Minister, Hon. Patrick Kalifungwa and his
team are preparing to host the ATA -IIPT 3rd Africa
Peace Through Tourism conference in February,
2005.In May 2003, the Republic of Zambia hosted the
ATA 28th Annual International Marketing Congress.
It is ATA's first ever two venue Congress, hosted
by Lusaka, the capital, and Livingstone at Victoria
Falls. TANZANIA & ZANZIBAR,
EAST AFRICA. IN December 200s, this united c
ountry staged two key events, starting with the ATA
7th Ecotourism Symposium in Zanzibar and the 2nd
Africa IIPT Peace Through Tourism Conference in Dar
es Salaam. ATA as a founding coalition partner
co-host the program, along with the Corporate
Council for Africa. Last year was designated as the
International Year of Ecotourism, and ATA was in
the forefront with major events in that important
category. GUINEA, WEST
AFRICA. The First Annual
Festival of Guinea was held
April 24 -30, 2004 in Conakry, with USA bookings by
Brock Tours of Atlanta (brocktours@aol.com).
Our 27th International Congress in Conakry launched
that West African country into the
mainstream of tourism. Following the congress, ATA
Editor Muguette Goufrani toured Guinea, and
her Guinea Grand Tour
story is available to world media via the web
site. MPUMALANGA, SOUTH AFRICA:
Success of the 1st IIPT Africa Peace Through
Tourism Conference in partnership with ATA and the
Mpumalanga Tourism Authority, in Nelspruit,
Mpumalanga, South Africa, set the stage for this
year's event in Tanzania. ATLANTIC CITY, NJ,
USA. A glowing opportunity arose last year
when the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) staged
its 1st Travel, Tourism and Gaming Conference and
Trade Show in Atlantic City. As a key sponsor, ATA
was involved in bringing Africans together with top
decision-makers. ATA and Ethiopian Airlines
co-sponsored a Marketing Panel on opening day,
which featured Executive Director Mira Berman as
moderator and Dr. Gaynelle Henderson-Bailey,
Henderson Tours, ATA 1st VP, H.E. Daudi Ngelautwa
Mwakawago, Tanzania's Ambassador to the UN, Tewolde
Mariam , Regional Director, North America of
Ethiopian Airlines, and Sunit Sanghrajka, Big Five
Tours and Expeditions. MOROCCO, NORTH AFRICA:
As a grande finale, ATA held its 7th
Cultural and Ecotourism Symposium in Fes, Morocco
last December. One of the best attended functions
from the USA market its success was due to
attractive air fares by Royal Air Maroc, combined
with strong support by Mr. Abdelhamid Boudemiene,
Director for the Americas of the Morocco National
Tourist Office and Benachir Akli, President of
Olive Branch Tours, and ATA's Casablanca Chapter.
Keynote speaker James MacGregor, stated in
summary," this event proves that Ecotourism is no
longer a fringe market." GENEVA,
SWITZERLAND: ATA's involvement with Peace
Through Tourism (IIPT) as a founding coalition
partner brought the association to Europe in
February 2003 as a co-host. The Hon. Zakia Hamdani
Meghji, President, represented ATA as a keynote
speaker. This Second Global Summit of IIPT was held
at the same site as the famous Reagan-Gorbachev
Summit that led to the end of the cold war. |
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On
many doors throughout the Kingdom of Morocco,
visitors will discover an ornamental hand, crafted
in silver or brass - a welcoming symbol to one and
all. The stylized fingers on each beautifully
engraved hand relate to five historic keys to
enduring peace and harmony among neighbors. What a
fitting symbol for the Africa Travel Association,
with its hands-on, do it now approach - an effort
that's winning new friends and enhancing Africa's
image around the globe. This ongoing, positive
initiative has fostered powerful travel industry
alliances as depicted by the logos at the top of
this page. With U.S. and world wide distribution of
Africa Travel Magazine's new "Grand Tour Editions,"
ATA expects to generate sharp increases in tourism
from North America and beyond. Countries such as
South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia,
Morocco, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Benin, Guinea and
others that have hosted ATA congresses and symposia
in recent years will each have a Grand Tour
Edition.