The VA TourismPodcast

In this episode, the Acting CEO of the Namibia Tourism Board Charmaine Mathues reflects on the Board’s successful ‘’Reason to Visit Namibia’’ Roadshow in Botswana. Charmaine believes the partnerships formed and the B2B engagements with the trade, coupled with the announcement by Air Botswana to launch direct flights between the two cities will further boost trade and tourism into Namibia and the s...

Today’s episode discusses Mozambique’s potential as a growing MICE Destination. The General Manager of Radisson Blu Hotel Maputo Rob Van der Velden weighs in on the country’s Meetings space and why he thinks a lot needs to be done to address the challenges to unlock its full potential. Rob gives his impressions on FIKANI, Air connectivity and the diversification of its offering.

In today’s episode recorded on the sidelines of FIKANI Tourism Fair in Mozambique, the newly appointed Director for Africa of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Frank Murangwa outlines his vision for Africa and discusses the continent’s readiness to make MICE and Business events sectors key economic drivers.

My conversation today takes a look at Uganda’s tourism sector and how its soon to be launched 10-year Tourism development plan incorporates elements such as gastronomy tourism. In a chat with the CEO of the Uganda Tourism Board Lilly Ajarova at the recently held UN Tourism Forum for Gastronomy tourism in Zimbabwe, she mentioned how the conference was timely and the take outs with help them fine tu...

On Today’s episode, the Director General of the Basque Culinary Centre Joxe Mari Aizega unpacks the potential and opportunities for gastronomy tourism in Africa. Speaking on his experience during the first UN Tourism maiden gastronomy forum held in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, Joxe Mari said he was excited by the genuine interests and commitments by African tourism to develop the sector and place Afr...

In today’s episode, the Minister of Tourism of the Democratic Republic of Congo Didier Musanga M’pambia opens up on his vision for the sector. Amongst the list of innovations he wants to introduce is to initiate a Tourism Village project, an aggressive domestic tourism campaign, and consolidate its rich relationship with UN Tourism to support capacity building and human resource development for it...

On the sidelines of the just ended 1st UN Tourism Regional Forum for Gastronomy Tourism in Zimbabwe, the Minister of Tourism and Cultural Affairs Nabeela Tunis reflects on the outcomes of the 67 Commission for Africa Meeting in Zambia, 2nd Brand Africa conference and finally the role of the Women in Tourism Leadership Africa Committee in ensuring gender parity in the tourism sector. Minister Nabee...

Ahead of the 2nd UN Tourism Conference on Brand Africa scheduled to be held from 22-24 July in Livingstone, Zambia, I caught up with the CEO of the Zambia Tourism Agency Matongo Matamwandi to give me a sneak peek of the gathering. He tells me the Tourism Board CEO’s Think Tank and the launch of the UN Tourism Doing Business Investing in Zambia Guidelines will be major highlights of the 2-day event...

In today’s episode, Nigeria’s Minister of Tourism Lola Ade-John reveals her plans to use the technology to transform the country’s tourism sector. Attending UN Tourism event for the first time in Barcelona, Spain she added that, her ministry is working closely with her counterpart at culture to leverage Nigeria's rich cultural heritage.

My conversation today is with Professor Bhaso Ndzendze an Associate Professor of international Relations at the University of Johannesburg, where he is also Vice-Dean of Internationalisation in the Faculty of Humanities. He discusses the Africa by Bus project which he says combines cultural immersion and academic engagements to enhance the learning skills of students.    

My conversation is with Temwa Kanjadza, Head of Sales Marketing and Distribution at Malawi’s Sunbird Tourism PLC. Temwa gives an overview of the hotel group’s incredible role in Malawi’s tourism sector and reveals the hotel’s latest announcement, the construction of its state-of-the-art convention centre and its MICE focus for the domestic and regional markets.

In our special coverage of Destination Malawi, I spoke with the General Manager of Sigelege Resorts, Farai Marara. Farai discusses the hospitality sector in Malawi and reveals the vision of the hotel group to further its footprint in Malawi. An achievement oriented and transformational leader. Seasoned hotelier with remarkable attention to detail and excellent customer engagement skills. Passionat...

Today’s episode was recorded at this year’s Malawi International Tourism Expo in Lilongwe. VoyagesAfriq’s content editor Samuel Obeng Appah sat down with Noma Moyo, a Sales executive at Pay Changu, a Malawian FinTech startup. She says the Company’s objective is to help fix the payment challenges in Malawi of which the tourism sector is heavily affected. She believes their payment gateway will enha...

My conversation today is an exclusive chat with the CEO of Africa's Eden Tourism Association, Jillian Blackbeard. She tells me the main objective of Africa’s Eden is to drive travel and tourism that positively contribute to society and the local/regional economy. Africa’s Eden is a private sector-driven organisation representing Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, undertaking an ambitious des...

In today’s episode, the Acting CEO of Botswana Tourism Organization Keitumetse Setlang at the recent WTM Africa show in Cape Town revealed the ambitious Strategy for Diversification and Growth for the Southern African Nation. She also gave an update on the country’s MICE Strategy which she describes as cardinal to their tourism drive  

Today’s conversation is an exclusive chat with the newly appointed Executive Director of Zambia Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Studies (ZITHS)Mrs. Anne Kaoma-Sibanda. On the sidelines of the just-ended 2nd Travel, Hospitality, and Tourism Education Summit held in Lusaka, Anne tells me ZITHS is committed to using initiatives such as the summit to help address the gaps in the human resource ba...

In today’s episode, the founder of Essence of Africa Amanda Margison unpacks the reasons behind the launch of the continent’s latest travel show. Taking place from 2-4 October 2024 in Nairobi, Kenya, The Essence of Africa show a collaborative work between Onshow Solutions and ATTA is a private sector-led initiative focused on expanding the potential of tourism across Africa by bringing together th...

The recently held 2024 ITB Berlin saw Africa turn up in style showcasing a diverse and wide range of offerings for the continent’s key source market at the marquee travel show. On today’s podcast recorded on the final day of the show, I spoke to the Director General of Destination Marketing at Tourism Seychelles Bernadette Willemin on her impressions of the show. Sales & Marketing Manager of M...

Today’s episode recorded on the margins of ITB Berlin 2024 unpacks Safari 2 GO, a revolutionary approach to planning a trip to Namibia. The platform, part of the Gondwana Group is a comprehensive online travel gateway. The Group CEO of Gondwana Gys Joubert says their newest product was inspired by the demand from smaller players and stand-alone adventurers to discover the land of the Brave.  

Ahead of this year’s Kriol International Jazz Festival to be held in Praia, Cabo Verde from 4-6 April, I had an exclusive chat with the lead organizer of the event Djo da Silva. He tells me this year’s event will celebrate the fusion of kriol culture and music in style with musicians and groups from all parts of the world.  

My conversation today is with the General Manager of Air Botswana, Lulu Rasebotsa. She is optimistic the financial assistance given them by the  Government of Botswana coupled with their plans to relaunch new routes with a new fleet will make the airline competitive and boost the country’s tourism drive.  

In today’s episode, the Acting CEO of Namibia Tourism Board Bonnie Mbidzo on the sidelines of last week’s ITB Berlin tells me, the travel trade has expressed their excitement about Namibia’s diversified tourism products. He opens up on his short to medium-term plans and finally looks forward to welcoming delegates for the AviaDev to the land of the brave. 

Today’s conversation explores the enormous opportunities the Central Eastern European outbound market offers to African destinations. Managing Director of Travel Advance, Paddington Tucker currently at Onshow’s CEE roadshow in Budapest takes a deep dive into this growing market. Paddington Tucker is the owner and founder of the Travel Advance Group, a destination marketing agency with reach across...

My Guest today is Safiyaa Akoojee, Founder and CEO of Fortunatus Advisory. Safiyya is a Dubai based South African Attorney & advisory professional, with more than thirteen years of law practice experience. In this conversation, she highlights the critical role of attorneys in the business of tourism and the right framework to attract the right investments to destinations. Safiyya will be speak...

Ahead of the 2nd edition of the Tourism Investments Forum Africa (TIFA) to be held during World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town, South Africa from 10-12 April 2024, we caught up with the CEO of Millvest Investments, organisers of the event Miller Matola. He says this year’s edition will be riding on the successes that inaugural event chalked and the tourism industry is buoyed by the fact that th...