The African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA) has announced that its European B2B travel show, Experience Africa, will return to London in 2021.
The three-day event will run from June 21-23 at Chelsea Football Club’s stadium Stamford Bridge in Fulham and be managed by Travel Weekly parent Jacobs Media Group (JMG).
It is the member-driven trade association’s flagship event in Europe to promote tourism to Africa and is attended by buyers and suppliers of African tourism.
There will be a host of seminars which will focus on the revival of tourism to Africa post-Covid-19 as well as opportunities for one-to-one meetings and networking.
Atta chairman Fiona Jeffery said: “Experience Africa is a key brand and B2B feature in Atta’s portfolio.
“The intention is to build and develop the event to add value to businesses engaging with Africa tourism and support the rebuilding of the sector and we’re delighted to partner with JMG in looking to deliver this mission and enhance Experience Africa’s profile across the UK, Europe and Africa for the benefit of the industry and local communities”
ATTA’s strategy, introducing a famous new venue and partnering with a media organisation, has been designed to enhance the profile of Experience Africa by attracting new international buyers. There are plans for further satellite events around Europe.
Duncan Horton, chief executive of Jacobs Media Group, said: “Jacobs Media Group is thrilled to be able to partner with ATTA. The travel industry has faced some enormous challenges this year, and we believe that providing targeted face-to-face meetings in which buyers and suppliers are perfectly matched is the right way forward to help the sector’s recovery.
“We also believe that focusing on niche markets will help deliver better results in the long-term.
“With the tourism market having been so heavily impacted in 2020, there is substantial pent-up demand in the marketplace and we believe consumers will be more keen than ever to discover destinations in Africa. We are proud to be able to work with ATTA to help the African market to recover its market share.”
Atta, the voice of African tourism, represents buyers and suppliers from 21 African countries and has more than 630 members including accommodation, transport, and travel specialists in Africa, as well as tour operators, and representation and PR companies.