As we all anticipate for the biggest 5th edition of the Pearl Of Africa Tourism Expo slated to take place between the 4th to 6th February 2020 at Speke Resort, Munyonyo under the theme ‘Promoting Intra-Africa Travel’, Uganda Tourism Board’s CEO, Lily Ajarova on Tuesday shared more highlights about the upcoming three days Expo with members of the Media at Protea Hotel Kampala.
This year’s exhibition will feature more than 57 confirmed hosted buyers from Africa; South Africa, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Zanzibar, Botswana, Tanzania, Malawi, Zimbabwe and the rest of the world including; Thailand, Germany, Russia, Malaysia, Philippines, India, USA and Italy who are already in the Country and were flagged Off on Wednesday morning for fam trips in the four regions of Uganda.
Commenting about POATE, Uganda Tourism Board Chief Executive Officer, Lilly Ajarova said, ‘’We are extremely excited that we are now in the 5th year the Pearl Of Africa Tourism Expo is taking place , its one of the many campaigns we always anticipate and gladly look forward to enable us promote and market our Tourism products to the world as the hosted buyers come from almost every part of the world that are source markets to grace the exhibition and we are optimistic they will spread the message to their counter parts after the exhibition as its always been’’.
She added that;’’ We so far have ten international media from countries like Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, India, Belgium and Belgium as these will disseminate the message and help create awareness about Uganda’s tourism products on the global platforms from where they all operate’’.
Lilly also revealed that, this year’s expo has upto 200 slots for domestic tour operators and exhibitors which have already been fully booked and among these comprise; tour operators, hotels and government agencies.
The Pearl Of Africa Tourism Expo 2020 will be driven under three main pillars which include; Connect, Showcase and Discover.
To add spice to the Expo, Lilly Ajarova revealed that Uganda Tourism Board has organised a chain of activities for hosted buyers and these include Familiarisation trips for international hosted buyers and international media as the guests were flagged off on Wednesday morning 29th January and expected to return on Monday 3rd February 2020. These trips are all aimed at giving international guests a feel and taste of amazing great experiences the Pearl Of Africa has in stock as part of the package comprises; four different excursions- each of them 6 days & 5 nights, featuring a fusion of adventure, culture, food, nature and urban tourism.
She adds that; ‘’There will also be Business to Business (B2B) meetings during the first two days of POATE, starting 4th till 5th February 2020 as these will be dedicated towards B2B business linkages. From a B2B standpoint, attending companies will have the opportunity to network and create business linkages with some of Africa’s top hosted buyers from key tourist source markets in Africa and the rest of the world to negotiate and lock in business deals and partnerships’’.
She further reveals that Business to Customer (B2C) meetings or trade event will take place on February 6th, 2020 and will be dedicated to the travelling or touring public and will be an all free day for all as they will have the opportunity to interact with local tour operators for discounted Easter offers to various destinations in Uganda and Africa, itineraries for honeymoon, Valentine’s Day, family getaways and information on investment opportunities on tourism’’.
Lilly concluded that; ‘’Business and Knowledge Sharing Seminars with a Tourism aspect, like many other service sectors, thrives on knowledge. To succeed in the business- as a country or as a tour operator, you need to have an understanding of the current trends in standards, tools of the trade, changing consumer preferences etc. Accordingly, we have organised a number of knowledge and best practices sharing and networking sessions on key subjects such as: Sustainable Tourism Development, Sustainable tour operations & accommodation, Accessibility within and to Africa, transport & connectivity, Investing in Uganda’s tourism sector and Emerging trends in tourism & hospitality’’.
In the meantime, Uganda Tourism Board has lined up experts, entrepreneurs and government officials who will be sharing with hosted buyers, the media among other guests their experiences and case studies, tourism industry trends and opportunities especially in the face of a digital revolution as well as the latest in the regulatory and policy frameworks from government stakeholders.
Some of the yields and key milestones to be achieved at POATE for Brand Destination Uganda shall include; Signing Contracts between Uganda’s travel trade operators (TOs, hotels etc.) and the invited hosted buyers, MOUs signing between Uganda Tourism Board and specific Airlines on promotional support and destination branding, MOUs signing between UTB and invited international media houses on Promotional support and destination branding, The vast awareness about Brand Destination Uganda accruing from POATE, locally and internationally and Industry knowledge sharing and learning by our stakeholders.
The Pearl Of Africa Expo 2020 has been put in place with support from Uganda Tourism Board’s sister agencies and service providers who entail Speke Resort Munyonyo, Uganda Tourism Association (UTA), Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities (Mother Ministry), Uganda Wildlife Authority (Sister agency), Uganda Airlines and Individual Tour Operators that availed their vehicles and gear for the fam trips among many other service providers.
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