Impressions at WTM London from the African Hall

The World Travel Market, the annual gathering of travel and tourism buyers and sellers in Excel, London, witnessed more impactful participation from African countries, tourism agencies and companies.

Stakeholders, buyers, sellers and even visitors had the opportunity of meeting and engaging with the continent, with deals signed, visits booked and some partnerships in the pipeline.

While all the participating parts of the world had their halls, the African Hall was among the most-visited.

There are some notable highlights at the fair.

Cabo Verde won the Best Stand in the category “Design under 50m2”, while a major one that excited many regular attendees is the return of Nigeria to WTM London after a 10-year hiatus. Coordinated by Ola Wright, founder, West Africa Tourism Organization (WATO), the delegation to the show included; Lola Ade-john, former Minister of Tourism, and officials of NTDA along with the Tourism Commissioner of Lagos State and other private sector players.

Yet again, the Africa Hall was graced with seven Tourism Ministers. Two of the ministers are; Nabeela Tunis of Sierra Leone and Barbara Rwodzi of Zimbabwe.

Both female African tourism ministers were on the panel on the UN Tourism/WTTC Ministerial Summit on IA and Tourism. The other African tourism ministers in attendance were; Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister of Tourism & Foreign Affairs-Seychelles; Jobe Minister of Tourism Gambia; Rebecca Miano, Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Tourism and Wildlife and Vera Kamkutule of Malawi.

The networking at the Africa Hall is worth noting. At the hall, there was a taste of Malawi’s gin, while Sierra Leone’s cassava leaf was the talk of the town as patrons had a taste of the country’s cuisine. The jollof war may well have been won by Nigeria as it returned big with its gastronomy on display and attracted tons of delegates who queued to sample the jollof. The Gambia’s kora a special feature of their participation at all expo didn’t disappoint as patrons of the Gambia stand and the Africa hall

More so, South Africa’s Wine O’clock continued at the fair.

The traditional wine o’clock hour where exhibitors, buyers and media converge at the South African stand continued unabated, offering an ambiance for the travel trade to network and have a taste of SA’s rich tapestry of wines, among others.

The continent truly made bold statements with her beauty, colour, diversity and culture at WTM 2024. But most importantly, Africa was able to woo many to taste its offerings and to book to see them better on African soil and across her enthralling destinations after the travel fair, starting with the Christmas and New Year holidays.