News
19 September 2017
Tourism business performance sees decline but it's not all doom and gloom
The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) has released its half-year TBCSA Tourism Business Index (TBI) Report and says that, despite a dip in overall business performance in the first six months of 2017, the glass remains half-full for the travel and tourism industry to grow and contribute to the economy. The TBI Reports tracks and provides information about the level of business performance across the travel and tourism value chain, and also forecasts prospects for short-term future performance.
Read More19 September 2017
Atta Financial Update - 19 Sep 17
Executive summary: African debt: nearly US$25bn of sovereign debt is set to mature in soon. Sub-Saharan country debt with a total return of 10.9 per cent has outperformed the EM average of 9.1 per cent so far this year, but will the current bullish market conditions will hold for the coming wave of new debt sales - concern is tied up in the fact that the region’s economy is still fragile. The effecs of sumps in both oil and commodity prices at periods over the last decade have had noticable legacy effects. Concerns over high debt levels and credit risk remain - Moody’s has seven of the 19 sub-Saharan African sovereigns that it rates on negative watch, having downgraded four since the start of the year. With a large proportion of debt set to mature in the coming years, the markets’ appetite for some of the riskiest sovereign debt on the planet is set to be put to the test. Fact: Elvis Presley once started a riot at the end of his show by saying to the crowd: "Girls, I'll see you all backstage."
Read More18 September 2017
SA's art and culture takes to the streets in New York
In a month-long partnership with Citi Bike which will see South Africa's unique art and culture taking to the streets of New York City, South African Tourism's US office is taking an innovative approach to grow the SA's arts, culture, and heritage offering by encouraging New Yorkers and visitors to the city to travel to South Africa.
Read More17 September 2017
#ShockWildlifeTruths: To fight wildlife crime, experts say 'follow the money'
In most cases, the conviction of a Thai man trafficking rhino horns through a bizarre scheme that involved hiring prostitutes to pose as trophy hunters would have marked the end of the story.
Read More17 September 2017
Brand Africa
Africa knows today that its Brand Africa is a necessity. The CAF Body of the UNWTO now under the Chairmanship of Kenya’s Minister Najib Balala, the Tourism Minister of Kenya has the responsibility to move this agenda forward.
Read More14 September 2017
Alipay and Zapper gives Chinese tourists in South Africa new payment option
Alipay, an online and mobile payment platform operated by Ant Financial Services Group, partners of Zapper, has made it possible for Chinese tourists in South Africa to pay at 10,000 Zapper-affiliated merchants across the country via their smartphones. Chinese tourists will be able to search for restaurants, bars, theatres, book shops, adventure parks and more through Alipay’s in-app Discovery platform, and pay for their orders in RMB via Alipay by scanning a Zapper QR code.
Read More14 September 2017
KQ eyes New York in debut direct flights
AttaKenya Airways is eyeing New York as its first destination when it starts direct flights to the US next year. The national carrier sees the city as a convenient East Coast aviation hub to mark its entry into the US, before spreading its wings across the world’s biggest economy. The airline, which last week received regulatory approval to operate direct flights to the US, also estimates that it will move 60,000 passengers in its first year of operation on the route.
Read More12 September 2017
Atta Financial Update
Executive summary: Executive summary for the week of 05-Sep-17 to 12-Sep-17 (week 37) Every African nation that has sold dollar debt now has at least one junk rating, but it would be hard to tell by looking at the bond market.
Read More11 September 2017
Application for Membership - Zambia Marketing Group (ZMG)
Zambia Marketing Group (ZMG) has applied to join Atta. Their membership will be approved if there are not any objections lodged within the statutory 10 day period. (See objection procedure below).
Read More07 September 2017
South African Tourism announces agent training roadshow for November 2017
South African Tourism will be hitting the road this November to connect with travel agents across the UK and Ireland. The SATSchool roadshow will travel around key cities in the UK and Ireland from 13th to 16th November offering opportunities for travel agents to connect with 16 key South African tourism partners, including local destinations, attractions and excursion companies.
Read More01 September 2017
Malawi International Tourism Expo 2017 Underway
The first ever Malawi International Tourism Expo 2017 is underway in the Capital City, Lilongwe at Bingu International Convention Centre. The Tourism Expo 2017 started on Wednesday morning will run for three days and the first two days are scheduled for closed businesses and on the third day it will be opened to the public. According to the programme, the Wednesday business started with workshops for Market Tips and Tricks for Tourism SME's to Access International Market and Harnessing ICT…
Read More01 September 2017
New Atta Members this month (August 2017)
It gives us a great pleasure to announce new members who joined us in August:
Read More01 September 2017
Rwanda to invest in education and training to boost tourism sector
President Paul Kagame has said Rwanda, like other countries on the African continent, was keen to convert its favourable demographics into economic growth and prosperity. Speaking at the opening on Tuesday of the three-day global 41st Annual World Tourism Conference organized by the Africa Trade Association in collaboration with the government of Rwanda, Kagame said deliberate investment in the service sector is key. “The services sector, in particular tourism, provides some of the best …
Read More01 September 2017
Kenya Plastic Bag Ruling
Atta applauds Kenya's new initiative to ban pastic bags. However, a number of members are raising concerns over the finer detail which could unintentionally confuse travellers to Kenya. The area of contention, appears to be items purchased in duty free, on departure, and sealed in a plastic bag which would normally have to remain sealed until after customs has been cleared on arrival. Further concern is raised over the apparent ban of the small zip type bags, approved by most international…
Read More31 August 2017
The role of online travel in unlocking Africa's tourism potential
The services sector, tourism, in particular, is one of the major contributors to Africa's economy through such functions as providing foreign exchange and employment. It is, therefore, crucial that governments and the private sector are increasingly working together to grow the sector which accounts for approximately 7.8% of the African GDP. “We believe that business opportunities and investment potential within Africa’s tourism sector are significant. It’s a vast market …
Read More31 August 2017
Seychelles Tourism Board targets Middle East consumers
With the aim of capitalizing on growing interest in Seychelles among holidaymakers in the Middle East region, the Seychelles Tourism Board is aiming to create more brand awareness to further position the island nation as a destination of choice in that region. According to statistics, over 20, 000 visitors from the Middle East have travelled to the Seychelles Islands from January to July this year. This represents a growth of 30 percent. The United Arab Emirates is one market that is doing rem…
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