My name is Noura and I am a senior at NYU studying Hotel and Tourism Management. I am currently interning with ATA and had the pleasure to attend the 2012 Presidential Forum on Tourism.
During the forum, the audience posed questions to the distinguished group of panelists. Unfortunately, we ran out of time. So, we have decided to share all of the questions on our blog. We welcome your responses and thoughts…
- What can Ministries of Finance do to support tourism, compared to Ministries of Education or Transport or Agriculture?
- How can people promote local investment to finance tourism infrastructure, without compromising ownership and causing leakage?
- How can Diaspora efforts promote bi-lateral policy and trade between the US and the nations of Africa?
- How can the African Diaspora be more involved as good will ambassadors here in America, as opposed to being so isolated from the broader American population?
- Will ATA be willing to have an office in Africa or a representative in Nigeria?
- What are ways African nations can use social media to promote their countries?
- What initiatives should be implemented to encourage students from the USA to study in Africa?
- What are some programs available that make it less expensive for young people to travel to Africa?
- How can African nations address the issue of educating young people about tourism to have a work force that can meet the demand of tourism as it continues to grow?
- Education is a big factor contributing to lack of infrastructure and service in the tourism industry in Africa. What are the plans and strategies in educating communities about tourism?
- How can Africa become “one”? Is there a time frame?
- How is the bridge project between Senegal and Gambia developing?
- Is anyone organizing DNA tourism to bring people to Africa after their roots have been determined by a DNA test?
- How can Africa become a leading global tourism destination? Can they learn anything from Tanzania’s recent tourism growth?
- Is there any initiative in having a black celebrity/individual be the voice to promote golf and the beautiful golf courses throughout the continent of Africa?
- How does one working on the ground in Ghana with eco‐sustainable tourism get support to expand?
- What are tactical ways tourism can inform infrastructure development in Africa since lack of adequate infrastructure is a huge hindrance to Africa’s tourism sector?
- Does the economic impact data that UNWTO amasses include “trickle down” economics? Meaning the impact of people in tourism‐ taxi drivers/ bellhops etc… and what they spend in their own neighborhoods?
- How do you hope to engage the global hotel industry to build and develop properties in Africa?
- What opportunities are there for students to get involved with tourism initiatives in Africa? Are there any volunteer opportunities?
- The West African Countries’ Eco-tourism Project was born, aiming at paying closer attention to better protecting the National Parks in that area. The Republic of Guinea was designated to chair the steering committee of the Project, under the umbrella of UNWTO. What happened to this project?
- How can we raise an interest in intra‐Africa leisure travels in order to empower Africans to know more about Africa? What leisure products would you recommend? How can we be expected to love our continent and to develop global awareness when we ourselves don’t know what’s going on?
- Consider the relevance of tourism to GDP economic growth. Can someone speak about their country’s building/training professional development capacities in the tourism sector?
- How many countries form ATA?
- Will ATA be willing to have an office in Africa or a representative in Nigeria?
- Does the Zimbabwe government encourage volunteer tourism? Are there any organizations that offer opportunities to volunteer with the country in exchange for room/board?
- To the Tanzanian government‐ How is Africa catering to physically disabled tourists?
Africa Travel Association 