Africa Travel Week (ATW) has unveiled a plan for its 2021 shows, which virtual WTM Africa, from April 7 to 9, 2021.
Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director: Travel, Tourism and Creative Industries at Reed Exhibitions Africa, said the plan for WTM Africa has always been about offering value beyond the show floor.
"This year, we are focussing heavily on that, with a robust plan that offers significant ROI across 365 days, instead of three.
"In addition to the virtual show in April, which consists of one to one meetings, content sessions and speed networking, ATW has lined up a collection of additional events throughout the year, which include:
Educational content webinars from May to August," she said.
Africa Travel Week: Connect in the City Live takes place from September 1-3, including on-site experiences in the official Host City of Cape Town.
Africa Travel Week Live, which coincides with Tourism Month, will comprise of familiarisation tours, destination training sessions for Hosted Buyers, dedicated travel and tourism conference and peed networking sessions.
There will also be a series of virtual masterclasses from September to November.
The blended format of WTM Africa throughout 2021 will also apply to its suite of sister shows including International Luxury Market Africa (ILTMA), International Business Tourism Market Africa (IBTMA), The Sports & Tourism Exchange (SETE), Africa Tourism Investment Summit (ATIS), Travel Forward and EQUAL Africa.
Oberholzer said their plan takes on a blended approach where travel trade professionals benefit from connecting with their industry peers at face-to-face meetings later on in the year.
"Safety and wellbeing remain our number one priority, and we will adjust this element of our offering accordingly.
“Our industry is inspired to make travel happen again and we want to be a part of that journey to rebuild the travel and tourism industry in 2021 by being active with initiatives that help our industry connect throughout the year.
“We need to keep the momentum up to ensure travel to Africa remains top of mind, which is one of the reasons why I’m delighted that we’re able to create a 365-day initiative," she said.