By CHIKA ONYEANI - Africa Travel Association

12 AFRICAN SUN TIMES MAR. 31-APR. 6, 2008
African Travel Association's First
Annual Tourism and Sports Seminar
By CHIKA ONYEANI
Photos by Ogo Sow and Isseu
NEW YORK, New York, Feb. 27 - A
confluence of African tourism ministers
and professionals, from Africa and the
United States, joined executives and
members of the Africa Travel Association
(ATA) at the humungous Jacob Javits
Center here in New York, to kick off their
First Annual U.S. Africa Tourism and
Sports Seminar. The importance
attached to this event, was its partnership
with the mighty and paper on record,
the New York Times (discloscure: I am
a Fellow of the New York Times Institute
of Journalists).
Also the number of Ambassadors,
especially from Washington, DC,
demonstrated the importance that
Afr ican governments have started
placing on the tourism industry and its
great potential, as an economic growth
industry and its potential to
create jobs for millions of
Africans when its promise is
fulfilled.
This Seminar is the latest in a series
of innovative foresightful programs that
Mr. Eddie Bergman, the Executive
Directive of the ATA has inaugurated
Above photo , Mr. Eddie Bergman (left), Executive Director of ATA, with the President of ATA, Ghana's Minister
of Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, Hon. Stephen Asamoah-Boateng. Below: ATA Regional Coordinator for
Diaspora, Mr. Ogo Sow "Mr. Africa' with Dr. Gaynelle Henderson, President of Henderson Travel
Above photo, some of the presenters and diplomats, and below, Her Exellency Equatorial
Guinea's Ambassador Ondo is on the left with Mr. Africa, Ogo Sow, and Chika Onyeani
AFRICAN SUN TIMES MAR. 31-APR. 6, 200813
African Travel Association's First
Annual Tourism and Sports Seminar
since his election and his
assumption of the post. We
have already profiled this
dynamic young man in an
earlier article about another
one of his programs.
The event started promptly
at 9:00 am, with its opening
session, which featured the
topic "Introducing Africa to
the U.s. travel consumer, and
included speakers such as Mr.
Agents, and the South African
Deputy Minister of Sport and
Recreation, Hon. Gert
Oosthuizen.
The seminar was broken
into workshops, which
included
topics such as
"2010 World
Cup:
The
Afr ica Cup:
Engaging the
U.S. Market;
Above photo, South Africa's Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation,
Hon. Gert Oosthuizen, speaks as Eddie Bergman looks on.
The current presidency of
the ATA has been held by
Ghana, and the Ghanaian
Minister of Tour ism and
Diaspora Affairs, is the ATA
president, but the day to day
running of the organization is
with its executive in New York
City.
Bergman, Hon. Stephen
Asamoah-Boateng, Ghana's
Minister of Tour ism and
Diaspora Affairs, Lou
Fabrizio, vice president of
advertising for the New York
Times; Mr. william Maloney,
CEO & Executive VP,
American Society of Travel
Afr ica Travel
and Tour ism
Trends; Sports
Tour ism: A
Continental
Approach to
Travel
and
To u r i s m
Development
Eddie Bergman and ATA staff, with Angola's Minister of Tourism
in Africa.
At the end of the first day,
the South African ConsulGeneral, the Hon. Fikile
Magubane,
threw
a
networking reception for the
attendees.
The next day's workshops
included
"Exper iential
Tourism," "Increasing Tourism
Through Positive Image
Building and Branding:
Marketing Strategies," and
"U.S.-Africa Tourism."
Of course, the question in
all of this, is what role do
Africans in the Diaspora play,
in helping to promote and
boost tourism in Africa. It is
with this in mind, that the
Executive Director of the ATA,
Eddie Bergman, appointed
Mr. Ogo Sow, popularly
known as "Mr. Afr ica" as
Regional Coordinator for the
Diaspora for the ATA, and I
Continued on PAGE 31