The VA TourismPodcast

In today’s episode, Eric Pateman, one of the world's leading culinary brand and marketing strategists, having written numerous culinary tourism and brand strategies for nations such as Canada and NZ is of the opinion that, gastronomy’s power in driving traffic to destinations especially in Africa has not been maximized enough to bring the much needed benefits to the community.
With over 25 years in business and the global hospitality industry, Eric is the nation’s leading ambassador for Canadian cuisine and one of the top international experts on culinary tourism, sharing his expertise with clients around the globe from the USA and the UK to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and beyond.
He is a storyteller for hundreds of artisan food companies, farmers, fishers, foragers and is known to bring together chefs and influencers from all aspects of the culinary world around the globe. With one of the most well-developed networks in the culinary world, Eric is constantly at the forefront of the global food movement.

In my first episode for the year 2022, the Regional Director for Africa at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Elcia Grandcourt looks back at the successes the organization chalked in Africa in spite of the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic. She looks into the year with lots of optimism for the tourism sector and takes a deep dive into the programs and activities in Africa  for this year.
 

In today’s episode, the founder of African Sports Tourism Week, Prince Deji Ajomale-McWord  takes a look at the power of sports in driving tourism in Africa.
He’s a sports tourism consultant. In his home country Nigeria, he served in the Sports Industry Thematic Group under the auspices of Nigeria Economic Summit Group, where he gave recommendations on how to drive local and international arrivals, using sport. The recommendations he gave, alongside that of other bright minds in the sport, environment, and tourism industries, dovetailed into a draft that was eventually adopted as a blueprint for the Nigerian sports industry, on which an MoU signed between the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports and NESG was predicated. 
He’s the author of ‘Life, Humanity & Leadership According To Golf’ and ‘Mulligan of Mercy’
 

My guest Altaaf Kazi , General Manager Global PR, Communications and Stakeholder Relations at South African Tourism looks at South Africa’s participation at the ongoing Dubai 2020 Expo. He says SA’s participation has afforded the opportunity to convince the world and shift perception around safety and security issues which has been unfairly reported by the western media.
Altaaf Kazi is seasoned media professional with two decades of experience spanning various roles in the media, sports, and tourism industries.
His professional career started out in Radio and TV as a sports news reporter, landed roles as a TV presenter and producer before moving into the corporate communication space heading up media and communications departments in Football, Cricket, and Tourism in South African organisations.
 

In today’s episode, the founder of Levasseur Rum Marco Francis takes a deep dive into the complementary role of the premium Laverser rum in the promotion of destination Seychelles. He says Rum is an inherent part of the island lifestyle.
Levasseur Rum is a dark rum produced in Seychelles, expressing patience, richness, quality, master blending, and is Bourbon barrel aged to perfection.
 

My conversation today is on how the tourism sector of Seychelles has managed to get tourism going in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. On my visit to the archipelago island, I caught up with the founder and owner of la Digue-based casa de Leela Robert Pool. Robert tells me even though the booking trend has changed drastically, it is very encouraging and he is optimistic about the return of tourism to its full flight. 
Born on 28/01/1978 in La Digue, Seychelles Robert started life in the tourism industry at the age of 16 working in a hotel as a PR Assistant for a year. He then worked for a Commercial Helicopter Company for 10 years. Started as  Heli Attendant and resigned as Operations Manager for Inner Islands.
He started his own venture in 2004 as a Taxi Operator which is still running as of now. In 2007, Robert started a small Guest House with his wife Colette. Today they own two establishments Casa De Leela & Cocolux Apartments. ( 20 rooms in total) Robert enjoys interacting with people and loves his home country,  Seychelles Island.

My Guest Maria Valcarce Director of FITUR International Tourism Fair discusses next year’s edition of the travel show slated for 19th -23rd January 2022. She tells me the organizers have instituted measures to host the event in a safe and responsible way.  Over seventy countries have so far confirmed their participation.
Maria Valcarce holds a degree in Economics and Business Administration from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Special Degree in European Economics from the Free University of Brussels. A native Spanish speaker, she also speaks English and French.
She has developed her entire professional career at the Madrid Trade Fair Institution -IFEMA-, where, since 1997, she has been managing different trade fairs for various economic sectors such as automotive, renewable energies and ICT, among others; since January 2019 she is the director of the International Tourism Trade Fair, FITUR, in addition to the International Security Trade Fair, SICUR, the Doors and Automation Trade Fair, SMART DOORS and the International Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Show C&R.
 

In this episode, the Director of Europe at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Alessandra Priante has been sharing with me the objective of next year’s  Global Youth Tourism Summit and what it seeks to achieve. She talks about tourism restart in Europe and rounds it up with her own journey into tourism. 
She was the Chief of multilateral international relations (UNWTO, OECD and EU) and tourism policy for the Ministry of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies of Italy. She has also actively participated in the research and analysis work behind the preparation of the National Strategic Plan for Tourism 2017-2022. 
She is a first-degree business graduate at the top Italian business university, Università Luigi Bocconi, and holds the Executive MBA at Luiss Guido Carli University and an International Master in Audio-visual Management. She successfully merged her strong experience in corporate finance and M&A operations, developed within international investment banks in her initial job posts, with her cultural expertise, joining since 2002 the Italian Ministry of Culture - Direction for Cinema, with the task of restructuring public finances for the culture sector. As a major output, she created the first public RSU in the audio-visual sector, focused on the design, set-up, and implementation of the most important sector reforms. 
As a firm believer in the importance of international networks and in the power of lobbying, she has created, has been part of and at times initiated various international think tanks and represented Italy in international and European Institutions devoted to culture. 
As an expert also of the Middle East area, she was appointed in the years 2010-2015 the Diplomatic Cultural Representative for the Gulf Area (UAE, Oman, Qatar, Bahrein, Kuwait), with the task of taking care of promoting Italian culture and education. 
In line with her academic preparation and research attitude, Alessandra has published numerous sector publications and books and teaches culture management and international audio-visual analysis at some of the major Universities in Italy for post-graduate students. 
Alessandra is a cinephile and a trained musician. She loves art and culture, her Country and her family.