The VA TourismPodcast

Wellness Tourism and its prospect in Africa; A conversation with Marsha Paccou

In today's episode, Marsha Paccou an experienced health and life coach looks at wellness tourism and the prospects for Africa. She believes that every person should become fascinated with the way they work, and through this properly understand the ways in which they can nurture, cherish, and accept who they are through self-care and self-love. Accredited by the Health Coach Institute, USA, she coaches using International Coach Federation (ICF) tools and exercises whilst delivering her own unique framework for transformation. She inspires women to blossom through self-care and self-love. She also provides the support, structure, and strategy to empower them to not only become more successful but to also learn to love themselves along the way
 

An insight into Namibia's Tourism Revival; Conversation with Private Sector Leaders

Today's conversation is with two leaders in Namibia's tourism private sector. Chairperson of the Federation of  Namibian tourism association (FENATA) Netumbo Nashandi and Joseph Kafunda Chair of the Emerging Tourism Enterprise Association of Namibia. They discuss the tourism restart in Namibia and the Government's support in the tourism revival initiative.
 
 

Diversifying Tourism will make the sector more sustainable - Greg Bakunzi

In this episode, the Founder of Red Rocks Initiatives Greg Bakunzi talks about the urgent need for diversification in the tourism sector in order to help sustain their business and also recounts measures taken by the Government of Rwanda to get tourism restarted. Greg is passionate, about conservation, community-based tourism, environmental conservation, and developing skills that will help uplift the living standards of the locals, through collaboration and partnerships.

A Conversation with Winner of 2020 Africa Tourism Innovation Challenge Alin Murekatete

In this episode, Founder of Spree Rwanda and winner of the 2020 Tourism Innovation Challenge at Africa Tourism Leadership Forum Alin Murekatete discusses her motivation for the project and why she thinks now is the time to use technology to make tourism sustainable for destinations.

Up and Close with CEO of Rwanda Convention Bureau Nelly Mukazayire

Today’s episode is a conversation with the CEO of the Rwanda Convention Bureau Nelly Mukazayire. She gives a vivid account of the measures taken by the Rwandan Government to safely reopen the economy as well as the Bureau’s plans to consolidate its place as a MICE Powerhouse. Nelly is is a lover of sports and music.
Nelly Mukazayire is the Chief Executive Officer of Rwanda Convention Bureau, a private company established to market Rwanda as a preferred destination for MICE tourism (Meeting, Incentives, Conference and Events) and to ensure coordination and efficient execution of all international events happening in Rwanda.
Prior to that, she was the Deputy Chief of Staff in the Office of the President of Rwanda. She served as a Senior Advisor to the Chief of Staff in the Office of the President and before that, she was a policy researcher in the economics department in the Prime Minister’s Office. She holds a Bachelor of Science in International Economics from the University of Rwanda, where she was the recipient of the best performer award in economics, and a Master’s in Economic Policy Management, from the University of Makerere. 
Nelly is a motivational speaker who believes that Africans have a duty to transform their nations, change the narrative about their continent and lead it to prosperity. She speaks in different high-level forums especially youth conferences where she shares her journey of surmounting overwhelming personal circumstances, as well as her unique experience as a young leader in a new Rwanda, with the aim of motivating a new generation of Africans to be active leaders today. She was invited by the UNSG to speak at the UN headquarters about her journey as a young leader in the new Rwanda Nelly and her husband, Gapita Martin Fabrice are the proud parents of two children.

En exclusivité avec Arlette Soudan-Nonault

L’épisode d’aujourd’hui est le premier de notre série d’entretiens en français et notre  présentateur invité Franck Olivier Kra échangera avec Madame Arlette Soudan-Nonault, Ministre du Tourisme et de l’Environnement de la République du Congo. Elle nous fait le point sur la relance du tourisme dans ce pays d’Afrique centrale  et donne son avis sur l’approche de l’OMT pour réactiver le tourisme en pleine pandémie du coronavirus

Part 2 Conversation with Finalists of UNWTO Inspiration Brand Africa Challenge

This episode is the final leg of my conversation with finalists of the UNWTO Inspiration Brand Africa challenge. Naledi Khabo of US-based Africa Tourism Association and Tryia Govender the lead for The Creative Collective of South Africa and Kenya.  The duo is excited to be part of the challenge and are willing to share their expertise with Africa’s tourism stakeholders as the continent work towards the Africa renaissance agenda.   The Inspiration Africa Branding challenge is an initiative of the World Tourism Organization in collaboration with CNN International to help reshape the perception of travellers to the African continent. Below is the link to their profiles Africa Tourism Association Creative Collective 

Part 1 Conversation with Finalists of UNWTO Inspiration Brand Africa Challenge

My conversation today is with six of the finalists for UNWTO’s Inspiration Brand Africa challenge. They are Art Lebedev Studio of Russia, Big Ambitions from South Africa, Oscar Abuko- Kenya, ATREVIA-Spain, Rainmaker- Namibia and the UK based Mirabelle Communications. They tell me about their inspiration to participate in the challenge and the experience acquired to move on beyond this project. The Inspiration Africa Branding challenge is an initiative of the World Tourism Organization in collaboration with CNN International to help reshape the perception of travellers to the African continent. See below link to  their profiles 
Art Lebedev Studio Big Ambitions Freelance (Oscar Abuko) ATREVIA Rainmaker Mirabelle Communications LTD