The VA TourismPodcast

Award winning Ghanaian Tour Guide Nii Ayi Solomon's take on Ghana's competitiveness as a Tourist Destination

In this episode (#12), Award-winning Ghanaian Tour Guide and Playwright  Nii Ayi Solomon talk about the devastating impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the tour guiding business in Ghana and why he thinks managers of the tourism sector need to do more to make the West African country a competitive destination. Nii is a professional tour planner and an award-winning tour guide. He has over a decade of experience in tour operations and has guided tourists from all walks of life. He is also a published Poet and a playwright. Nii Ayi holds an HND in Tourism, BSc. In Business Administration and an MPhil in Marketing. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Ghana Business School.

Disability Advocate Farida Bedwei opens up on her journey and calls for real inclusion in the Tourism Industry

In this episode (#11), my guest Farida Bedwei a Ghanaian software engineer, co-founder of a fintech company – Logiciel and disability advocate shares the excruciating pains people with disabilities go through when embarking on tourism expedition. She believes when things are done with inclusion in mind everyone wins and opens up on her demystifying disabilities project. She co-founded a fintech company - Logiciel, which promotes financial inclusion by building micro-banking systems for financial institutions. She has won many awards across Africa for her work in the technology industry as well as her activism in promoting disability awareness. She has been featured on CNN African Voices, BBC, MSNBC Africa, DW Radio, and many other local and international media platforms. She is also a self-published author, having written her first book, “Definition of a miracle”, a few years ago. In October 2018, Farida teamed up with Leti Arts to author the first comic book featuring a superheroine with Cerebral Palsy - Karmzah
 

Tourism News Wrap 14

The VA #TourismNewsWrap14 is a 360 roundup of the latest news in the Travel and Tourism sector. It sums up what you missed the previous week. The video captures, in brief, the major stories. Headlines; •Short-sighted unilateral actions will have devasting impacts on Tourism- UN Tourism Boss/ Nigeria to resume International flights operation from Aug 29// Ghana target Sept.1 for border reopening //South Africa eases lockdown regulations and pushes for domestic tourism revival //Malawi to resume international flight services in September Rwanda Convention Bureau Joins UFI. Visit www.voyagesafriq.com for more updates 

Time with Tim Van der Linden- Chairperson of Malawi Tourism Council,

In this episode,(#10) Tim Van der Linden, the Chairperson of the Malawi Tourism Council looks at measures put in place to resuscitate the ailing tourism sector and further opens up on the country's domestic tourism potential. Tim van der Linden is from the Netherlands and started working in the Malawi Tourism Sector in 2011. He is currently the General Manager of Kiboko Safaris based in Lilongwe. Tim has been the  Chairman of the  Malawi Tourism Council since August 2019 and has 10 years of experience with managing small to medium teams for SMEs related to Malawi Tourism.

Dr Nirmal Shah's take on Africa's Blue Economy and Tourism Development

In this episode (#9) Dr. Nirmal Shah, the CEO of Nature Seychelles and marine purist discusses Africa's blue economy and the need to invest resources and attention in the wake of the environmental disaster in the beautiful Indian Ocean island of Mauritius where 4000 tonnes of oil have been spilled in this world-renowned coral reefs. He admonishes travellers and tourists to support conservation efforts by upholding the ethics of responsible and sustainable tourism. Dr Shah opines that some African governments are using the blue economy mantra to secure financing and attention rather than committing efforts towards its developments.  

CEO of TBCSA Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa opens up on Tourism developments in South Africa

In this episode( #8) the CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA), Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa elaborates on the magnitude of problems facing South Africa's tourism sector as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. He discusses the council's approach to mitigating the challenges as well as the call to have international borders open. Mr. Tshivhengwa delves into the modus operandi of the TBSA  and finally walks us through his personal life. 

Tourism News Wrap13

The VA #TourismNewsWrap13 is a 360 roundup of the latest news in the Travel and Tourism sector. It sums up what you missed the previous week. It captures in brief, the major stories. Headlines;Kenya Airways suspends flights to Eight African cities // Zimbabwe unveils Tourism Recovery and Growth Strategy // Zambia releases Guidelines to be observed at Ports of Entry// TBCSA launches Covid-19 safety App for Tourism Sector
 

Ugandan Tech Entrepreneur David Gonahasa looks at how African grown solutions can help build back Tourism

#In this episode(#7)  David  Gonahasa, Ugandan tech entrepreneur and founder of Tripxio a Shopify like tool looks at how African grown solutions can help address the challenges in the continent's tourism sector and build back better. He discusses how he seeks to help small and medium tourism businesses in Africa digitalize their operations. He previously founded Roundbob.com an online travel agency. David built his first tech business in 2003; Mediaflower.com and Marketuganda.com. He has worked in Advertising in Rwanda and Uganda, IT, and in Mobile payments as CMO for Mobicash Africa supporting the brand and commercial growth in 7 markets across the African Continent.  David was named Uganda Innovation Achiever of the Year 2017 (MTN Innovation Awards), an Alibaba eFounders Fellow and a member of The Africa List. He was also the winner of UNWTO Tourism Tech Adventures (Africa Region)