ATTA Connects Changemakers for Responsible Tourism in Africa
Last week, on 3rd August 2023, more than 100 members of Africa’s Western Cape tourism community attended the Connecting through Conversation networking event in Cape Town, hosted by ATTA (The African Travel & Tourism Association) in collaboration with WESGRO.
The evening saw industry leaders engaging in sharing their expertise and vision for success, as the global industry builds-back with a focus on responsible tourism. Attendees learned more about the ATTA® Evolution and its mission to shine a light upon the region through a network of global connections, showcased recently at Indaba and Experience Africa. Based on enabling the tourism community to connect through conversation, the networking event also included a Q&A with an esteemed panel of passionate industry experts.
Panellists included Natalia Rosa, CEO of Big Ambitions, a specialist travel and tourism communications and marketing organisation; Monika Iuel, Chief Destination Marketing Officer for WESGRO, the tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for the Western Cape; Ingram Casey, founder of Escape + Explore; changemaker Shama Nathoo, the Founding Member of the Universal Accessibility Tourism Association; and Julie Cheetham, co-founder of Weeva.
A focus for ATTA® in 2023 is empowering community-based tourism initiatives, and during the evening ATTA® unveiled a new pilot initiative being developed and trialled in the Western Cape, which aims to foster a conscious and united community within the travel and tourism industry.
“The trial project, named ATTA® for Action, will be a new accessible membership category, that seeks to empower tourism community projects with market access to, and exposure within the tourism industry, and wider ATTA® membership,” says Jon Danks, CEO of ATTA®. “The trial is ultimately designed to offer the wider industry the opportunity to shine a light upon community projects, conservation efforts, and sustainable development initiatives across the region.” The trial will run from mid-August with a review prior to ATTA’s new membership categories being launched in October.
At the event it was also announced that there will be a new partnership, that will give ATTA members, new to Weeva, a 15% discount on the sustainability management platform. Julie Cheetham co-founded Weeva in 2020 – a SaaS platform that enables the travel industry to adopt a measurable and holistic sustainability practice. Transforming tourism one sustainable business at a time, Weeva mirrors ATTA’s renewed commitment to measured and managed impact.
Weeva is a digital system that makes operational efficiency and resilience more accessible and achievable. Focusing on Conservation, Culture, Community and Commerce, Weeva enables independent hotels, lodges, BnBs, and other hospitality providers to monitor, manage, and improve their holistic business performance through a comprehensive suite of digital tools, educational guides, tasks and processes that the whole team can get involved in, from HR to housekeeping.
“With sustainability high on the global agenda right now, Weeva is delighted to be partnering with ATTA® as its preferred sustainability management system,” says Julie Cheetham, Managing Director. “Having access to Weeva at a special rate will allow ATTA members to measure, manage and report on their operational impact more effectively – and collectively build business resilience in our sector.”
Designed to inspire conversations and foster positive connections, ATTA® s latest networking event follows on the heels of successful events in London (Experience Africa) and Durban (Indaba). To find out more about ATTA® and upcoming events please visit atta.travel/.
