Africa Tourism & Sports Seminar Hosts Debert Cook, Publisher, African American Golfer's Digest As Panelist For It's Travel Show Program

New York, NY (February 18, 2008)—The Africa Travel Association (ATA) has invited Debert Cook, Publisher of the African American Golfer’s Digest, to participate as a panelist at the first U.S.-Africa Tourism & Sports Seminar to be held from February 27-28, 2008 at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York. The event is being co-hosted with The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), with the support of The New York Times Travel Show 2008.

Cook will join other global representatives from the public and private sectors and travel industry as they convene for two days to discuss Africa as a leading travel destination and to hear from expert panelists at the seminar entitled “Making Africa the World’s Next Premiere Travel Destination.”

Ms. Cook will speak at the workshop entitled, “Sports Tourism: A Continental Approach to Travel and Tourism Development in Africa,” on Tuesday, February 27, 2008, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. This workshop examines the benefits and opportunities of sports tourism for Africa by focusing on the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup and other Africa-based sporting events, such as golf, water sports, and racing. Hosting sport events requires major investment from the private sector. The involvement of the public sector responsible for sports and tourism is also essential to marketing a destination and linking it the country's tourism development strategy. Panelists will present their specific case study, offer best practices and lessons learned, and suggest ways to offer returns on U.S. investment to Africa.

“With the seminar only a few weeks away, we have received incredibly positive responses from key players in the travel and tourism industries,” said ATA Executive Director Edward Bergman. “With some of the industry’s top leaders signing on to speak at the event, we want to ensure that our members and supporters don’t miss out on this unique networking and learning opportunity.”

Ghana Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Affairs and ATA President Honorable STEPHEN ASAMOAH-BOATENG; Angola Minister of Hotels and Tourism Honorable EDUARDO J.S. CHINGUNJI; and Togo Minister of Tourism, Arts and Leisure ISSUFOU OKOULOU-KANTCHATI will participate in the event, alongside South Africa Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation Honorable GERT C. OOSTHUIZEN (MP) and World Bank Vice President of the Africa Region Honorable OBIAGELI EZEKWESILI. Honorable SHAMSA MWANGUNGA, Minister of Natural Resources and Tourism of Tanzania, the host of ATA’s upcoming 33rd Annual Congress, is expected.

“Golf is growing at a phenomenal rate in the U.S. among African Americans and many of them seek to take their golf clubs along with them when they travel to Africa. The African American Golfer’s Digest has covered many African destinations over the years and the great golf courses that are available for our readers to play,” Remarked Cook, who started the national quarterly five years ago.

TODD JACOBSON, Vice President of Community Relations of the National Basketball Association (NBA), will provide remarks at the Sports Tourism workshop, alongside sports experts from the private and public sectors, as well as the sports philanthropy SEEDS FOUNDATION.

North America’s leading tour operators specializing in Africa, including G.A.P ADVENTURES, HENDERSON TRAVEL and METICULOUS TOURS, alongside BRIAN KINCADE of National Geographic Traveler, will speak on panels on “Travel Trends,” “Experiential Travel,” and “Myth and Reality.”

TEWOLDE G. MARIAM, Chief Operating Officer of ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES, and CHRISTIAN FOLLY-KOSSI, Secretary General of the AFRICAN AIRLINES ASSOCIATION, will provide an update on growth in the field and lead discussions on “Africa Air Service.” JIM SHERMAN, President of SHERMAN’S TRAVEL, a leading publisher of top travel deals and destination advice, will speak on “e-Tourism Strategies.” The closing plenary will focus on private sector investment in Africa’s travel industry.

To kickoff the two-day seminar, the SOUTH AFRICA CONSULATE GENERAL will host a special networking event for participants and special guests. The evening event will celebrate Africa as a leading global travel destination and demonstrate how South Africa—with the 2010 World Cup around the corner—is ripe for investment and business exploration in the travel industry. South Africa Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation OOSTHUIZEN will deliver the keynote address.

ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES, KENYA AIRWAYS, EMIRATES AIRLINES and the SOUTH AFRICA CONSULATE GENERAL are official sponsors of the seminar.

About the Africa Travel Association (ATA)
ATA, a non-profit 501(c)(6), is the premier global travel association promoting tourism to Africa and intra-Africa travel and partnership since 1975. ATA members include ministries of tourism and culture, national tourism boards, airlines, hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators, travel trade media, public relations firms, NGOs, and SME’s. For more information, visit ATA online at www.africatravelassociaton.org or call +1.212.447.1357.