The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is set to host the sixth annual E-Tourism Africa Summit on 9 and 10 September 2013. Following last year’s success, the two-day summit focusing on online tourism is set to get bigger and better.
Backed by South African Tourism, this year’s conference will bring online powerhouses such as Facebook, Twitter, Tripadviser and Expedia together with a new set of local and international innovative speakers. The event will include informative seminars and training sessions, all aimed to introduce new practical local solutions.
Cape Town will be hosting the sixth annual E-Tourism Summit
Practical sessions
Damian Cook, the CEO of E-Tourism Frontiers said the summit will host practical sessions on mobile solutions that will give travel trade the opportunity to focus strongly on which social media campaigns, channels and online business opportunities work well in Africa and for their own markets. ‘With mobile penetration across Africa expected to reach 80% later this year and smart phone ownership currently around 17 to 19% of the continent, according to the 2012 African Mobile Factbook, online mobile travel sales will be very important for domestic and regional travel bookings,’ said Cook.
However, these won’t be the only highlights of the event. According to William Price, Global Manager: E-Marketing at South African Tourism, South African Tourism plans to use the summit as a platform to unveil a Digital Academy that will be specially designed for the travel trade. ‘We want to make moving online accessible and practical, and the summit will be a great opportunity for everyone to learn what works online and the new trends and innovations that will help build our businesses in the future,’ he said.
Africa App Quest
Image from E-Tourism Africa Frontiers
The event will also feature the announcement of the Africa App Quest winner. Sponsored by Visa and South African Tourism,this continent-wide search for the best locally developed travel technology will see one of the finalists (who will be presenting their solution to during the summit) walk away with a $10 000 prize. As part of it’s sponsorship package, SA Tourism give 100 SMMEs a chance to attend the summit on a complimentary basis. ‘We are delighted to be the title sponsors of the summit, we want to continue to show the tourism sector that shifting their business online is absolutely crucial,’ Cook added.
E-Tourism Africa Summit event details
Full conference pass for both days is just R3 500 per person.
A one-day conference pass which can be used for either day is just R2 020.
Registration includes all sessions, coffee breaks, refreshments, lunches and online tourism training textbook.
If you would like to register directly call +254-727-532-250. For more information on how you could be part of this event, visit www.e-tourismfrontiers.com.
If you’re attending the sixth annual E-Tourism Africa Summit form out of town check out these affordable accommodation options in Cape Town.
Main image by Roland Urbanek.
