The Ghana Tourism Authority under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with Africa Tourism Partners (ATP) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will host the UNWTO Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge.

The Summit, which is the third in the series, is a hybrid event scheduled for July 28 to 30 at Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, Accra-Ghana, and on the theme, "Empowering African Youth in tourism through innovation, education and investments in a changed world".

A release issued to the Ghana News Agency, on Tuesday, in Accra, said the Summit was a youth-oriented initiative, which focused on skills development and innovation methodologies for youth in leisure and business tourism as well as Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE).

It said the initiative also served as an exclusive gathering for innovative African youth in travel, tourism and MICE looking for partnership, market access, mentorship and funding opportunities to present their projects to the global marketplace in order to find the required support.

"The Pan-African summit also creates an environment for the youth, start-ups in leisure tourism and MICE and professionals to gather to harness the potential of the tourism industry by sharing insights, knowledge, experiences and opportunities."

The release said the summit would uncover some of the opportunities available in MICE and offer possible solutions on how to navigate the present and post COVID-19 challenges in the tourism industry.

"There will be a Master Class on July 29 at the Accra Tourist Information Centre and also an in-person Conference on July 28 and 30, 2021 at Alisa Hotel.

The Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation competition began on May 10 and ended on June 15.
Youth Innovators from about eight African countries - Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Zambia have entered the competition.

Top five finalists of the Africa Youth in Tourism Challenge would be introduced to industry leaders, mentors and potential funders and/or partnerships at the summit and it would be announced through various media platforms.

"Shortlisted Innovation Challenge competitors will have the opportunity to be supported and mentored to compete in the UNWTO Global Innovation Challenge, and will benefit in many ways such as career guidance for fresh high school and university graduates interested in travel and tourism and MICE eco-system careers."

They would also benefit by creating a new exclusive marketplace for African Youth and Start-Ups and SMMEs in leisure tourism, business tourism and MICE, gaining insights into supply-chain linkages, market access, funding, business recovery and continuity opportunities between start-ups established & big industry stakeholders across leisure and business travel as well as MICE.

“Such competitors would also build synergies amongst public sector entities, including; National Tourism Organisations, Convention Bureaux and Conference Centres, start-ups, academia, corporations, investors, and accelerators."

The release also noted that the five shortlisted competitors would participate in the finals of the Youth Innovation Summit and Challenge that would take place on the margins of the annual Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) and Awards scheduled to take place in Rwanda later in mid-November.