McDan Aviation has been unveiled as the co-major sponsor of the fourth edition of AviaTour Conference and Awards slated for March 8-10, 2022, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The other major sponsor, according to the organisers is Tigerbase Travels while the rest of the sponsors and partners include Enclave Ghana, Women in Tourism, Staple Travel and Tours, and TOURA.
Speakers for this year’s event include CEO of McDan Group, Dr. Daniel Mckorley; Vice President of ECOWAS Tourism Private Sector, Ambassador Nancy Q. Sam; CEO of TOURA, Cleopatre Hermione Kougniazonde; First Female Aircraft Marshaller of the GACL, Felicia Edem Attipoe; and CEO of Dodi Travels, Ahmed Naamann.
The three-day event themed ‘Learning best practices to bridge the gap between the aviation and tourism industry for sustainable socio-economic development’, seeks to build synergies in aviation and tourism for growth and development. The event will consist of a master class, conference, and exhibition, a gala, and awards.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GH-Aviation, organisers of the AviaTour Conference and Awards, Elizabeth Twumwaa Sasu, this year’s event will witness stakeholders in the aviation and tourism chain deliberating on what could be done to bridge the gap between the two sectors and advising on ways to connect them to grow the GDP of countries.
“Participants will include stakeholders in the aviation and tourism industry- travel and tour agents, airlines, hotels, government agencies, banks, media as well as the general public.
Participants should expect three days of lot of activities like an expo tour, masterclass, panel discussions, presentations, gala night, and a lot more. We have speakers from the banking sector, Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Ghana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL), Ghana Tourism Development Company (GTDC), Ghana Tourism Federation (GHATOF), aviation experts and many more,” she disclosed.
The discussions will be based on five major topics including, the role of aviation and tourism in economic recovery post-COVID-19, learning best practices to bridge the gap between the aviation and tourism industry for sustainable socio-economic development, value chain collaboration in the aviation and tourism industry, investor confidence investing in the aviation and tourism industry and tour wholesaling and what it means for the industry.
Speaking generally on the event, Ms. Sasu explained that “the Dubai Expo and what it stands for, inspired the theme for the 4th edition because this is a city that has risen from nothing to something. I believe there is a lot we can learn from them and this conference can be the starting point for that.
Looking at the theme ‘learning best practices’, Dubai was the obvious choice as there is an ongoing expo with the whole world in attendance. The AviaTour Conference always aims at making an impact and having the programme in Dubai will achieve that,” she added.
She also recounted the impact of the previous editions adding that this year’s edition would directly support the organization’s marketing efforts by offering brand positioning, and image association.
It will also be a platform where representatives from various organizations can network with key conference delegates. “The impact has been enormous. After the 2019 edition, the Western Region has been opened up and a lot of tour operators have it as a destination of choice and are bringing in a lot of tourists to the region. The networking, masterclass and discussions are personalized in a way that participants feel comfortable and take away a lot from the conference discussions,” she said.
Awards
The award session of the event is set to recognize stakeholders who have made great impacts in the two industries. It will therefore cover the aviation, tourism, and also youth in aviation and tourism category.
The awards night will witness a special award going to the ‘Innovative Entrepreneur’ doing a presentation on the topic ‘aviation and tourism are connected than meets the eye’.