Trade And Investment Ties Between Africa & US
Corporate Council on Africa delivers tourism policy recommendations to Obama administration
The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), the American business organization dedicated to increasing trade and investment ties between the United States and the nations of Africa, today delivered policy recommendations to the Obama administration covering the travel and tourism industry in destinations throughout the African continent. The recommendations, part of a report on US government policies and programs that support economic interests across key business sectors in Africa, were presented by CCA chairman Jeffrey Sturchio during the group’s annual membership meeting.
The recommendations, which were submitted today to the White House, are the result of a three-month process that involved representatives of more than 100 CCA members, which include some of the largest and most influential tourism-related businesses in the US and Africa, according to CCA president & CEO Stephen Hayes. The report spans topics from security to tourism and finance to agribusiness and was described by Hayes as unprecedented in the 16-year history of the organization. “The fact that our companies made this their priority over three months clearly indicates the importance of Africa to our economy,” Hayes said.
The travel and tourism industry recommendations are the result of the CCA’s Africa Tourism Policy Committee chaired by Marc Cavaliere, executive vice president, South African Airways. The recommendations cover four broad topics:
1. Developing Africa’s tourism Infrastructure (communications technology, training for careers in tourism, and expanding air service from the United States to Africa)
2. Improving Africa’s image in the United States
3. Modernizing travel advisory procedures
4. Addressing crime and security issues in Africa
“Africa is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing destinations for overseas inbound tourism,” said Marc Cavaliere, executive vice president, South African Airways. “Now is the time to come together and work in unity to drive the volume of arrivals. There is much work to do before us, and these policy recommendations are an important step toward that larger goal.”
Participating members of the CCA’s Africa Tourism Policy Committee include vice chairman Paul Cohen, president, Partner Concepts; along with Patrick Younge, Travel Channel Media; Eddie Bergman, Africa Travel Association; Tim McCoy, CCA; Lisa Pikrum, RLJ Companies; Stephen Snively, Namibia Honorary Consul; Mark Walton, The Africa Channel, Henry Kartagener, KAI Assoc., Inc.;. Dorothy Davis, Diasporan Touch, Les de Villiers, TheUltimateSafari.com; and Maisa Fernandez, Kenya Tourism.
The Corporate Council on Africa (www.africacncl.org) is a non-profit, membership-based organization established in 1993 to promote business and investment between the United States and Africa. It is one of the premier US organizations devoted to US-Africa business relations and is comprised of more than 160 members, which include some of America’s top corporations and represent nearly 85 percent of total US private sector investments in Africa.
The full report is available at www.africacncl.org.
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