At the ongoing Magical Kenya Travel Expo, Nigel Vere Nicolls, the long-serving CEO of ATTA, the African Travel and Tourism Association, announced his retirement after serving nearly twenty years as CEO of the organization.
Under Nigelโs leadership ATTA has attained an almost stellar reputation as an advocate organization for travel to Africa and the number of members has increased substantially over the years. Over 600 tourism blue chip companies from some 22 African countries are presently on the membersโ roll, credited to Nigelโs tireless efforts to promote ATTA, which is based in UK, as a primary platform for doing business in Africa.
The Board of Directors will now start to find a successor for Nigel while he will remain in office. After his retirement from the frontline he is expected to take up a role on the Board or in an advisory capacity for ATTA.
As a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, Nigel made his mark in Kenya in his younger days when he was Managing Director of Signet Hotels, which later got sold to become Lonrho Hotels. He served in various top management positions like Wild Africa Safaris, Universal Travel and On Safari Ltd before being appointed CEO of ATTA in May 1994.