BY NDUMBE BELL GASTON IN DOUALA
Jumia Travel Cameroun, on Leadership Day, brought together leaders and experts of enterprises to share ideas on how best travelling in Africa can be boosted in the face of modern and traditional technology. The issues that included touristic growth and related factors like hotel and road infrastructures, airlines and airports were brought together under the theme “Technology in the service of promoting travelling in Africa”
The discussions took place at the Hotel Princes de Galles precincts in Douala where experts attempted to synchronize all related factors and challenges facing adequate development in all it’s ramifications.
Being that Africa is rich and diversified in a number of interesting touristic and historic sites there must be the determination of it’s governments to include travelling as a foreign exchange earner and encourage the public and private sectors in many African Countries including Cameroon to expand in hotel and airlines trades and many other domains which will naturally align to create jobs.The reverse is the case.
During the exchange it was discovered that some countries excelled more than others putting all the variables together on a case by case basis. “To organize a package tour, business trip, honeymoons, to name a few have met with various experiences, sometimes regrettable and sometimes mediocre than being amazing, considering the inadequate lodging facilities”, says Tom Hurier Director of Jumia Travel Cameroun who presented on the theme ‘Internet: An instrument that has transformed Hotel trade in Africa’, “There are 30.000 hotels in Africa, East Africa counts 5000 more or less, Nigeria has more than 8000 and Cameroon has 750 to name a few.The experiences by travellers has been the poor reception of visitors and inadequate maintenance” Tom Hurier added.
‘Cameroon which is known to be Africa in miniature should not wait to be consumed by foreigners alone but citizens must try to consume the rich tourism potential that mother nature has given us’. This was unanimously accepted by all after the presentations of Diane Andrey , Founder of “VisiterL’Afrique”.
William Elong, Founder and CEO of Start-up Will and Brothers have created a project to produce drones that will send sharp aerial photographs of tourism and other sites in Africa thereby contribute in making them known to a wider public in the world before decisions can be taken to reach those destinations. Jean Vincent Tchienehom, Journalist and audio visual producer presented the role of traditional media in transmitting messages and the promotion of target destination. Djanabou Ali the Social Media Manager for Africa in Brussels Airlines was presenter of ‘’How Social Media contribute in promoting African destinations”