Corinthia Hotels International elected to the Africa Travel Association International Board of Directors

Corinthia Hotels International (CHI) has been elected to the International Board of Directors of the Africa Travel Association (ATA). The elections were recently held in Accra, Ghana, at ATA’s 31st Annual International Marketing Congress hosted by Ghana’s Ministry of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City.

CHI is a Malta-based hospitality group with 20 upscale properties in Europe, the Mediterranean and Africa.

Karmenu Vella, CHI Chairman said, “Corinthia is proud to take an active role on the ATA Board of Directors. We feel very confident about the future of tourism to Africa. With CHI’s extensive experience in developing and managing hotels on the continent, we feel we can make a valuable contribution to the continued growth of tourism in Africa through ATA. The timing for Corinthia’s involvement on the ATA board is excellent. CHI is currently expanding and strengthening its sales and marketing presence in the US, one of Africa’s major business and leisure travel source markets; and the recent announcement by the United States that it will renew full diplomatic ties with Libya will enable us to add Libya as one of ATA’s featured African destinations.”

Fumeke Sarr, General Manager, Corinthia 2 Fevrier Hotel in Lome, Togo, who will represent CHI on the ATA Board, added, “the Corinthia in Lome has already hosted a group of ATA Travel Agents prior to the Congress in Ghana, the first such group to visit Togo in years.”

Mira Berman, ATA outgoing Executive Director, said “thanks to Corinthia’s involvement in ATA, we had a Togolese Ministerial representation for the first time in years attends the congress in Accra. This is an excellent example of how the private sector can help bring in the public sector to open the country to new tourism markets. ATA will without a doubt benefit greatly from having CHI as an active member of the Board.”

The Newly elected ATA Board President is H.E. Jake Obetsebi-Lamptey, Ghana’s Minister of Tourism and Modernisation of the Capital City; and the newly appointed Executive Director is Eddie Bergman, together with Associate Program Director, Robert Allsbrook.

Africa Travel Association, headquartered in New York, is an international not-for-profit professional Travel industry association dedicated to the promotion of tourism to Africa. Its members are comprised of Government Ministries of Tourism, Tourist Boards, Airlines, Hoteliers, Tour Operators, Cruise Lines, Travel Agents, Educational and Museum Group Organizers, Public Relations Professionals and print, electronic broadcast and internet media.  ince its establishment in 1975, 33 different African cities and 22 African countries have hosted ATA Congresses and Cultural and Ecotourism Symposia.

As part of its Global Reach, ATA outgoing president. Hon. Kabinga Pande, Zambia’s Minister of Tourism, Environment and Natural Resources, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of ATA with the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s President, Peter de Jong. This regional cooperation agreement represents a major breakthrough for Africa in the untapped “giant” Asian tourism market.

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