About AABF V - Kampala, Uganda (15-17 June 2009)

Forging Business Linkages for Sustainable Tourism Development in Africa

The Fifth Africa-Asia Business Forum (AABF V) – Forging Business Linkages for Sustainable Tourism Development in Africa, was held at Speke Resort in Kampala, Uganda from 15 to 17 June, 2009.

The novelty of the AABF V is that the focus was placed on service sector, tourism, as contrast to precedent AABFs which mainly dealt with primary and secondary sectors of industry, such as agriculture/forestry, manufacturing and construction sectors.

In supporting the service sector for the first time, AABF V provided a forum for Public-Private Policy Dialogue, in addition to traditional business negotiation opportunities for private companies. Taking the opportunity of public sector presence for the plenary sessions, the business negotiations were joined also by the public institutions for private-public/public-public partnership building.

Objectives:

The ultimate objective of AABF V was to attract investment into Africa and to increase trade and investment between Africa and Asia.

The immediate objectives of AABF V were:

• To organize an interactive policy dialogue between public and private institutions on best practices and lessons learned in successful tourism development;

• To develop a strategic marketing plan and product development for tourism promotion;

• To organize intense face-to-face negotiations for partnership-building between representatives of African and Asian companies; and

• To publicize the positive image of Africa towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

Expected outcomes of the Forum:

• Policy recommendations for pro-poor sustainable tourism development, recommendations for marketing strategy and tourism product development for Asian and Japanese tourists.

• Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) concluded as a result of one-on-one negotiations organized between the private sector participants.

Co-organizers:

AABF V was organized by the following TICAD Co-organizers:

• The Government of Japan

• The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

• The United Nations Office of the Special Advisor on Africa (UN-OSAA)

• The World Bank

With technical cooperation by:

• The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

• The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

Target Sector:

AABF V targeted the tourism sector and tourism-related industries.  

Target Audience:

• Government officials

• Representatives from the tourism sector

• Tourism associations/authorities

• International carriers

• Tourism professionals

• Tour operators

• Travel agencies

• Travel magazines

• Hoteliers/lodges/camps/game reserves

• Bankers to finance tourism-related projects

• International organizations.

Members of the African Diaspora involved in doing business on the continent and women entrepreneurs were encouraged to participate in the Forum.

Target Countries:

The participants were selected from the following countries:

• Africa: all countries

• Asia: Brunei, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.