The winners of the inaugural African Travel Week Travel & Tourism Awards have been announced, shining a spotlight on exceptional individuals and businesses which have written the most compelling stories in the book of African travel for 2019/20.
The Awards celebrate the history of storytelling in Africa, which stretches back thousands of years, with tales passing on knowledge from one generation to the next, around the boma under glittering African skies. It’s in this spirit that the African Travel & Tourism Awards presented by WTM Africa celebrates the stories of those who have shared their uniquely beautiful African tale with visitors, representing a continent full of vibrancy, life, soul and heart.
Eight categories were established to celebrate the success of national, regional and city tourist boards and to recognise outstanding private sector companies and individuals, with the winners in each announced as:
- Most Compelling Tourism Story: Spring Marketing Campaign by Northern Cape Tourism Authority.
- Most Compelling Innovation & Technology Story: Virtual Reality for Tanzania by Views4D.
- Most Compelling Agency Story: CNN International Commercial for Farm to Table (Dangote).
- Most Compelling Luxury Story: Table Mountain Ring by Shimansky.
- Most Compelling Sustainability Story: International Dark Sky Certification Campaign by !Xaus Lodge.
- Most Compelling Digital Story: Blood Lions Campaign and Love Africa Marketing.
- Most Compelling Adventure Story: Pioneer Trail by Gondwana Game Reserve.
- Most Compelling Foodie Story: Africa’s Original Elephant Dung Gin by Indlovu Gin.
Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director for Africa Travel Week says that the judging panel were impressed by the standard of entries. “There is some sterling work being done out there to showcase the best of our continent to the world on a variety of different platforms. It’s a privilege to have been able to see these fantastic campaigns collected in one place, as we judged them – and we can’t wait to see how the creators apply their creativity to continuing to share Africa’s beauty and diversity with the world in the face of the challenges the global travel industry faces for the foreseeable future,” she says.
The Awards were due to be announced at a ceremony which formed part of World Travel Market Africa 2020 in Cape Town, but with the event postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the independent panel of industry expert judges decided that excellence in the travel space still needed to be rewarded at an incredibly trying time for the global travel industry. The winners will be officially honoured at the next instalment of WTM Africa, at a dedicated awards evening.
For more details on the story behind each Award, visit https://africa.wtm.com/en/Awards/