Lamine Sebogo is Head of the Elephant Conservation program for the WWF. Sitting down with Bench Events CEO, Jonathan Worsley, at the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) 2015 in Addis Ababa, the pair discuss the real facts about the elephant poaching crisis. Covering the poverty, global demand and money that is fuelling the trade, Mr Sebogo talks about how the hotel industry can stop the slaughter of approximately 30,000 elephants being poached every year.
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.
Hear more about the increased activity from Middle Eastern carriers and some successes from local carriers such as Ethiopian Airways, using Addis Ababa as a hub. The growth of African middle class consumers has also given birth to low cost carriers such as FastJet as well as three other players in the region. Jon can be reached via jon.howell@benchevents.com.
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.
The focus moves quickly to the fast vs slow rise of low cost carriers in Africa and some of the institutional challenges that may be holding the low cost opportunity back. What do African national carriers need to do with their routes, landing fees, fuel costs, etc to help build out a similar market to Europe, the US and Asia? Hear Mario’s thoughts on these issues as well as how he defines Air Djibouti in terms of its business model and its future in passenger services.
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.
Bench Events UK MD Matthew Weihs talks to Jonathan Hubbard about how Africa may be the “next big story” as the world economy moves away from a period of difficulty. The demographic and economic story continues to evolve in Africa and Jonathan talks about how that will attract brands and financial support as supply increases in Africa.
The conversation heads towards the long term view for institutional investors and local partners. The development market, currently at $2 billion dollars a year, is the focus for now, but what happens next with Governments and investors as pertains to their expectations from the market?
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.
Ms Zeisler speaks on the rich wildlife in the region and the option for tourists to stay longer, impacting spending and lowering relative C02 emissions. She also speaks on the some the work that needs to be done by the airline carriers to increase the flow of travellers into the region.
From an investment perspective, Valentina highlights an aggregated fund that pools together a series of independent lodges that form a larger more attractive fund for investors that may otherwise find an independant lodge to small to invest in. Could bundling investments be a game changer?
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.
From new operators in the marketplace to an increasing plethora of options for stakeholders at all levels in the ecosystem, this conversation covers the results of a survey aimed at helping investors navigate these factors.
There is special focus on East Africa as well as ideal hotel sizes as relates to franchise models and management contracts. Additionally, Mr Troughton speaks on the need for operator offices on the ground in local markets and how a recent increase in that trend is helping the industry grow in Africa.
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.
In this brief discussion, Mr Murangwe speaks on his excitement for Rwanda’s progress, including several leisure products coming on to the market and the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF) itself coming to Rwanda in 2016. Currently 9.1% of Rwanda’s GDP comes from travel and tourism - however the MICE strategy outlined in this podcast details how they hope to increase that.
The discussion also moves towards the preservation and conservation of Rwanda’s fantastic natural wildlife, from Gorillas to Lions and how that attraction will tie into the growth of the MICE sector.
This podcast is part of an official series supporting the Africa Hotel Investment Forum (AHIF). To attend, please visit www.africa-conference.com.