The Ghana Tourism Authority under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, in collaboration with Africa Tourism Partners (ATP) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will host the UNWTO Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation Summit and Challenge.

The Summit which is the 3rd in the series is under the theme, “empowering African youth in tourism through innovation, education and investments in a changed world” is a hybrid event and it is scheduled for 28th to 30th July, 2021 and will be held at Alisa Hotel, North Ridge, Accra-Ghana.

The Summit is a youth-oriented initiative which focuses on skills development and innovation methodologies for youth in leisure and business tourism as well as Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE)

The initiative also serves as an exclusive gathering for innovative African youth in travel, tourism and MICE looking for partnership, market access, mentorship and funding opportunities to present their projects to the global marketplace in order to find the required support.
The Pan-African summit also creates an environment for the youth, start-ups (in leisure tourism and MICE) and professionals to gather to harness the potential of the tourism industry by sharing insights, knowledge, experiences and opportunities.

The summit will uncover some of the opportunities available in MICE and offer possible solutions on how to navigate the present and post COVID-19 challenges in the tourism industry.

There will be a Master Class on 29th July, 2021 at the Accra Tourist Information Centre and also an in‐person Conference on 28th & 30th July, 2021 at Alisa Hotel.

The Africa Youth in Tourism Innovation competition begun in 10th May, 2021 and ended on 15th June 2021. Youth Innovators from about eight (8) African countries including Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Zambia have entered the competition. Top 5 finalists of the Africa Youth in Tourism Challenge will be introduced to industry leaders, mentors and potential funders and/or partnerships at the summit and it will be announced through various media platforms.

Again, Shortlisted Innovation Challenge competitors will have the opportunity to be supported and mentored to compete in the UNWTO Global Innovation Challenge., and will benefit in many ways such as:

• career guidance for fresh high school and university graduates interested in travel and tourism and MICE eco-system careers;
• Creating a new exclusive marketplace for African Youth and Start-Ups and SMMEs in leisure tourism, business tourism and MICE
• Gaining insights into supply-chain linkages, market access, funding, business recovery and continuity opportunities between start-ups established & big industry stakeholders across leisure and business travel as well as MICE;
• synergies amongst public sector entities (including National Tourism Organizations, Convention Bureaux and Conference Centres), start-ups, academia, corporations, investors, accelerators.
• The five (5) shortlisted competitors will participate in the finals of the Youth Innovation Summit and Challenge that will take place on the margins of the annual Africa Tourism Leadership Forum (ATLF) and Awards scheduled to take place in Rwanda later in mid-November.