A lot has been happening in our beloved industry but we are all starting to pull together in the same direction, with the same goal – to keep our industry alive, to protect Africa’s natural resources and to ensure that we can get clients travelling back to the continent as soon as is possible. In this issue we will highlight some of these collaborative initiatives in addition to highlighting what some of our properties are doing with regards to the Covid 19 protocols.
OurAfrica.Travel is a new virtual meeting platform for the travel trade – launched to fill the void left by the cancellation of all global travel trade shows this year.
The show sets out to connect global buyers with African suppliers via pre-scheduled one-on-one, face-to-face virtual meetings. Exhibitors representing travel products from all over Africa are signing-up to connect with African specialists from around the world. The exciting, hi-tech virtual ‘travel show’ will take place over 16 days in August 2020 and is scheduled within geographical regions to accommodate time zones. The dates for the UK are 24th – 28th August 2020.
The Ethos clients that have currently registered include
To find out more go to https://ourafrica.travel/ or watch this short video clip https://youtu.be/HghafMekQco
We hope that you will register as a buyer and connect with the Ethos portfolio to find out directly from them how they are managing though these unique times.
Ride 4 Rangers is an initiative that was thought up in recent weeks by a group of African Travel Industry friends who have teamed up with conservation charity Tusk. Hundreds of fellow Africa Travel industry professionals and conservation lovers are being invited to join in the attempt to ride 30,000km cumulatively - the equivalent to circumnavigating Africa (including our very own Kevin). The initiative is being kick-started with a Lands End to John O’Groats 15-day bike ride challenge starting on 15th August 2020. Kevin will be attempting the whole ride on his indoor static bike. Kevin is starting his journey on Saturday 1st August Each day he will programme in a section of the route and we will report on his progress. His aim is to do the ride over the month of August.
The idea is to get together as an industry both within Africa and globally in a fun way to raise funds & awareness of the impact that Covid-19 has had on conservation in Africa. Tourism is the key funder of conservation in Africa through park fees and conservation and wildlife are what the industry is built on. Since the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic there has been very little money going into the conservation system. You can view more on the website here: https://www.ride4rangers.com/
All funds raised are being strictly managed by Tusk and will be distributed across 60 different projects and conservation areas across East, Southern, Central and West Africa. It is important to emphasise…..these aren’t all existing Tusk projects, but a separate list of 60 different conservation areas and entities across Africa that rely on rangers to protect wildlife – and whose work is being impacted by Covid 19. An independent panel of conservation experts has been created to identify these recipients (& is conducting the due diligence & governance tests). The aim is to support over 5000 rangers and their wider families. Incredibly Tusk have a donor who has offered to match-fund all the monies we raise. So thanks to Tusk, the Ride 4 Rangers efforts will be able to double its impact on the ground.
We would love it if you and your clients could support Ethos and in particular Kevin on his venture. We have set up a JustGiving page which can be accessed via this link:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Ride4Rangers-Ethos
All of the Ethos portfolio of clients has been working extremely hard behind the scenes to put into place protocols to keep both their staff and your guests safe. It is a very delicate balancing act to ensure that your guests still get the amazing experience that they have been dreaming of whilst also having the confidence and reassurance that they are being kept safe and healthy.
Please click on the links below to be taken through to the relevant documentation for those clients who have finalised their protocols. Please note that this is still an evolving situation and will be regularly updated in line with the relevant government guidelines.