Organisers of Akwaaba African Travel Market say they are leveraging momentum ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to deepen collaboration between Africa’s sports and tourism industries through the second African Tour Operators Summit.
The organisers said this in a statement on Saturday in Lagos.
The statement said the summit would bring together East and West African tour operators to build travel packages for the continental football championship, using sports to boost tourism, trade and regional integration.
It added that the summit would link tour operators from key football travel markets with operators in co-hosts Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda ahead of the 2027 AFCON.
The statement said West Africa remained Africa’s football powerhouse, consistently producing the highest number of AFCON qualifiers, while East Africa had emerged as one of the continent’s leading tourism destinations, making the convergence a natural partnership.
“The 2027 AFCON will be hosted jointly by the three East African Countries of Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya and it is expected to be a huge tourism party across the three countries.
“It offers an African opportunity to connect sports and tourism on a continental level,” it said.
The statement added that participating tour operators would spend three days networking, exploring business opportunities and jointly developing travel packages that would enable more Africans to experience the tournament while promoting intra-African travel.
The organisers also announced that the Africa Travel 100 Awards for African Tour Operators would hold during the summit to celebrate operators promoting African destinations across the continent.
“The awards will honour African tour operators that promote and market African destinations to Africans.
“It is the Africans for Africa Awards,” the statement said.
Akwaaba noted that beyond sports tourism, the event would feature exhibitions, business-to-business meetings, the Africa Food Fair, African Medical Tourism, African Tourism Conference, Destination Wedding showcase, African Youth Tourism Bantaba, Travel Technology and CHINET Aviacargo, reflecting the expanding opportunities within Africa’s travel ecosystem.
According to the statement, the 22nd Akwaaba African Travel Market will hold in Lagos from Sept. 13 to Sept. 15, attracting participants from more than 20 countries across Africa and beyond.
It added that the expo, recognised in 2022 with an Award of Excellence in Tourism by the Nigerian Government and the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, had grown into one of Africa’s leading travel marketing platforms, covering tourism, aviation, hospitality and cross-border travel.
