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./..www Africa: A continent with 52 Separate Destinations by Jerry W. Bird Quick Now! When you think of Africa, what image comes to mind? Do you visualize a luxury tented camp near Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania? Do you see an elegant, Orient-Express class railway coach sailing through a grassy sea? Is a world class United Nations Convention Center and 90 foreign embassies your idea of Addis Ababa? How about a Manhattan skyline in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire, West Africa? Believe it! The state of the art facilities in hotels, resorts, lodges, and meeting places for tourists and business visitors in many African countries shatters the myths and blows away most preconceived notions of today's visitor. So does the Transatlantic service of Africa based airlines, SAA, Ethiopian Airlines, Air Afrique and Ghana Airways. Another monster myth is the price tag. Thanks to fleet expansion and alliances, getting to Africa from the USA is easier and cheaper for your clients than ever. Just ask anyone from the Africa Travel Association (ATA) who has flown there lately. The Association escorted 10 travel writers on a tour of Ethiopia's Historic Route last year, and the stories that resulted were 100 per cent positive. A new Business Travel and Investment magazine that will be available starting in 2001 as a combination package to subscribers of Africa Travel Magazine. Watch this site for news of its editorial menu.   Africa Travel Association (ATA) Builds Bridges to Africa When 500 delegates convene in Cape Town, South Africa, May 20-25, 2001, they'll be toasting ATA's 26th International Congress. Of course, it will be with the finest Cape wines. As a nonprofit, nonpolitical organization, ATA's membership is comprised of government ministers, tourist board officials, tour operators, travel agency, hotel, airline, marketing and media executives, educators and group organizers. ATA's mandate is to educate its membership, teaching agents about changing consumer demands, how to market new African products, packages and destinations effectively, and why cultural, educational and ecotourism is gaining such popularity in America. Niche markets are foremost - adventure travelers, seniors, families on safari, African-Americans seeking cultural heritage, budding archaeologists, history buffs, sports lovers, the meetings and incentive trade - you name it. ATA teaches agents how to spot new trends and cash in early. Africa Travel Association's Global Perspective "The Association has achieved a global position in the travel industry through alliances that are far reaching in scope," says in Mira Berman, ATA Executive Director, "My predecessor Hagos Legesse and our founder, the late Murray Vidockler, paved the way." A true 'giant' among Travel Agents, Vidockler launched British Caledonian Airways; provided 500 buses for Martin Luther King's Washington address, founded the Africa Travel Association in 1975, and stands tall in the ASTA Hall of Fame. Another stalwart is the late Fred Fuller, who helped forge a partnership with the Association of Retail Travel Agents. ATA is also a member of (ASTA) American Society of Travel Agents, the (WTO) World Tourism Organization and a "Green Globe" member. ATA's founder also established SATH, now called the Society for Accessible Travel for Handicapped and Mature. More recently ATA became allied with (IIPT) International Institute for Peace Through Tourism as a founding member of the Coalition of Partners. ATA's President Mike A. Gizo, Tourism Minister of Ghana, was featured speaker at Global Peace Convention in Scotland and the first Global Summit on Peace Through Tourism in Jordan, November, 2000. This year's ATA Congress has invited both partner organizations to be on the program in order to broaden the delegates perspective on travel. What stands out like a beacon, is the number of African Tourism Ministers who are active in ATA's operations and affairs. Being non political seems to bring out the best in everyone. These leaders' hands-on approach, sets a fine example for their counterparts in other countries seeking to build a viable tourism sector. They get into shirtsleeve sessions with the rank and file, and know how to speak the language of marketing. The content from December's Ecotourism Symposium in Abuja, Nigeria was overwhelming in its scope. This and similar material from past Congresses, points out how serious Africans are about creating Peace and Success via tourism.   How does ATA benefit Travel Agents? • Profitability: Learn how to profit from higher commissions of a long-haul. • Professional Seminars on selling Africa to special interest markets. • Networking: Key contacts, Tourist Boards, hoteliers and ground operators. • Experiences: See more of Africa, local culture and customs first hand. • Education: Destination Seminars on Africa's diverse tourism products. • Marketing: More products, niche markets, seniors, youth, African-Americans, etc. • Social: Attend Congresses and Symposia of World Importance.   ATA Chapters: Like a University for Travel Agents "The need for education on Africa is widespread and growing like wildfire, " says Muguette Goufrani, Associate Editor of Africa Travel Magazine, who fields daily inquiries from prospective members on the ATA web site. Having been a Travel Agent in North and West Africa, Muguette sees the potential. "Africa's a hot item. Living north of Seattle on the Pacific Coast, we're about as long haul as one can be. Yet every time our ATA Chapter hosts an Africa Night, we get a full house. The densely populated Portland- Seattle-Vancouver Corridor and the Pacific Rim area which it touches, is fertile ground to grow a garden of new ATA chapters. It's rich multicultural mix is like the United Nations. " Speaking of ATA benefits, Mike Madison of Arbor Travel, President of Southern California Chapter says, "It's increased my knowledge of Africa, and given me an opportunity to meet African Tourism Board officials and form lasting networks. Now there are Africans I can contact when I have a tour group; people who are in a position to do something." His colleague, Eunice Rawlings of Africa Travel & Trade Bureau added, "When I first joined ATA in 1980, I could not have imagined the rich and rewarding journey I would take as I was introduced to Africa through informative dinner seminars and annual congresses on the African continent. Aside from the networking opportunities that ATA offers, the added benefit has been meeting and making lifelong friends with the nicest people on earth both in USA and in Africa." It's amazing what a nonprofit and nonpolitical organization can do when its goals are well defined. Being non political, ATA is well positioned to bring tourism news about Africa to the world, while teaching and practicing tolerance. It's voice is Africa Travel Magazine, which targets travel agents in the United States and Canada. This year, with the ATA Web Site having passed the 300 page mark, as Africa's message is broadcast worldwide and around the clock. Web site: www.africa-ata.org. Africa Travel Association: 347 Fifth Avenue, #610 New York, NY, USA 10016 (212) 447-1926, fax (212) 725-8253 e-mail africatravelasso@aol.com

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