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The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Government of Cabo Verde will convene the First ICAO/UNWTO Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa. The event will be held in Santa Maria, Sal Island, Cabo Verde from 27 to 29 March 2019.
ICAO and UNWTO recognize the strong interdependence between air transport and tourism, and are committed to ensuring the sustainable development of both sectors. Maximizing and balancing the benefits of tourism and air transport requires enabling regulatory environments, coherent policies, good governance and quality infrastructure commensurate with the level of predicted tourism and air traffic growth.
It is in this context and supporting the attainment of the African Union Agenda 2063 that Cabo Verde has joined forces with the two specialized agencies of the United Nations to stage a Ministerial Conference on Tourism and Air Transport in Africa.
The objective of the Conference is in line with the UN SDGs, to bring together high-level government officials and technical experts from air transport and tourism, as well as from complementary areas, international organizations and private sector stakeholders to:
a) Identify opportunities and challenges that foster the development of connectivity and seamless travel in the African continent;
b) Enhance common understanding and responses to the business imperatives through strengthening dialogue between the two sectors;
c) Raise political awareness and willingness to mainstream the priorities of the two sectors in the national, regional and global agendas, and
d) Support the attainment of the UN SDGs and the African Union Agenda 2063.
The Conference will build on progress and advancements achieved so far in these two sectors, and will develop pragmatic, forward-looking solutions as well as credible means that enable African States to maximize and balance the benefits from the future development of tourism and air transport services in the Continent.
Information on administrative arrangements, conference programme and online registration will be made available on the ICAO/UNWTO meeting website at: http://africa.unwto.org/event/first-unwtoicao-ministerial-conference-tourism-and-air-transport-africa-0