ATW’s 365 plan for #MakingTravelHappenAgain

We take a look at Africa Travel Week’s plans to reignite travel and tourism in Africa in 2021, which
include a digital content platform, virtual show, online webinars and masterclasses, and a live
event.

Traditionally held in Cape Town each April, Africa Travel
Week comprises a suite of events, conferences and awards
including WTM Africa, ILTM Africa, ibtm Africa, Equal
Africa, Travel Forward, the Sports & Events Tourism
Exchange, Africa Tourism and Investment Summit, and the
African Travel and Tourism Awards.
The postponement of ATW’s live shows in 2020 propelled
the team to find new ways of reaching and engaging with
their customers and partners. Phase 1 of their strategy,
launched in May 2020 was Africa Travel Week Connect, a
new digital content platform with an array of innovative
approaches to delivering much needed content to the
travel and tourism industry. These include:

 #INTHEKNOW webinars – providing short and sharp guidelines for travel businesses.
Developed as a solution to help fight webinar fatigue each 40 minute episode is packed with
practical tips and actionable advice.
 #UnlockAfrica campaign – this campaign to share 50 positive news stories over 50 days,
started in November 2020. It was designed to inspire Africans to rediscover their roots and
explore the beauty of the continent, while creating a sense of ‘belonging’ within the travel
industry during uncertain times.
 Travel with Me – a series of online presentations in which thought leaders share their
experiences and tips during Covid‐19 and their plans on how to bounce back.
 Armchair Travel – a platform for exhibitors to showcase through video, text and images, the
beauty of Africa and their incredible destination and products.

In September 2020, to co‐incide with Tourism Month, the digital platform was reinforced with the
launch of ATW’s virtual Meetings & Masterclasses. Led by 18 industry experts and experiences
travellers, and focused on engaging the post‐Covid traveller in key sectors including luxury, LGBTQ+
and the African Diaspora, the masterclasses attracted over 1000 registrants. An interactive format
enabled two way conversations between the experts and attendees.

The 2021 roadmap

In 2021, in response to continued uncertainty in the hospitality sector, the team has announced a
roadmap which combines both digital and live events, underpinned with 365 value‐added support
from ATW Connect to keep the ATW community informed and connected.

“The plan for ATW Africa has always been about offering value beyond the show floor. This year,
we’re focussing heavily on that, with a robust plan that offers significant ROI across 365 days,
instead of three,” says Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director: Travel, Tourism and Creative Industries
at Reed Exhibitions Africa.

Running from 7‐9 April, ATW Virtual will consist of 1‐to‐1 meetings, content sessions and speed
networking. This will be followed by a collection of additional events throughout the year, which
include:

 Educational #Intheknow webinars from May through to August.
 Africa Travel Week: Connect in the City Live, from 1‐3 September to co‐incide with Tourism
Month, including on‐site experiences in the official Host City of Cape Town. This will include
familiarisation tours for buyers and the media; destination training sessions; a dedicated
travel and tourism conference; speed networking sessions; a networking evening; and the
African Travel and Tourism Awards, honouring industry pioneers.
 A new series of Virtual Masterclasses from September to November.

“Our plan takes on a blended approach where travel trade professionals benefit from connecting
with their industry peers at face‐to‐face meetings later on in the year” explains Megan. “Safety and
wellbeing remain our number one priority and we will adjust this element of our offering
accordingly. But we are also determined to keep the momentum going and ensure travel to Africa,
and ATW, remain top of mind, which is why we have worked so hard to create a 365‐day initiative.”

For more information contact Megan Oberholzer or visit www.atwconnect.com

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About Reed Exhibitions Global: Reed Exhibitions is a leading global events business. It combines faceto‐
face with data and digital tools to help customers learn about markets, source products and
complete transactions at over 400 events in 22 countries across 43 industry sectors, attracting more
than 7 million participants. Our events leverage industry expertise, large data sets and technology to
enable our customers to connect face‐to‐face or digitally and generate billions of dollars of revenues
for the economic development of local markets and national economies around the world. Reed
Exhibitions is part of RELX, a global provider of information‐based analytics and decision tools for
professional and business customers.www.reedexhibitions.com

About RELX: RELX is a global provider of information‐based analytics and decision tools for
professional and business customers. The Group serves customers in more than 180 countries and has
offices in about 40 countries. It employs over 33,000 people, of whom almost half are in North
America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and
New York Stock Exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New
York: RELX. The market capitalisation is approximately £33bn, €39bn, $47bn.*
*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors