International expert to speak at recovery webinar for Durban tourism businesses 09 April 2021
Secretary General of the World Tourism Forum Institute, Dr Taleb Rifai will be the keynote speaker at the eThekwini Municipality’s Tourism Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) webinar which takes place on Wednesday, April 14, from 10h00.
The free, two-hour virtual conference is aimed at rebuilding local tourism – particularly in Durban – and is open to all interested parties including tourism industry stakeholders, business and media.
The World Tourism Forum Institute is a London-based research institute that supports sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Rifai is a former Secretary-General of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organisation. He also headed Jordan’s first Economic Mission to Washington DC, promoting trade, investments and economic relations between Jordan and the United States. As Jordan's Minister of Tourism and Antiquity, he established the country's first Archaeological Park in the ancient city of Petra, in collaboration with UNESCO and the World Bank.
Other speakers include eThekwini Mayor, Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda, specialist consultant on African business development, Victor Kgomoeswana, and Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry CEO, Palesa Phili who has more than 20 years’ experience in the information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications sector.
Tourism Investment Africa 360 (TIA360) has partnered with Invest Durban, Durban Tourism and the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry to implement a tourism BR&E programme and roll-out which includes the upcoming seminar.
Says Sindile Xulu, CEO of TIA360: “We are hoping to find sustainable solutions for companies in the tourism sector that have been adversely affected by the lockdown. While our primary focus is on businesses in Durban, the value of the programme could be applied across KwaZulu Natal, anywhere in South Africa and across the African continent.”
The aim of the webinar is to: Empower tourism business owners by increasing their understanding and appreciation of BR&E. Provide Durban tourism companies with the opportunity to use the BR&E programme to revive their businesses. Begin a series of dialogue within the tourism investment ecosystem. Establish a foundation for informed interventions. Build a database.
The webinar is free of charge and will be held on Wednesday, April 14, from 10h00 until 12h00. Register by clicking here.
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For all media enquiries contact Neo Motlhala at [email protected] or cell +27 (0) 72 349-4081 or Janine Greenleaf Walker on [email protected] +27 (0) 83 600-9753
NOTES FOR EDITORS
About Tourism Investment Africa 360 (TIA360) Connecting investment with broader tourism sector opportunities Tourism Investment Africa 360 (TIA360) is a platform to mobilise and stimulate investment in Africa’s tourism. It is a contributor to growth and transformation of the sector by accelerating the number of tourism businesses that receive funding and boosting investment into the sector by matching sector opportunities with investors. This is achieved through the following platforms: 1. Digital platform (Always-On and Go-To-HUB) 2. Remodeller (including Business Retention and Expansion) 3. Connector 4. Conferencing Read more about TIA360 at www.tia360.africa
About Taleb Rifai Taleb Rifai (born 1949) is a Jordanian who was the Secretary-General of the United Nations’ World Tourism Organization, based in Madrid, Spain, until 2017, having held the post since being unanimously elected in 2010. The first Jordanian to hold a UN agency Secretary General position. After completing his B.S. in Architectural Engineering from the University of Cairo in 1973, Rifai went on to attain a master’s degree in Engineering and Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, United States in 1979. In 1983, he received his PhD in Urban Design and Regional Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. From 1973 to 1993, Mr. Rifai was a professor of Architecture at the University of Jordan in Amman. From 1993 to 1995, Rifai headed Jordan’s first Economic Mission to Washington DC, promoting trade, investments, and economic relations between Jordan and the United States. Rifai was also actively involved in policy making and developing investment strategies as Director General of the Investment Promotion Corporation (IPC) in Jordan (1995–1997). In the three years preceding his service in the Jordanian Cabinet, he was appointed the CEO of Jordan’s Cement Company, one of the country’s largest public shareholding companies with over 4,000 employees. During his term he successfully led the first large-scale privatization and restructuring scheme in Jordan, by bringing in the French cement company Lafarge in 1998 and continued to serve as CEO under the new Lafarge management. From 1999 to 2003, he served in several ministerial portfolios in the Government of Jordan. First, he was appointed Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, in charge of Jordan’s Development Agenda and bilateral and multilateral relationships with donors and agencies. He was subsequently appointed Minister of Information, the spokesman of the Government of Jordan, as well as being in charge of communications and public media. During his tenure, he embarked on restructuring public media and in particular the Jordan Television Network. In 2001, his portfolio was expanded to include the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquity, where he established Jordan’s first Archaeological Park in the ancient city of Petra in collaboration with UNESCO and the World Bank. He also realized several large projects in Jerash, the Dead Sea and Wadi Rum. As Minister of Tourism, he was the Chairman of the Jordan Tourism Board, President of the Amman School for Tourism and Hospitality and was elected Chairman of the Executive Council of UNWTO in 2001. Prior to assuming his post at the UNWTO, Taleb Rifai was the Assistant Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO) for three consecutive years. His responsibilities included the overall supervision and implementation of the International Labor Standards, as well as advising on labor markets and employment policies, particularly in the Middle East region. Taleb Rifai served as the Deputy Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) from February 2006 to February 2009, at which point he took over the role of Secretary-General and interim on 1 March 2009. Rifai was selected as the official candidate to be presented to the entire 155-member inter-governmental body on 12 May 2009, receiving 20 out of 31 votes. Korean Dr. Oh Jee-Chul, from the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), received 10 out of the 11 remaining votes, with the final single vote being given to Mr. Khalid Malik, the Pakistani UN Resident Coordinator in China. The fourth candidate, Mr. Arab Hoballah, the Chief of Sustainable Consumption and Production in the UN Environment Program of Lebanon, withdrew. In October 2009, Rifai was unanimously elected by the entire body, and began his four-year term on 1 January 2010. He was elected for a second four-year term, starting in January 2014, by the 20th Session of UNWTO General Assembly in August 2013 and served in that capacity through 2017. This year he was appointed the Secretary General of the World Tourism Forum Institute.
About Mxolisi Kaunda Mayor Cllr Mxolisi Kaunda has a rich socio-political activism background. Over the years he has distinguished himself as a committed cadre of the African National Congress. He (Kaunda) has served in various leadership roles in both the ANC Youth League and Provincial structures. Born in Inanda north of Durban, he gained political consciousness early and became active from the tender age of 15. He was involved in student politics and youth political activism during the hard days of violence. Cllr Kaunda, obtained his Diploma in Governance and Leadership from the University of South Africa and an Advanced Diploma in Advanced Governance and Public Leadership from the University of Witwatersrand. From 2000-2006, Kaunda served as a Ward 57 Councillor in Inanda From 2006-2009, he was Proportional Representation Councillor in eThekwini Municipality and served in various council portfolios such as the Economic Development and Planning Sub-Committee and Market Adhoc Committee. In 2004-2008 he served as ANCYL Provincial Secretary In 2008-2010 he serves as ANCYL Provincial Chairperson. In 2012 he was elected to the ANC Provincial Executive Committee (ANC PEC), he was assigned the responsibility of serving in the Economic Transformation as well as Peace and Stability sub-committees. In 2018, he was re-elected to the ANC PEC and serves as Chairperson of the Economic Transformation Committee. In 2009 to 2014 he served as a member of the Provincial Legislature and was Chairperson of the Transport Portfolio Committee. During this time, he served on Finance, Community Safety and Liaison as well as Co- Operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Committee as an alternate member. Post the 2014 National General Elections, he resumed his role in the Provincial Legislature as a Chairperson of the Transport Committee; and He served on the Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, as well as Community Safety and Liaison committees. In 2016, he was appointed as the MEC for Transport, Community Safety and Liaison. After the 2019 General Elections, Kaunda was reappointed to the same portfolio until he was redeployed to eThekwini Metro as the Mayor. In the Provincial Executive Council (Cabinet), Kaunda chaired the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) and the Public Protests sub-Committee. He also Co-Chaired the Multi-Party-Political Intervention Committee which is responsible for promoting political tolerance among political parties in the province. He is also the current Provincial Chairperson of the Men’s Forum.
About Palesa Phili Palesa has over 20 years’ experience in the information and communication technology (ICT) and Telecommunications sector working for leading multinational companies within the ICT sector. She has 10 years’ experience in executive positions within the sector with added experience in board-level positions within the manufacturing and incubation sectors. Her specialties range from strong operational experience to strategic growth and market penetration into various customer environments. She has worked for organisations such as Hewlett Packard, IBM and EMC Computers. Her most recent role was at MTN SA where she was the Regional Head for MTN Business in KZN. Palesa holds a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Johannesburg (UJ), an advanced Business Management Programme Certificate and is a member of the esteemed South African Institute of Directors (IOD) and sits on various boards including SmartXchange and Invotech incubators.
About Sindile Xulu Sindile Xulu is a businesswoman, social entrepreneur, and an advocate for women. She has more than 25 years of experience in business strategy, operations, concept development and management across a range of sectors. She has spent over 15 years in tourism – most of which have been with SA Tourism. Her tourism career started with SA Tourism working in the USA – responsible for operations. She was later transferred to the Head Office as a special projects’ manager, later becoming Country Manager- Domestic, responsible for the domestic market. Sindile was responsible for the execution of the Sho’t Left campaign, which still runs to date, and Tourism INDABA amongst other notable marketing campaigns. Sindile joined 2010 FIFA World Cup Local Organising Committee (LOC) as head of hospitality. She was responsible for coordination and facilitation of the overall delivery of the VVIP/VIP Hospitality Programme, Corporate Hospitality and Commercial Hospitality. She led a team of hospitality professionals comprising 64 personnel and managed a total budget of more than ZAR145milion. She is currently running her own business making contributions in women enterprise and entrepreneurial development, tourism, business eventing, farming, training, renewable energy, project management, monitoring and evaluation and entertainment. Sindile studied travel and tourism in the USA, programme in project management from the University of Pretoria and Wine Business from University of Cape Town Graduate School of Business.
About Victor Kgomoeswana Victor Kgomoeswana is a dynamic conference speaker, programme director, workshop facilitator and consultant on African business development. Victor is the author of Africa is Open for Business and is a presenter on CNBC Africa and Power FM. Victor has facilitated various conferences and events including the annual Black Management Forum, the Annual Audit Committee Conference by Nkonki Inc, the National Treasury’s Financial Management Improvement III workshop, as well as the congratulatory dinners held by the ABSIP. He organised and led a trade conference on regional economic integration in East Africa with the Rwanda Development Board and the South African High Commission in Kigali. Until September 2013, he was Business Development Executive for PPC Ltd, and his role was to seek for investment opportunities across the African continent. In addition, Victor originated mergers and acquisitions transactions through discussions with governments, investors, company owners to establish good relations. He also served the Chief Executive Officer of PPC Ntsika Fund (Pty) Ltd until January 2014, the enterprise development initiative of PPC Ltd, set up to support black small and medium enterprises with finance, mentoring, coaching and other forms of support.