Africa’s premier attractions management conference goes virtual this August

Impressive line-up for first continental online event to feature leading international and local tourism and attractions leaders

It’s a continental first as the African Association of Visitor Experiences and Attractions (AAVEA) takes its popular annual conference onto a virtual platform on Thursday, 20 August 2020! 

Mindful of the effects of COVID-19 and the impact it has had on gatherings, AAVEA has taken the decision to scale down its normal two-day in person conference to a one-day virtual meeting.  

All of the elements that have made this conference a success in the past will still be available to registered participants, including inspiring presentations from international attractions professionals, panel discussions with local attractions managers, breakaway groups for practical idea sharing, virtual exhibition booths, and networking sessions with friends and colleagues. 

Now in its sixth year, AAVEA is excited about taking the leap into the virtual world:

 “We think it is important to regroup and reconnect, now more than ever. We have always prided ourselves on bringing the attractions industry together through education, best practice, and practical ways of creating worthwhile visitor experiences and we look forward to doing all of that in a new format. We’ll see you all online in August!”, said Sabine Lehmann, founder and executive director of AAVEA. 

Hosted on the Socio App, the one-day only AAVEA virtual conference programme boasts an impressive line-up of leading international and local attractions professionals and tourism leaders. These include: 

• Sisa Ntshona from South African Tourism leads the discussion on the keys to recovery and future success. He’ll be joined by local experts to discuss pricing strategies, for now and for beyond the pandemic.
• Jakob Wahl from IAAPA, the Global Association for the Attractions Industry, discusses the state of the attractions industry in Europe.
• Bernard Donoghue from the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the UK’s AAVEA, positions the importance of attractions and visitor experiences within the tourism economy.
• Kojo Bentum-Williams from UNWTO Africa encourages attendees to think big and go beyond the traditional African enticements of sun, sea, and safari.
• Tony Sefton from Vision XS illuminates strategies to increase on-site spend.
• Joe Pine, co-author of The Experience Economy, shares his view on 25 years of the experience economy concept and how the pandemic will change our relationship with attractions.
• Colleen Dilenschneider, a leader of the next generation of non-profit executive management, shares the importance of research and how to better gather and use market intelligence.

Experience this African first:

Register TODAY for the first AAVEA Virtual Conference! Registration fees are just R1500 for members and R2500 for non-members and include access to all sessions, the virtual exhibition, and online networking.

Interested? Register here.

For more information about AAVEA, please visit www.aavea.org.za and follow the conversation online on Twitter and Facebook.