www.worldtourism.org About 250 delegates from 18 countries attended UNWTOأ¢â‚¬â„¢s regional seminar on أ¢â‚¬إ“Tourism Destination Management - Routes to Successأ¢â‚¬آ‌ held in Addis Ababa.

The combination of excellent meeting facilities at the United Nations Conference Centre, the hospitality of the Ethiopian people and a high profile list of speakers and participants all contributed to the success of an event that offered plenty of opportunities for the exchange of ideas and initiatives among the different actors involved in destination management.

Hosted by the Ethiopian Ministry of Culture and Tourism and organized as a joint activity of two UNWTO specific programmes أ¢â‚¬â€œ those for Destination Management and Sub-Saharan Africa - the seminar was aimed at:

• encouraging a professional approach to decision making, planning and management in tourism administration
• looking at the necessary tools for product development in line with market trends, needs and interests and
• providing a better understanding of effective management and marketing tools to reinforce the competitiveness of African destinations.

Speakers from National Tourism Administrations, Destination Management Organizations, regional finance institutions, and travel industry representatives made some 20 presentations, which were supported by illustrative examples of good practices from different parts of Africa.

Among the key issues highlighted at the seminar were:

• the importance of having a vision for a tourism destination,
• the need to understand more about the customer, to identify specific market segments and target these in a focused and cost-effective way,
• the growth in demand among visitors for fulfilling experiences: emotional, educational, cultural, recreational, or health.
• the need to address the full value chain to the customer,
• the importance of differentiating a product and destination,
• the need to create products of special interest and appeal, such as new events or business tourism
• the importance of monitoring the image and brand of a destination through consistent communication,
• the benefits of using information and communication technologies to pool and share data and e-marketing,
• the importance of quality management and the involvement of the private sector in maintaining flexible standards in terms of market requirements,
• the need for sustainable investments,
• the importance of creating linkages with related areas of economic activity, and  the need for targeted direct marketing to reach the growing number of niche markets interested in Africa