TEMPO Lauded By African Travel Association

Banjul, Africa 24 May 2010 — An innovative project combining tourism, jobs creation and business development was lauded by the African Travel Association Congress here in the capital of the West African nation, The Gambia.

At the closing banquet of its 35th Congress in Banjul, the African Travel Association awarded to TEMPO-CDC Development Solutions its  "2010 Outstanding Achievement in Development of Responsible Tourism within the Continent."

TEMPO–Tourism, Employment and Opportunity, launched by CDC Development Solutions (CDS) was presented by tourism expert Alvin Rosenbaum to the 300-plus delegates at the 35th annual congress of the African Travel Association (ATA) that gathers tourism industry representatives from the Americas and their African counterparts.

"TEMPO is an exciting addition to the tourism development community because it clearly and productively uses tourism as a driver for economic growth in emerging economies," said Lelei LeLaulu, Innovation for Sustainable Development co-chairman who moderated sessions at the congress.

"This highly innovative program from CDS is a World Bank funded pilot in Nigeria’s Cross River State with every reason to believe it can be replicated in other parts of Africa," asserted LeLaulu, who is also an advisor for ATA.

Gratified by the prestigious award recognizing the initiative he designed, CDS-TEMPO Team Leader Alvin Rosenbaum said: “TEMPO’s holistic approach, which includes in-depth diagnostics, stakeholder involvement, capacity building and advanced technological tools, provides a powerful model for successful tourism development in Africa and other emerging markets. The highly positive response from cabinet ministers and the African tourism industry is most encouraging."

Deirdre White, CDS President said this recognition "will enable us to look for ways of expanding in Africa our two signature tools for driving growth potential: our Tourism Development Corps, which uses best practices to create effective new techniques and our technology-driven Tourism Products Registry linking tourism businesses to global markets."

A delighted CDS Chief Executive Officer, Michael Levett, in Washington D.C. said, …"We are both honored and pleased to see the continuing recognition by both the development and tourism sectors of the unmatched opportunities that tourism can create for micro and SME growth, agriculture, women-owned businesses and socially and economically-marginalized groups. 

About African Travel Association (ATA)

The Africa Travel Association was established as an international travel industry trade association in 1975 to promote travel, tourism and transport to and within Africa, and to strengthen intra-Africa partnerships.  ATA provides services to a broad range of members including: tourism, diaspora, culture, and sports ministers, tourism boards, airlines, hoteliers, travel agents, tour operators, travel trade media, public relations firms, consulting companies, non-profit organizations, businesses, small and medium-sized enterprises, and other organizations engaged in tourism promotion.

About CDC Development Solutions (CDS)

Over the past two decades CDC Development Solutions, a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization, has seen many changes, including merging with the MBA Enterprise Corps in 2000, becoming Citizens Development Corps in 2002, and launching its innovative Tourism Development Corps division in 2006. Even as it has modified its resources and structure over the years to provide a wider range of services in many more countries, they have continued to focus on developing small and medium size businesses, communities, and local institutions in emerging markets.

About Innovation for Sustainable Development Centre (ISDC)

Innovation for Sustainable Development is a non-profit US company which is focused on sustainable businesses, communities and environment.  Its objective is to be a catalyst facilitating sustainability and carbon neutrality through learning, dialog, innovation, research, investment and partnership amongst cross-sector tourism stakeholder players.  The focus is to find common grounds that meet the stakeholders’ interests and facilitate the implementation of their initiatives and investments that foster responsible tourism related job creation, trade, preservation of culture and environment, and enhancing the economy of disadvantaged communities.  Tourism stakeholders from government, NGO, travel & tourism industries, financial sector, academia, commerce & trade, facilities & infrastructure development, IT & communications, and science & medicine have the opportunity to interact and learn through global online communities and forums, as well as in person events

For further information

Contact: Peter Simons, [email protected]