The People Behind The West Africa EcoTourism Network
Steering Committee Member
The relentless push of this passionate, self-driven and intelligent woman, who has become very devoted to the cause and growth of all that is travel and tourism, is reflected in her efforts to improve the activities, structures, people and places that combine within the tourism industry. She has become a beacon of hope to those who have come to benefit and appreciate her positive contributions in building the sector.
Her experience in business/company ownership and management, consulting and administration stretches longer than twenty five years of liaising with governments of Africa and the Caribbean, organising and coordinating events of a global scale and functioning in various capacities that merge into who she is; an outstanding professional, dedicated to bringing the best out of each project she becomes a part of.
This exemplary woman, educationally trained as a Scientist, has practiced as an Image Consultant and emerged a tourism guru with several other awards to her name for contributing to tourism development in Africa.
Steering Committee Member
Nelsy Sousa Carvalho is from São Tomé and Príncipe, two islands at the center of the world. Nelsy’s Honor’s degree in Tourism, and Master’s in Marketing, as well as her 15 years of professional experience, have made her a key contributor to the tourism industry in the nation. Nelsy worked in the public sector in São Tomé and Príncipe for several years, where she made her contribution to the promotion of the country, and rose to the position of Director General of Tourism Board. As a nature lover, Nesly cares about sustainability, and her entrepreneurial spirit encouraged her to create her own ecotourism agency – Explore STP. She has also been engaged in several sustainability projects as a national consultant, and has worked in the areas of promotion, communications, and supporting the development of agencies and ecotourism accommodation across the country.
Steering Committee Member
Cornelia Danso is a tourism development and marketing professional with 17+ years of experience in Ghana’s wildlife tourism industry. She has implemented tourism and commercial development strategies such as the Public-Private-Partnership initiative (in Mole National Park Zaina Lodge, Neon and Sena Car Rentals), and Shai Hills Resource Reserve(Abseiling, Rock-climbing and biking). She is currently the Commercial Development and Tourism Manager for the Wildlife Division of the Forestry of Ghana. She enjoys wildlife photography and hiking with friends and family.
Steering Committee Member
A graduate of Business Administration from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, and a certificate in Tourism & Travel Management from the University of Queensland, Australia, Hassan Abdullahi ZAKARI is a passionate tourism practitioner with over 24 years experience in the travel and tourism trade. Hassan co-founded LEISURE AFRIQUE in 1998 as a tour operations company packaging tours across West & Central Africa. He was also a one time West African Director for African Travel & Tourism Association (ATTA), a UK trade association advancing tourism to Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Hassan is also a former General Secretary of the Nigeria Association of Tour Operators (NATOP).
He later founded MICE & TOURS AFRICA GROUP comprising ABSOLUTE AFRICA TOURS and METRO DMC. Together as a group, the companies have served tourists and business travelers, delivering amazing and fascinating experiences to their clientele. The group serve out of Lagos, Abuja and the Island of Sao Tome & Principe.
Hassan is an advocate of responsible travel and a greener environment. He passionately promotes sustainable and inclusive tourism as a means of empowering the rural poor who should benefit most from tourist visits. He is the immediate past National President of the Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria (ATPN), a member-driven professional, voluntary trade association founded in 1990 with the primary purpose of promoting domestic and inbound tourism to Nigeria. Hassan currently sits as an executive director of the West Africa Tourism Organisation (WATO) and is a recipient of the Global Sustainability Awards 2023.
Board Member
The relentless push of this passionate, self-driven and intelligent woman, who has become very devoted to the cause and growth of all that is travel and tourism, is reflected in her efforts to improve the activities, structures, people and places that combine within the tourism industry. She has become a beacon of hope to those who have come to benefit and appreciate her positive contributions in building the sector.
Her experience in business/company ownership and management, consulting and administration stretches longer than twenty five years of liaising with governments of Africa and the Caribbean, organising and coordinating events of a global scale and functioning in various capacities that merge into who she is; an outstanding professional, dedicated to bringing the best out of each project she becomes a part of.
This exemplary woman, educationally trained as a Scientist, has practiced as an Image Consultant and emerged a tourism guru with several other awards to her name for contributing to tourism development in Africa.
Board Member
Trevor Ward is a specialist consultant in the hospitality, leisure and real estate industries. He is the Managing Director of the Lagos-based W Hospitality Group, and Chairman of Hotel Partners Africa. He started his consultancy career in 1983, having previously completed a university degree in hotel management at the University of Surrey, and worked in hotel management positions in the UK. From the late 1980s he has specialised in the provision of advisory services to clients in developing countries, and since 2003 has been based in Nigeria, advising clients there and throughout Africa.
His industry experience spans over 40 years, and includes advising clients on hotel, tourism and leisure development in over 90 countries across the globe, and in 40 in Africa. With a special focus on sub-Saharan Africa, he works with many of the international hotel groups seeking a presence there, and with financial institutions, investors and entrepreneurs across the continent. He is regarded as one of the foremost experts on the hotel industry in sub-Saharan Africa, and is engaged primarily in development consultancy, ranging from investment appraisals to operator selection, asset management, valuations and agency. In addition to his advisory work Trevor is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, for which he is their Ambassador for Africa, and a member of the International Society of Hospitality Consultants. He is a founder and Trustee of the Hotel Managers and Owners Association of Lagos, and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Wavecrest College of Hospitality in Lagos. Trevor is a regular speaker at industry conferences, and writes in various professional and Africa-focused journals, including Africa Investor and BT Africa. In 2018 he was awarded the inaugural Creating Impact Award for his Outstanding Contribution to Africa at Bench Events’ AHIF event, and in 2019 was recognised as Icon of the Year at the Pyne Hospitality Awards.
Board Member
Armed with an educational track-record in the tourism industry, Allieu Kokobaye’s expertise in developing strategic tourism plans, programs and facilities which stem from his capability to develop and implement projects; his experience in institutional framework and human resource development from years of managing and leading teams of hospitality professionals; the flair he has for developing and formulating tourism policies coupled with strategic marketing plans for tourists destinations; as well as his significant affiliation with private sector tourism stakeholders with whom he has built an excellent working relationship, all make him one of the few first-rate leaders of tourism still actively pushing for industry growth.
Kokobaye has spearheaded and continues to lead tourism and hospitality related associations, boards and federations. He has contributed in no small measure to tourism industry growth owing to a hands-on approach in solving nagging challenges that draw back the many efforts of professionals like him and others who have adopted a personal commitment to building long-term infrastructure in tourism. He attends to the demands of the industry in his home country as though it were a child being trained to adequately confront the challenges of the future, planning and executing one strategy after the other to develop and contribute an enviable and resilient tourism to the global industry.
Steeped in nearly three decades of developing tourism hospitality facilities as well as being the owner of three hotels in Freetown, Kenema and Kono, all in Sierra Leone, Kokobaye has turned around the status and service offerings of different lodgings and hotels, working with all members of staff in raising standards and building better brands. Fondly known as Tamba, the core competence of this Sierra Leonian national in strategic management, marketing and sales of hospitality services and properties are a plus in any aspect of state or private businesses, going beyond the boundaries of the tourism industry and saturating accommodation related establishments and projects with a touch of expert organisation.
Board Member
Thomas Armitt has 15 years’ experience working on the development of responsible and sustainable tourism in Africa, with a focus on community and conservation tourism in West Africa and in countries connected to West Africa’s heritage. He has worked on tourism policy, product development and market access projects, with an emphasis on supporting low income people to benefit from tourism, in Senegal, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, DRC, Haiti, Brazil, Cabo Verde and Benin. He currently works as Tourism and Business Development Manager for African Parks in Pendjari National Park, Benin where he currently implements tourism and commercial development strategies to improve the economic viability and visibility of the Park around the world.
Board Member
Houma Mbaye Dia is a Marketing and Communication professional with over 20 years of hands-on experience, working under very challenging conditions. As Marketing and Communication Director of the Senegalese Tourism Promotion Agency (ASPT), she has driven marketing operations and has built a positive brand image to promote Senegal as a major tourism destination.
Her sense of creativity has contributed to the originality of the uniqueness of Senegal‘s stands at travel exhibitions and special events around the world. Today, her major focus as ASPT Director of Tourism Development is the enhancement of Senegal’s tourism offer and the branding of its destinations.
Prior to the Senegalese Tourism Promotion Agency, Houma Mbaye Dia worked at the Investment Promotion Agency (APIX) for 14 years as: Head of the Commercial Department; Business Line Manager, in charge of the sectors of Tourism, Social Housing and Various Industries; Marketing Events Manager, coordinating local and international Special Events. Her strong and wide experience working as a key player with Senegal’s first investment promotion agency has provided her with a solid and broad knowledge of the business environment and has been beneficial in accumulating skills in developing communication tools and using them to market a variety of investment opportunities.
Board Member
Ester Rubio Colomer is an Economic Affairs Officer in the Trade in the Services and Investment division of the World Trade Organization in Geneva. She is coordinator for the Services Integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP services). Her main skills consist of economic aspects of international trade, in particular with regard to tourism services.
Since joining the WTO in 2002, she has worked in several different divisions, namely, the Languages, Documentation and Information Management division and in the Office of the then DirectorGeneral, Pascal Lamy. Ester Rubio Colomer has a degree in economics from the University of Madrid in Spain, a postgraduate degree in European Law from the University Carlos III, and also an MBA from Webster University in Geneva.
Board Member
The activity benefited from support from the Umbrella Facility for Trade trust fund financed by the governments of the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.