August 8th, 2012, Toronto – CES, a leading
provider for Indigenous Tourism Development, today announced its partnership
with Open Africa. CES and Open Africa are pursuing opportunities to coordinate
Best Practices Missions focused on Indigenous Tourism Development in Southern
Africa with the option for a reciprocal exchange in Canada.
This partnership is designed to share best practices
for tourism and economic development as well as to provide an opportunity for a
cross-cultural exchange and transfer of knowledge between Indigenous
communities in Canada and South Africa respectively. CES and Open Africa
quickly found that they were like-minded organizations that are passionate
about building relationships with people and places across the globe and
enabling people to share their story and culture.
Clinton Belcher, CEO & President of CES says “It’s
important we walk the talk and give back to the communities in which we work
with. We are grateful for the opportunity
to work with and learn from Indigenous communities.”
Francois Viljoen, General Manager of Open Africa says
“It’s time to go beyond our borders in Southern Africa and exchange local
expertise and cultural values across the globe for the benefit of all
Aboriginal and Indigenous communities alike.”
CES has been working with Indigenous communities
across Canada and abroad to develop unique cultural tourism products. For the
past 15 years, they have worked with Aboriginal entrepreneurs, communities and
organizations in often remote areas to find innovative solutions for
sustainable economic development.
Open Africa is a social enterprise that works with
communities to establish off-the-beaten-track, self-drive travel routes in a
network supported by local enterprises, linking and protecting the splendours
and knowledge of rural Africa. Each route clusters travel attractions and
services in an area, enabling travellers to tailor their experience according
to their interests, time and budget (similar in concept to a wine route).
The CES and Open Africa initiative believes that a
Best Practices Mission and cultural exchange would be an ideal opportunity for
community leaders, entrepreneurs, and economic development officers to learn about
sustainable business practices and innovative marketing initiatives from successful Indigenous tourism businesses abroad. Participants
will be inspired to exchange and preserve cultural values while sharing
innovative ways to use tourism as an option for sustainable economic
development.
If you are interested in being a part of this mission
or would like to learn more about it contact Amanda Huculak at amanda@cesclients.com or call 1-877-444-5550.
About Open Africa
Open Africa is a social
enterprise that uses tourism as an economic
platform to create and sustain jobs
for rural communities in Africa by developing and marketing
the strongest network of self-drive travel destinations
in Southern Africa.
Open Africa works with communities to establish off-the-beaten-track,
self-drive travel routes in a network supported
by local enterprises, linking and protecting the splendours and knowledge of rural Africa. Our routes are then marketed
through a comprehensive and welcoming travel portal (www.openafrica.org) and other
initiatives, connecting communities to travellers.
About CES
CES is a community &
tourism development firm. They provide
turnkey products & services for entrepreneurs and organizations, from idea
to implementation and everything between.
For the past 15 years, they have worked with Aboriginal entrepreneurs,
communities and organizations for sustainable economic development.
CES’s expertise lies in
Aboriginal & Indigenous community development. CES has been welcomed into nearly 50 indigenous
communities throughout Canada and abroad, including the homes of the Cree,
Ojibway, Gitxsan, Inuit, Mi’kmaq, Tsimshian, Métis, Chippewa, Sto:lo, Odawa,
Pottawotomie, Guarani, Rapa Nui, Garifuna, and Zulu. More information about CES can be found at www.cesclients.com.
To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted.
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