Tapping into Africa - online training platform Africa Hub

"We wanted to do something positive for the continent,” explains Catherine Armstrong, business development director for the Africa Hub. The online training portal was created last February to “educate and inspire” travel sellers and prepare them for the removal of many African countries from the UK government’s travel red list.

The Africa Hub features plenty of practical information about selling Africa, aimed at both Africa specialists and those who are new to selling the region. Resources include destination webinars, sample itineraries, fact sheets, maps and marketing collateral.

“We have more than 2,300 users across the world,” says Armstrong, who adds that the hub is a one- stop-shop for those who want to learn more about the continent. “Selling Africa can be complicated, so our plan is to provide the information you need quickly.”

Destinations covered in the Africa Hub’s webinars range from the lesser-visited to the well-known; including Sudan, Rwanda, Botswana and South Africa.

Members (membership costs £99 a year) have access to all the Africa Hub’s content and training and can watch destination webinars via the portal’s library at any time, while any travel seller can register for free to have access to the webinars live.

New developments for the hub in 2022 include the addition of skills-based training, with webinars on social media and PR on offer and planned sessions on digital PR and SEO. There are also plans to create a community forum.

BOOSTING KNOWLEDGE

The team at Vumbua Africa, a trade-friendly accessible Africa specialist, joined the Africa Hub last March and have found it an invaluable resource. With a background in social work rather than travel, director Clare Hinchin says the destination webinars have proved particularly useful to her. “I’ve only visited South Africa and Zimbabwe, so the hub has helped boost my knowledge of other destinations,” she says, adding that she likes that information is given in “bite-sized chunks” over the course of an hour.

Meanwhile, managing director Keith Johnson, who grew up in Zambia and has visited 20 countries in Africa, says he has found the skills-based training most useful. “I’m more old school when it comes to marketing. Through the Africa Hub I’ve got to learn and understand how modern technology and social media works, and how to use it to advertise. It’s helped us keep up to date with how to market through Facebook, Instagram and reels, which I only learnt about eight weeks ago.”

Hinchin and Johnson agree that the hub hasalso helped Vumbua Africa raise its profile and spread the word about accessible travel in the region.

“We ran a webinar on the hub last year about accessible travel. Now members know we specialise in accessibility and are coming to us with questions and asking how they can improve in this area,” says Johnson, who adds that Vumbua Africa is now working with two camps in Tanzania and businesses in Zambia to educate them on clients’ accessibility needs.

Johnson concludes: “We’ve come a long way because of the Africa Hub. It’s been great for making connections with suppliers too.”

Until 30 April 2022, use promo code TTG10 to get a 10% discount on the Africa Hub membership.