As a businessman born in Africa but raised in Europe, I have travelled the world and visited amazing destinations. On every trip, I always combined business with leisure, the so called Bleisure. However, on every destination, a question would come to my mind: will I ever see my country becoming a well-known Tourism destination?
A few years ago, I made my first business trip to Africa. In two weeks, I visited a few countries and seen unique sights! I always knew of their existence, but being there was just breathtaking! There were indeed the necessary ingredients to develop tourism and hospitality. Considering the abundant natural and cultural resources in the continent, I determined that Africa has the fundamental ingredients for the growth of tourism.
After the two-week business trip, I was back to Europe but this time with a different mindset. Instead of wondering if I would ever see my country become a tourism destination, I was now brainstorming: “I may not see my country become a worldwide Tourism destination but I can give my contribution by starting the process that will lead to that!
After year’s operating on the European, Asian, North and South American market, I decided to focus only in the African continent. The concept was quite simple, to find other Africans, graduated in tourism & hospitality, willing to contribute for this cause. People that shared the same passion and knowledge for the industry and for our continent. Our mindset is quite clear “for United, business is not just about profit. It is also about giving our contribution to make our continent a better place.”
I truly believe that all Africans should and will identify with this amazing project. Originally from Guinea-Bissau, this was the way I found to give back to Africa.
United Consulting is a proudly African management consulting company specialized in the field of tourism and hospitality. The company’s core business is to develop, market, and promote African countries as global destinations, highlighting their uniqueness and assisting in the development of their tourism products and services.
United provides a range of services such as:
Tourism: Destination Audits, Tourism Master Plans, Feasibility Study, National Tourism Strategies, Market Analysis, Marketing Strategies, Brand Strategies and Consultancy services to tourism boards.
Hospitality: Concept Development, Master Plan, Feasibility Study, Hotel Pre-Opening, Hotel Operational Assessments, Hotel Consulting services and Trainings.
Investments: We operate as an investment platform well established in Africa providing investors with unique information and exposure to business opportunities.
After the recent joint-venture with the Spanish company PGI Management, we became the worldwide leader in tourism destination consulting and resort operation, on an end-to-end basis: from conceptualization and master planning, to construction supervision, operational technical assistance and commercialization. We now provide extensive experience not only in designing tourism destinations, but also in their implementation, bringing expertise from the operation and commercialization perspectives, with real data and having already faced a great deal of day-to-day challenges in the tourism business.
Last Friday, we delivered a proposal to develop a tourism master plan for one of the greatest spots of Africa. If approved and completed, the area will generate, 200,000 direct and indirect jobs, $500,000,000 tourism revenue a year and +1,000,000 of visitors a year. This is the type of business we hope to bring to Africa.
By using the strategies proposed by experts, such as the ones from United Consulting, Africa will be able to claim for itself a fair share of the world tourism market. Join us on this journey, we are all very excited about the future of tourism and hospitality in Africa.