Nomad Africa appoints a new managing editor

According to some American travel specialists, despite a potential market of 46.8 million, African tourism boards still concentrate on attracting white travellers rather than stimulating a rationally significant demographic of the black traveller.

“We have realised the need for a mainstream media platform specifically dedicated to promoting tourism across the African continent, a platform that allows tourism industry experts to voice their opinions and share ideas, especially at times like these when tourism has been hugely shattered by the pandemic,” says Akinribido.

“We are distinguishing our brand through the provision of a dynamic print and online publication that embraces everyone to fully represent and tell the continent’s travel and tourism story,” adds Akinribido.

Revamping the magazine’s editorial outlook is the top priority for the incoming managing editor. His immediate focus is to improve on several areas, which include:

• balancing Pan-African coverage rather than concentrating on South Africa and the SADC region
• introducing regular columns like the Women In Travel and Tourism section, which profiles leading female voices making an impact in the industry, and
• a Black Diaspora Travel Corner, which is exploring travel experiences of people of African descent to Africa.

Chemhere has previously been the public relations manager for CMG marketing communications and an editorial contributor to Nomad Africa Magazine. He has travel and tourism experience starting in Zimbabwe.

There, he worked as a travel writer for the now-defunct Africa Travel News and later on as public relations and marketing executive at Landela Safaris Adventures. He has also been a PR manager for a low-cost airline in South Africa and a founding editor of the Britain-based Zim-Abroad magazine, which focuses on telling the stories of successful business and personalities in the Zimbabwean Diaspora.

“Having worked with Chemhere since 2016, there is no other candidate that knows the Nomad Africa brand better than him. He also has a great insight into Africa’s travel and tourism industry. I am confident he will take the publication to the next level,” Akinribido says.

“I am taking over at a time of unprecedented new normal challenges taking a toll in the travel and tourism publishing sector. There is still positive industry sentiment, though, and I hope to use that as inspiration to build on into the future,” concludes Chemhere.