She was speaking at the just-ended 8th edition of the Hotel Managers Conference Africa, held in Lagos, Nigeria. 

It was on the theme: “Raising the Bar: Sales, Service & Standards for a Competitive Africa.” 

She stated that tourism had evolved beyond leisure and recreation to become one of Africa’s most powerful tools for economic development, employment creation, investment attraction, and cultural diplomacy. 

Madam Houadjeto noted that the hospitality sector sat at the heart of this transformation because hotels represented the first point of contact for many visitors and often defined the overall perception of a destination. 

“Hotels are far more than places where visitors spend the night. They are often the first impression of a destination and the last memory a traveller takes home. 

“Exceptional hospitality experiences have the power to enhance destination reputation, encourage repeat visits and build investor confidence,” she stated. 

The GTA CEO said every hotel professional across Africa carried the responsibility of becoming an ambassador for the continent by delivering experiences that reflected Africa’s warmth, culture, and excellence. 

On the theme, Madam Houadjeto identified three critical areas that could determine Africa’s competitiveness in the global tourism marketplace, including sales, service, and standards. 

On sales and destination promotion, she called on tourism stakeholders to embrace digital transformation, data-driven marketing and innovative partnerships to reach the modern traveller. 

She highlighted that today’s visitors were highly connected, informed and influenced by digital experiences, making it necessary for African destinations and hospitality businesses to leverage technology to understand customer preferences and effectively market their offerings. 

On service excellence, she emphasised that Africa’s natural attractions, heritage and culture could only realise their full tourism potential when matched with professional, efficient, and memorable customer experiences. 

Madam Houadjeto stressed the importance of continuous training, innovation and a culture of excellence within hotels and tourism businesses. 

On standards and quality assurance, she explained that maintaining globally competitive standards did not mean losing Africa’s identity, but rather creating consistency, safety, trust and confidence while preserving the continent’s unique cultural character. 

She called on African countries to collaborate rather than operate independently in the global tourism market and described Ghana and Nigeria as strategic tourism partners with shared history, culture, creative industries and enormous tourism potential. 

She also called for stronger partnerships between tourism boards, airlines, hotels, tour operators and investors to develop regional travel circuits that allowed visitors to experience multiple African destinations seamlessly. 

Madam Houadjeto noted that such partnerships would increase hotel occupancy, stimulate investment, create jobs, and strengthen tourism receipts across the continent. 

The conference brought together tourism leaders, hotel owners, managers, policymakers, industry associations and development partners from across Africa and beyond, including Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Cameroon, Liberia, Uganda, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.