What a great start to the year it was, as four of the University of Pretoria’s (UP) top tourism management honours students boarded an Emirates Airbus 380, one of the largest passenger planes ever made, and took off to Dubai to partake in the Future Leaders Challenge (FLC)  on 15 January 2023.

The FLC Challenge seeks to empower the next generation of leaders and capacitate them with the best tools to unearth their full potential. The FLC brings together top talent in the hospitality and tourism sector within the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

Participating in the 2023 FLC was an exciting experience for the four BCom Honours (Tourism Management) students as for some, this was their first time travelling overseas, first experience through airport customs, and the first official stamp in their passport.

According to the 2022 International Visitor Spending forecast report, Dubai has the highest visitor spending, amounting to $29,4bn, followed by Doha at $16,8bn and London at $16,1bn. Dubai was thus a fitting destination to host the first ever FLC, with a focus on advancing the tourism and hospitality industry in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region.

Over 50 students from twelve different universities in the MEA region were invited to partake in the challenge. The participating institutions from six different countries were:

• Seychelles Tourism Academy (Seychelles)
• Dubai College of Tourism, HTMI Dubai & Zayed University (United Arab Emirates)
• HTMI KSA & PNU (Saudi Arabia)
• University of Pretoria, University of Johannesburg & Stenden (South Africa)
• SHBM & ISITT (Morocco)
• Alexandria University of Hospitality (Egypt)

In the three months prior to the event, students attended online workshops hosted by industry professionals, which covered topics such as personal development, presentation and leadership skills. To create diverse teams and a cross-cultural experience, the students were divided into groups comprising members from different universities and regions. Students were exposed to working in an international environment, where cultural barriers often exist, to provide solutions to real-life industry challenges within the sector.

The teams initially met online to prepare for the ‘live’ event, which took place from 16 to 19 January 2023, where all participants were hosted by the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management. The students were tasked with providing unique concepts and strategies that may enhance the attractiveness of the tourism and hospitality industry for current and future generations. During the three-day live event, students were provided with opportunities to work together on the task and finalise their presentations to be judged by a prestigious panel of top industry leaders on the last day. The accompanying lecturers and a few industry professionals were available to the students to provide any advice or guidance. During the event, university representatives and human resources industry leaders also engaged in networking opportunities, speed dating, and shared their expertise and challenges with one another.

But it was not all work and no play! Students were granted a once in a life-time opportunity to visit one of the world’s most luxurious hotels, namely, the Burj Al Arab. They experienced some fine dining at The Hilton Hotel, and were treated to a dessert safari experience. 

Left to right: Lonwabo Njenga, Jochem- Jan Sleiffer (President of Hilton Hotel Group), Nzaliseko Jukuda, and Nicklya Naidoo.

The judging process was conducted by an independent panel of judges, which included the FLC Advisory Board Members and the Director of Business Stakeholders of Dubai Economy and Tourism, Sultan Almteiri. The groups were assessed based on a set of criteria including innovation, presentation performance, content, and creativity. UP students excelled as always, with two of our students, Nicklya Naidoo and Kyli Jacobs, belonging to groups that were placed in the top three.

UP participants BComHons (Tourism Management)  students in the Department of Marketing Management with their certificates. From Left to right: Nzaliseko Jukuda, Kyli Jacobs, Lonwabo Njenga, and Nicklya Naidoo.

As predicted by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) in 2022, the tourism and hospitality industry continues to grow in the MEA region. In fact, Jochem-Jan Sleiffer (President of Hilton Hotel Group for the region) highlighted that 90 new Hilton hotels are to be added to the existing Middle East, Africa & Türkiye regional portfolio of 179 within the next five years. It is thus important for the industry to invest in, and develop future leaders to enhance the success of the industry, given its tremendous growth, and to meet the challenges of supply and demand. Mahir Abdulkarim Julfar, Executive Vice President at Dubai World Trade Centre and FLC Advisory Board member commented: “This event has been a unique journey, not just for the students but also for industry leaders, where we got the opportunity to learn a lot from future talents, so it’s a win-win situation.”

A special thanks goes to Prof Anneli Douglas, from the Tourism Division in the Department of Marketing Management for all her involvement with the arrangements prior to the event, as well as to Glen and Bianca Frost who accompanied and mentored the students on their trip.

Below are some comments from the UP students who participated in the event:

“In January 2023, I was presented with the amazing opportunity to participate in the first MEA Future Leaders Challenge in Dubai. We were tasked with identifying solutions in which we could make the hospitality and tourism industry more attractive to the future generations. After a lot of hard work and heated discussions, my group persevered and was placed third overall and I could not be prouder. Although the experience was short-lived, it was filled with adventure, memories, and it took many of us out of our comfort zones. A huge thank you should be extended to our sponsors for making this event a reality and creating a great opportunity for us to learn more about the industry.” - Nicklya Naidoo

“I started this year feeling incredibly grateful for the opportunity afforded to me. I travelled to Dubai with three of my classmates and others from around the Middle East and African region to participate in the MEA Future Leaders Challenge. It not only challenged us to think about the future of tourism and hospitality in our region, but it also gave us the opportunity to network with our peers and industry leaders. I feel inspired by this experience and more energised when I think about my future.” - Lonwabo Njenga

Some of the main sponsors of the event included GameChangers Community, Hilton, Accor Emaar Radisson Hotel Group, Dubai World Trade Centre, the Emirates Academy of Hospitality Management, NHL Stenden, FreshOnTable, DWC LLC Diversey, Guest Supply, Barakat IHG Hotels & Resorts, Pernod Ricard and Julius Meinl, Further information can be found here.