Mozambique: Polana Hotel launches customer loyalty program
Moz Outdoor Adventures founder Dércio Rodrigues brings home Best Tourism Photography Award at Africa Tourism Awards 2025
11:24 CAT | 04 Nov 2025
Photo courtesy: Moz Outdoor Adventures/Dércio Rodrigues
Mozambique was among the countries honoured at the Africa Tourism Awards 2025, held on Sunday in London, where personalities and entities from Angola and Cabo Verde also received recognition.
Dércio Rodrigues, founder of Moz Outdoor Adventures, an ecotourism company in Mozambique, won the Best Tourism Photography Award.
The “Islands of Cabo Verde from the Heart”, narrated by singer Dino d’Santiago, received the Best African Tourism Video Award, adding to other advertising prizes already won, according to a statement sent to Lusa on Monday.
Also in Cabo Verde, the president of the Tourism Institute, Hamilton Jair Fernandes, was recognised for his “leadership and impact”.
The director-general of Angola’s Tourism Development Institute (INFOTUR), Allicia Santos, received the Industry Icon distinction .
The president of the Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators of Angola (AAVOTA), Catarina Oliveira, was honoured with the Female Leadership in Tourism Award, and influencer Jessi Madalena was named Young Tourism Personality of the Year as Angola’s Tourism Ambassador.
The Africa Tourism Awards aim, according to the organisation, to recognise “the best that the continent has to offer in terms of tourism, from destinations and sustainability to media, hospitality and leadership”.
In total, 35 awards were given in 29 categories, “recognising brands and individuals whose work continues to raise the profile of Africa as a world-class tourist destination,” the statement said.
Below is the full list of winners and honourees at the Africa Tourism Awards 2025:
Media & Tech
- Best Travel Blog – The Incidental Tourist
- Best Tourism Photography – Dércio Rodrigues
- Best Tourism Video (Sponsored by Brichone Experiences) – Cape Verde – From the Heart
- Best Travel Writer (Sponsored by Brichone Experiences) – Sue Watt
- Best Tourism Magazine – Travel Africa
Destination Awards
- Best Tourism Board – Kenya Tourism Board
- Best Country Destination (Sponsored by WATO) – Mauritius
- Best City Destination – Cape Town
- Best Beach Destination – Zanzibar
- Best Safari Destination (Sponsored by Safari Guild) – Maasai Mara National Park
- Best Adventure Tourism Destination – Swakopmund (Namibia)
- Best Cultural Destination – Morocco
- Best International Airport – Cape Town International
- Best Tourism Promotion Initiative – Ghana – December in GH
- Destination of the Year – African Diaspora – Barbados
- Best Tourism Association (Sponsored by Apstar Tours) – National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA)
- Best Tourism Non-Profit – West Africa Tourism Organisation (WATO)
- Responsible Tourism Initiative – Planeterra
Industry Icons
- Industry Icon – Hamilton Jair Fernandes (President, Cabo Verde Tourism Institute)
- Industry Icon – Allicia Santos (Director General, INFOTUR – Angola)
- Industry Icon – Carol Hay (McKenzie Gayle Limited)
- Industry Icon – Ola Wright (CEO, West Africa Tourism Organisation)
- Industry Icon – Julie Dabaly Scott (Managing Director, Bunson Travel)
Individual honours
- Hotel Personality of the Year – David Eduaful (Managing Director, Labadi Beach Hotel)
- Restaurant Personality of the Year – Hilda Baci (Chef, Restaurateur & 2-time Guinness World Record Holder)
- Young Tourism Personality of the Year – Jessi Madalena (Brand Ambassador, Visit Angola)
- Young Tourism Personality of the Year – Kagiso Ngwenya (President, South African Youth Tourism Network)
- Women in Tourism Leadership Award – Catarina Oliveira (President, Association of Travel Agencies & Tour Operators in Angola)
- Women in Tourism Leadership Award – Lavonne Wittmann (Lavonne Wittmann Consulting)
- Best Tourism Public Sector Official – Abubacarr S. Camara (Director General, Gambia Tourism Board)
- Most Supportive Brand – Global Tourism Resilience & Crisis Management Centre (GTRCMC)
Special honours
- Special Recognition – Tourism Innovation – Adebayo Adedeji (Group CEO, WAKANOW)
- Special Recognition – Tourism Infrastructure – Rwanda Development Board
- Special Recognition – Tourism Investment – Ibrahim Ayoub (Group CEO, International Tourism Investment Corporation)
- Lifetime Achievement Award – Prof. Wolfgang Thome (Founder, ATC News)
https://t.co/9vpgwTgYMP@africatourisma @Awhana #Africa #Tourism #AfricaTourismAwards2025
— Dr. Wolfgang H Thome (@whthome) November 3, 2025
Source: Lusa / Africa Tourism Awards
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