Brussels Airlines staff bike and hike in Ghana to promote tourism in the Volta Region
Brussels Airlines has officially kicked off the 6th edition of “Bike in Africa”.
For this edition, Bike in Africa has landed in the Volta Region of Ghana. Next to intense bike and hike tours for 120 Lufthansa Group employees, Brussels Airlines will also support two local companies who want to develop more sustainable tourism in the region.
Brussels Airlines is the Africa expert within Lufthansa Group, with 18 sub-Saharan African destinations currently on sale. The airline aims to be a true partner to local communities in the served markets. Therefore, the Belgian airline organizes “Bike in Africa” since 2011. With this initiative, Brussels Airlines and Lufthansa Group want to create among their employees more awareness and closeness to the African continent, which is a core part of their business.
After editions in Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Senegal, The Gambia and Cameroon the 2024 edition of “Bike in Africa” will go to Ghana, more specific to the Volta region. 120 employees of Brussels Airlines and several Lufthansa Group business units take part, such as Eurowings, Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines. They will go on a 5-day trip through the Volta region and their flight to Accra left Brussels this morning. New this year is that participants can also choose to go hiking instead of biking.
“Bike in Africa is an initiative that was launched by Brussels Airlines’ employees, with the aim to bring people together and discover Africa in ways that you normally wouldn’t. On top of that, we also contribute to the local economy and try to promote the destination in any way we can. Brussels Airlines has lots of skills and knowledge which we are also happy to share with young local entrepreneurs.” - Ilse Verhelst, Project Manager Bike in Africa, Brussels Airlines
Discovering beautiful Ghana, supporting touristic development
During this edition of Bike in Africa, Brussels Airlines will support two companies in the Volta Region: Bravehearts Expedition LTD and Wasteman Ghana. Bravehearts Expedition LTD focuses on the development of tourism in the Volta Region by, for example, building infrastructure. Wasteman Ghana collects mainly plastic waste for recycling purposes. At both companies, Brussels Airlines will host “design thinking” workshops to support developing their corporate strategy.
These workshops are given in close collaboration with the students of the Heritage University in Accra and help alliance, the charity organization of Lufthansa Group.
Next to these workshops, the bikers and hikers will also visit the help alliance supported project “Kinder Paradise”.
“Aviation is more than connecting people from A to B. At Brussels Airlines, we have a long track record of being a true partner for the African countries we fly to. Together with help alliance, the charity organization of Lufthansa Group, we aim to create a better world every day. With Bike in Africa we can combine our passion for discovering the world with our commitment to the African continent,” Dorothea von Boxberg, CEO, Brussels Airlines said.