A CONTRIBUTION BY THE WORLD CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE FOR DESTINATIONS (CED) TO THE REFLECTION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND DESTINATION EXCELLENCE
Date and Venue: Korhogo, Hôtel la Rose Blanche, May 21-23, 2026
From May 21 to 23, 2026, the Hôtel la Rose Blanche in Korhogo hosted the Scientific Days of Urban Tourism (JSTU) 2026 under the official theme: “Tourism and Territorial Development: Governance, Innovation, and Attractiveness of Urban Destinations.”
Context and Framework of the CED’s Mission
Organized by Excell’Sup, the Higher School of Tourism, Hotel & Restaurant Management, and Management Professions, alongside international academic partners including the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED), the Scientific Days of Urban Tourism (JSTU) had as their general theme: “Tourism and Territorial Development: Governance, Innovation, and Attractiveness of Urban Destinations.”
Held under this official theme, the JSTU 2026 recorded the participation of a diverse audience from 18 countries and 30 academic institutions and organizations (African and international). This included:
- Teacher-researchers and researchers
- Doctoral and Master’s students
- Public decision-makers and local authorities
- National and international tourism institutions
- Tourism and hospitality professionals
- International organizations and technical partners
- Civil society actors
The objectives pursued included, among others, formulating operational recommendations for public and private decision-makers; strengthening cooperation networks between tourism institutions and stakeholders; identifying transferable international best practices; and contributing to the improvement of destination governance and attractiveness.
Contribution of the CED
The opening ceremony featured various speeches, including an address by Mr. Pierre Akobé Akossi, Director of CED West Africa, representing the Director General of the CED, Mr. François Bédard, who was unable to attend.
In his address at the JSTU, the Director of the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations (CED) West Africa highlighted the strategic role of tourism as an engine for economic, cultural, and territorial development.
After presenting his professional background of over 35 years within the Ivorian administration, including 22 years at the Ministry of Tourism, he emphasized the importance of having reliable tools to evaluate and improve the performance of tourist destinations.
The core of his presentation focused on the System of Measures for Excellence in Destinations (SMED), a program developed by the CED. This framework aims to support destinations in a process of measuring, analyzing, and continuously improving their performance through participatory governance, precise indicators, and a sustainable approach.
Faced with the current challenges in tourism, SMED offers a structured method based on observation, diagnosis, and stakeholder mobilization.
For Côte d’Ivoire and West Africa, Mr. Akossi considers SMED an opportunity to enhance the attractiveness of destinations while promoting their cultural, natural, and human wealth. The goal is to build destinations that sustainably generate economic, social, environmental, and identity-related benefits.
In conclusion, he recalled that SMED, launched in 2007, has been adopted by numerous destinations worldwide and is used as an academic reference in several higher education institutions. He also emphasized that the partnership between EXCELL’SUP and the World Centre of Excellence for Destinations constitutes a first concrete application of this collaboration.
At the end of all the official addresses, the Director General of the CED spoke via a short video to officially announce the collaboration between Excell’Sup and the CED. This paved the way for the inaugural panel on May 21, 2026, in which Mr. Akossi participated, moderated by Mr. Idrissa Badji, a tourism engineer, tourism establishment manager, and General Manager of Gate Africa.
During this inaugural panel, Mr. Akossi defended the idea in his speech that excellence in tourism is built and measured. This is the founding conviction of the CED, an innovation and expertise center created in 2007 by professors specializing in tourism, in partnership with organizations such as UN Tourism and the National Geographic Society.
Tourism excellence relies on management based on measurement, shared governance, and sustainable development, positioning SMED as an essential tool to achieve this goal. The CED’s mission: to guide tourist destinations toward excellence.
The CED was present at the JSTU as part of its partnership with EXCELL’SUP. Its concrete contribution is a course proposal focusing on tourist destinations.
In summary, the CED provides both the academic content and the field tool to train future tourism professionals in destination excellence. It is, therefore, an alliance between the academic innovation of the CED and the educational vocation of EXCELL’SUP, serving the excellence of destinations.
Updated: June 4, 2026
For further information regarding the CED’s activities in West Africa, please contact Pierre Akobé Akossi at the following address: pierre.akossi@gmail.com
Pierre Akobé Akossi(Director of CED West Africa)
