After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 will welcome guests from around the world to do business and network to contribute to the recovery of Africa’s tourism sector.
Media and key stakeholders of the African tourism industry gathered in Durban to launch the countdown to Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022. Delegates to the event were given an update on what to expect at Africa’s leading travel trade show, which is due to take place between the 2nd and 5th of May, 2022 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Center in Durban.
The theme for this year is, ‘Africa’s Stories, Your Success’, and will showcase to the world inspiring stories of resilience displayed throughout the pandemic.
CEO of South African Tourism invited stakeholders in the local, national and international travel industry to attend Africa’s Travel Indaba. He highlighted the fact that Africa’s Travel Indaba is an indigenous tradeshow to enhance the continent’s tourism needs, with a strong focus on recovery. He further said that buyers from around the world will be able to access the best and uniquely African experiences and products.
Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN) is the host province for this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba and is ready to welcome the world to its shores. Tourism KZN’s Pinky Radebe, PR & Communications Senior Manager said that her organization would not spare any effort to ensure that KZN is repositioned to global markets. She also said that her team would highlight key developments in the province’s tourism sector during the last two years.
Radebe further added that Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 will be a magnificent springboard to relaunch KZN to the global arena and commence welcoming international travel markets back to the province. It is an opportunity to showcase the destination’s hospitality, she said. Radebe added that they will also offer buyers first-hand experiences through pre and post tours that will reinforce the destination’s brand in the mind of the visitors.
Chief Convention Bureau Officer at the South Africa National Convention Bureau, Amanda Kotze-Nhalpo said that there was a lot to look forward to at this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba. She said the show was packed with opportunities for both exhibitors and buyers to maximize value from the trade show. She further added that the internationally benchmarked diary would ensure seamless booking of meetings prior to the trade show.
The trade show will feature SMMEs from all nine provinces of South Africa, while committing to empowering lesser known and small businesses in the tourism sector.
At the 2019 edition of Africa’s Travel Indaba, the travel trade show attracted almost 6200 delegates from various parts of the world, 1033 exhibiting businesses from 19 countries, showcasing a range of tourism services to over 1,177 local and international buyers.
In addition to this, over 452 local, regional and international media representatives were participants at the 2019 edition of the show, highlighting the global profile of the African tourism industry.
Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 bookings show promise
Currently, there are over 400 African exhibitors and 454 buyers from 47 countries around the world who are confirmed to attend Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022. The countries include Botswana, Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana, Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands, to name a few.
Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 is poised to positively inject the local economy with the hosting of international delegates on pre and post tours, to get a first-hand feel of the tourism offerings in the province of KZN.
The Indaba is also set to bring much needed economic injection into the city of Durban and the KZN province at large as international delegates will be hosted on pre and post tours to familiarize them with the province’s tourism offerings.