By Lwazi Raul
It is a few days to go until Africa’s Travel Indaba. Taking place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre & Durban Exhibition Centre from 2 to 5 May 2022, the trade show will once again bring the continent’s finest tourism products and experiences under one roof for the world to experience.
Under the theme, Africa’s stories, your success, Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022, boasts no less than 126 authentic and uniquely African products and experiences. Over 539 buyers will also travel from across the world to come and interact with these products and experiences.
To date, over 19 000 meetings have been confirmed on the matchmaking diary system, to ensure that the right buyers are matched with the right exhibitors for mutually beneficial business engagements.
South African Tourism Acting CEO, Themba Khumalo, says he is delighted by the interest that the rest of Africa and the world has once again shown in Africa’s Travel Indaba, especially since the show had to take a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I cannot wait for delegates from all over the world to descend upon Durban this coming week, for us as the continent to tell our stories of resilience and beauty while we partner and collaborate in order to move Africa forward,” says Khumalo
Khumalo is confident that the diversity of Africa’s Travel Indaba programme ensures that there is something for everyone, and that the programme is designed to guarantee maximum value for all delegates attending.
“The programme is filled with opportunities to provide invaluable outcomes for all the delegates, from the Business Talks focusing on a plethora of tourism related topics for the advancement of the sector, to the speed marketing sessions aimed at showcasing an array of small business from across South Africa. The programme also provides ample networking opportunities,” he says.
Acting CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, Phindile Makwakwa says that KwaZulu-Natal is ready and excited to once again be the host province for Africa’s Travel Indaba.
“The show will contribute immensely to the KZN’s tourism recovery. This translates to a much needed economic boost for the province.
“Tourism KZN, working together with our partners Durban Tourism and the Durban ICC, will ensure that international buyers, media and all delegates know that our destination is definitely ready to host our international visitors, with an overabundance of diverse and unique tourism offerings,” she says.
Phillip Sithole, Deputy City Manager for Economic Development and Planning Cluster in eThekwini Municipality, says the city is ready to host Africa’s Travel Indaba. He said most of the city’s key tourism infrastructure affected during the recent floods are now fully functional. He said Durban is open for business and it is now safe to visit the city. “Hosting Indaba will give the City of Durban an opportunity to rebuild the tourism sector following many challenges such as the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 July civil unrest and the recent floods natural disaster. During the COVID-19 outbreak we were unable to host this largest tourism marketing event on the African calendar.”
