African travel poised for take off, says SA Tourism CEO, Sisa Ntshona at Indaba 2017 launch at the Killarney Country Club

The CEO of Tourism South Africa, Sisa Ntshona, launched the 2017 edition of Indaba at the Killarney Country Club, Ntshona said that in its more than 35 years of existence, Indaba had built up a reputation for excellence as the world’s biggest showcase of the African tourism industry’s quality and diverse offerings.

In addition to the contingent of South African exhibitors in attendance from 16 to 18 May, countries such as Angola, Botswana, the DRC, Malawi, Mauritius and Namibia, will be displaying their tourism-related products and services.

Speaking at the launch, Ntshona told media and guests that tourism had the potential to be the new ‘gold’ that could steer African economies to new heights – and boost the continent’s share of global tourism significantly beyond its current 5 per cent level.

“All signs point to Africa being the next tourism frontier,” he said.

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“The continent as a whole reported an 8 per cent surge in international arrivals last year, with Sub-Saharan Africa increasing by 11 per cent and South Africa by a massive 13 per cent. Last year, we broke records to reach 10 million international tourists coming to South Africa.

Phillip Sithole, head of Durban Tourism and acting deputy city manager of eThekwini, stated that despite the highly competitive tourism environment, Indaba has been able to maintain its position as the premier travel show on the African continent.

Ntshona revealed that this year’s Indaba would have a special focus on accelerating small businesses in the tourism sector, one of which was an initiative to train and mentor small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and give them preferential access to influential industry players.

“For me, one of Indaba’s highlights is our new Hidden Gems programme, which will help boost tourism by enabling smaller players. We are hosting 90 small tourism businesses at the show – emerging and existing enterprises that are at least 50 per cent black-owned,” Ntshona said.

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Thanks to a partnership between South African Tourism, the National Department of Tourism and the Southern African Tourism Services Association, these entrepreneurs will be given valuable exposure at Indaba as well as the opportunity to pitch their offerings to travel buyers during speed marketing sessions.

Ntshona also unveiled a series of topical conversations – panel discussions with industry thought leaders aimed at constructively exploring topical issues related to developing tourism in Africa – that would take place at Indaba 2017.

Local and international game changers, technology disruptors, experts and captains of industry will exchange ideas on how to market tourism offerings to the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) community; how the private and public sectors can join hands to drive inclusive growth; and how Africa’s pioneering arts sector can further enhance the continent’s appeal as a tourist destination.