SA tourism businesses show the world what they can offer at Dubai expo

This month the Dubai World Trade Centre played host to the 30th Arabian Travel Market (ATM), a large tourism expo with more than 2 800 exhibitors from over 150 countries and up to 40 000 visitors.

One more popular area was the South African stand, well marked and decorated to show the wildlife and sights in well-photographed imagery and well as a small café stand, serving cups of rooibos tea. This was a huge improvement from the shockingly disappointing stand at last year’s expo in Dubai.

The theme this year was “Working towards Net Zero”, and the call was for exhibitors to advance sustainability within the travel space.

Increasing African tourism in Dubai

In its 50-year history, Dubai has become known as a major hub for international travel, with one of the biggest and busiest airports in the world, and boasting some of the largest man-made tourist attractions. A key part of the ATM is to increase the number of tourists from Africa. There has been a growing number of African tourists visiting Dubai over the past few years. In 2019, the busy city welcomed about 1.6-million visitors from the continent, a 5.1% increase compared to the previous year.

Covid took a toll on the numbers but it appears, with ventures like the ATM, the country is slowly gaining ground again. Vice-president of international operations Dubai Tourism Hoor Alkhaja said the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and particularly Dubai had been actively marketing their offerings in Africa.

The UAE has also sponsored major events in Africa, such as the Africa Cup of Nations football tournament, to help raise its profile within the continent. The focus is on Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Ethiopia.

A partnership with Dubai Tourism could help foster tourist trade in both directions and SA Tourism gave the expo support by offering SA tourism businesses an opportunity to showcase their offerings at the stand.

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Businesses critical to tourism

Booths were filled with visitors, asking questions about visiting SA, flights, accommodation and national attractions, some even wanting to know why Cape Town had been voted as one of the best party capitals in the world.

South African Tourism chief operations officer Nomasonto Ndlovu said: “SMMEs [small, medium and micro enterprises] are a very critical part of our tourism offering.

“Through these businesses, we can showcase a wide range of tourism products and experiences that travellers are looking for.” The Dubai department of tourism has encouraged South African efforts by providing education and training opportunities for African tourism professionals.

For example, the Dubai College of Tourism has partnered with several African countries. One of the success stories of the initiative is Nigerian student Jovita Offor, who went through the programme, graduating top of her class and getting employment with public relations agency RivExcel run by Nigerian Prince Tonye Princewill. She focuses on Dubai-based accounts and projects while getting work experience.

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Opportunities for South African SMMEs

Many South Africans have become proud to call Dubai home as the opportunities for better employment are vast. Ndlovu acknowledges this: “The UAE and more specifically Dubai, is home to many expats, which then presents a wonderful opportunity for SMMEs to meet and engage a broader audience and create lasting impressions.

“By participating in events such as Arabian Travel Market, they get to expand their reach beyond local boundaries,” said Ndlovu.

She added that “the participation of these small businesses at the ATM is expected to contribute to boosting destination competitiveness, catalysing industry transformation and accelerating tourism growth”.

ATM is known for encouraging growth in the employment space and according to SA Tourism, the Small Tourism Enterprise Association reported that participants from last year’s ATM returned with lucrative deals, some companies even forging strategic collaborations to bolster their groundhandling services and product offerings. It appears Dubai is quickly becoming a city of successful expos, with COP28 scheduled for later this year.

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