The seventh International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Africa is set to take place in Cape Town in April.
The show is organised by Reed Exhibitions in the host city of Cape Town. “There was a gap in the market for a high-end luxury invitation-only show that would bring hand-picked international buyers to meet with five-star luxury products from the African continent. The flagship brand in Cannes was then brought to Africa to fulfil this need and grow the number of luxury businesses placed on the African continent, whilst tapping into our Reed Exhibitions global database of buyers with scouts on the ground across the continents,” says Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio General Manager for Travel, Tourism and Sports at Reed Exhibitions.
Cape Town was again selected as 2019’s African host city with research conducted by Reed Exhibitions indicated that 100% of buyers wanted the show to be based in the Mother City, says Oberholzer. “Along with this, it is one of the continent’s main tourism hubs and has the infrastructure needed for Africa Travel Week as a whole, which includes WTM Africa, ILTM Africa, and all bolt-on events such as the African Responsible Tourism Awards and conferences.”
Key African exhibitors will include the East African Block (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar), Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and the Indian Ocean Islands.
Exhibitors and hosted buyers will be able to network and connect across a number of face-to-face pre-scheduled meetings across the three days, as well as during lunch and evening networking events. “In 2019 we are innovating our side events to ensure that our handpicked buyers and exhibitors will experience luxury on all fronts, and through the five senses. In light of the fact that tourism is an experience and not just a product, we are going to immerse our attendees in experiential events with luxury partners on the ground,” says Oberholzer.
The new ILTM LUX Loyalty Club has been launched, and is exclusive to ILTM Africa clientele. “The ILTM LUX Loyalty Club invites our hand-picked buyers and exhibitors to experience luxury at negotiated rates with various value-adds,” says Oberholzer. “Born from our desire to link the industry across the continents, the ILTM LUX Loyalty Club offers our elite customers the opportunity to enjoy products first-hand through all of the five senses. The ILTM LUX Loyalty Club gives us the chance to say thank you for partnering with us on our journey, it offers a link of longevity, and it paves the pathway for partnerships.”
A buyer education programme will also be offered, and will assist buyers, prior to their attendance at ILTM Africa, with any basic and necessary continent information prior to meeting with African products.
The show will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), with dates and times as follows:
- April 10: 11h00 to 17h00
- April 11: 09h30 to 17h00
- April 12: 09h30 to 17h00
To sum up the event, 2018’s keynote speaker, Swaady Martin – Founder and CEO of luxury African tea brand, Yswara, creator of the ‘luxe Ubuntu’ concept which is an inclusive business model providing economic value and meaningful income to all the members of the supply chain, who participate in the production of products, and has received numerous entrepreneurship awards – says: “Africa is still at the infancy stages of its luxury journey. Although the continent has had a culture of craftsmanship for thousands of years, it is not yet linked to luxury. As the cradle of Humankind, Africa has developed and fostered crafts, techniques and inspirations that can be seen as some of the foundations of global luxury. In the recent years, Africa has increased the presence in certain categories within the luxury industry, such as luxury hospitality, and there is already an impressive list of luxury brands present on the continent both in direct and indirect retail. The opportunity lies in developing an authentic African luxury and a portfolio of African luxury brands that tourists can experience and purchase on the continent.”
