South Africa’s appearance at the Fitur Madrid (International Tourism Trade Fair) 2023 –  held at the Ifema trade fair centre of Madrid – was a triumph for Team South Africa, according to South African Tourism Regional General Manager (Europe),  Ian Utermohlen.

Fitur, the global meeting point for tourism professionals and the leading trade fair for inbound and outbound markets in Latin America (held from January 18-23), air was attended by over 600 exhibitors and official representatives from 70 countries (including tourism ministers from 21 countries).

“We conducted 25 high-level meetings and discussions at the South African Tourism exhibition stand, with the intention of fostering meaningful relationships in the market. This saw us, amongst others, engage with Real Madrid and the Committee of Tourism Film Festivals on potential collaborative efforts in the Spanish & South African Markets,” said Utermohlen.

He noted that South African Tourism’s stand welcomed up to 495 quality visitors who engaged with exhibitors and delegates while enjoying biltong and some quality South African wines, The Golden Kaan Shiraz and Delheim Chenin Blanc.

One of the observations that came from many of the exhibitors on the stand was that they (exhibitors) are seeing shorter lead times for business – meaning, all the business that is coming their way is for either this year or next year.

“This indicates how eager people are to host their conferences and bring incentive trips to South Africa shortly. This is a shift from the pre-COVID-19 environment as lead times were much longer,” the exhibitor pointed out. 

Marketing efforts paying off

Utermohlen believes South African Tourism’s Europe marketing efforts are beginning to bear fruit as buyers who visited the South Africa stand in Madrid were confident in selling South Africa to their customer base.

Exhibitors at Fitur included Joburg Tourism, Amazing Africa, Ates Africa Safaris & Tourism, Catalina Tours SA, Aquila Collection and AM Lodge | Luxury Safari Lodge.

Market access for SMMEs

Among the South African exhibitors at the #FITUR2023 were three SMMEs, Kwanda Voluntourism, Timeline Travel & Evo Trak Quad Safaris who valued the opportunity to participate on this global tourism platform.

“As part of driving transformation in the industry and opening up market access for the emerging operators, it is imperative that we elevate and expose SMMEs to our Europe tourism value chain like Fitur,” said Utermohlen.

During the fair, South African Tourism hosted a press conference attended by 30 Spanish media and trade stakeholders.

“Our objective was to ignite excitement with the processes and thinking behind our in-market demand work, highlighting the importance and value of the South Europe markets, while showcasing our exceptional performance in these markets,” said Utermohlen.