Although final attendance figures for Africa’s Travel Indaba (ATI) 2023 are yet to be tallied, organisers have said that the continent’s leading travel and trade show met industry expectations, with a variety of post-event tours set to further amplify the value gained.
Halfway through the final day of the official three-day programme at Durban’s Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre on Thursday (May 11), more than 21 000 meetings had been held, already exceeding the 13 000 that took place through the duration of ATI 2022. Just over 8 600 delegates had attended the event, compared with approximately 6 000 from last year.
“After missing two editions of Indaba due to COVID and uncertain circumstances last year, we agreed with the sector that we now needed to ramp back up to pre-COVID times. If I look at what we expected and what we have delivered, I can confirm that we have reached the expectations of the industry,” said Zinhle Nzama, Acting Chief Convention Bureau Officer at the South African National Convention Bureau, speaking at the Bid Party Wrap Up Media Conference.
“One of the key takeouts is that from our engagements with exhibitors, the meetings have been meaningful in that buyers have been really keen to do business. We are also delighted that we had 21 African countries represented, with products showcased not only under tourism associations but also tourism boards. This gives us a sense of how Indaba has bounced back,” said Nzama.
Boost for KZN, South Africa and Africa
Phindile Makwakwa, Chief Operating Officer for Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, said the value of the trade show extended from deal-making to delegate spending on accommodation, food, transport and shopping, and increased exposure for the province, not only during the official programme, but also through pre- and post-event tours.
“We are very aware that Indaba gives us an opportunity to show our ability to host major global events and to turn this into a positive tourist experience for buyers to explore the province. This is why we are very strong on pre- and post-tours and have worked closely with the various hub heads from South African Tourism to showcase the rest of the province,” said Makwakwa.
She said the activities were helping the province – and the region as a whole – to make stronger inroads into emerging source markets.
“Numbers from India, for instance, are improving because of these types of tours, along with our in-market work. We of course also work closely with our traditional markets in Europe and the US; China is growing for us and we’ve also clinched deals with tourism associations from key African source markets such as Nigeria and Ghana.”
Makwakwa added that KZN intended to work with SA Tourism to turn ATI into a true pan-African event.
“We need to grow the platform and ask ourselves what is stopping us from being a pan-African show that attracts more countries on the continent. We will take all the feedback on board, and when we go back into planning for 2024, we’ll look at how to advance these aims.”
New dawn for Durban?
The success of the event is also a signifier of the resilience and re-emergence of Durban as a tourist destination (following the challenges of COVID, flooding and the devastating June 2021 riots) according to Winile Mntungwa, Deputy Head of Durban Tourism.
“As the city, we pride ourselves on the fact that we have been resilient under very difficult circumstances. Apart from being massive for job creation and spend, this has been an opportunity to relaunch ourselves. For the past 12 months we have been working round the clock to improve the city’s infrastructure and regalvanise people to visit Durban.”
Key for the city’s attractiveness will be the progression of ‘mega-projects’ such as the R15 billion (€717m) Westown mixed-use development precinct, the R7.5b (€358m) Durban Film Studio project on the waterfront, and urban regeneration projects around Durban Harbour.
“We are looking forward to presenting a more evolved Durban that will attract more travellers over the next two years,” said Mntungwa.
John Aritho, Chief Operating Officer of the Durban ICC, added that urban areas around the convention centre were also set for significant upgrades.
“One of our main mandates as an entity is to play a role in creating a whole new precinct around the ICC, reimagining the spaces and bringing in better restaurants and accommodation offerings. We want to make sure that the ICC has a jam-packed, year-round calendar.”
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