Political and business leaders at Africa’s Travel Indaba 2024 were upbeat about the continent’s potential for tourism growth and investment, from an intra-regional perspective as well as increased global interest.

Delivering the keynote address at BONDay – which set the scene for the three-day ATI 2024 – Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, said it was up to the African continent to be bold about what it could offer the world.

“It is up to us as Africans to open the world’s eyes to what we have to offer as a continent and take charge of the narrative, because only when we are proactive, will we control our destiny,” he said.

This year, 26 countries exhibited at Indaba, which showcases a wide variety of Africa’s best tourism products, and attracts African exhibitors, international and local buyers and media from across the world.

This increased presence was celebrated by Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) Chairman and CEO of the Motsamayi Tourism Group, Jerry Mabena, who told Tourism Update that for Africa to become a “genuine tourism destination”, it was essential that Africans visited each other’s countries to not only understand and experience the continent’s potential as an inbound destination but as an intra-regional destination as well.

“We have made headway, and trade shows such as Indaba are a good platform to promote Africa to the world. But we still have a long journey ahead of us before we start believing as much in Africa as we want the rest of the world to,” he said.

“We have to change our mindset and stop seeing our fellow Africans in a negative light. Yes, we have challenges but we have the collective ability to address them.”

‘Afro-pessimism holding back growth’

The Afro-pessimism and mistrust are holding back the continent’s tourism growth. So too are the fact that so many African countries still require visas to visit each other, and the lack of adequate flights across the continent. “For example, it is easier for Europeans to visit us than it is for us to visit each other.”

This was also highlighted by Mahlalela, who pointed out that he travelled 20 hours (via Europe) on a recent visit to Uganda. “I am glad he brought it up,” said Mabena, noting that a direct flight from SA to Uganda would take five hours.

“Why are our open skies policies not being enforced? Why are we the ones putting up barriers to our own growth,” he said.

Yet there is room for optimism and there has been a shift from Afro-pessimism to Afro-optimism, especially among investors. “There are so many unique and interesting tourism investments that celebrate Africa’s unique selling proposition,” said Mabena, noting that the Motsamayi Group prided itself on building iconic destinations such as the Kruger Shalati – The train on the Bridge – and the Nelson Mandela house in Gauteng, where Mandela stayed from 1992 to 1998, which has been converted into a hotel.

The group was also exploring other investments, including in southern Africa, he said.