Registration for one of Africa’s flagship travel events, World Travel Market (WTM) Africa, is open.
In Cape Town from April 9-12, WTM Africa will gather leaders in leisure, sport and responsible tourism as well as luxury, LGBTQ+, MICE/business travel, tourism investment and travel technology – delivering meaningful networking and collaboration opportunities for the African tourism industry.
Mirrored on WTM flagship events like WTM London and the Arabian Travel Market in Dubai, WTM Africa delivers a proven mix of hosted buyers, suppliers, media representatives, pre-scheduled appointments, networking and evening functions.
“Ignite Africa is the perfect theme for 2025,” said Megan de Jager, Portfolio Director for RX Africa, organiser of WTM Africa. “We’re creating a space for real conversation, connection and collaboration and bringing together the best minds in the industry to shape the future of African tourism."
To this end, the 2025 programme introduces focused “content clusters” for the first time. Each cluster combines keynote presentations from established industry experts and emerging voices, panel discussions and practical workshops for attendees – covering hot-button topics like sustainable aviation, artificial intelligence in tourism and next-generation marketing.
New additions to the 2025 programme include:
- A half-day aviation conference addressing industry challenges and opportunities
- Africa Tourism Investment Conference in partnership with JLL
- Youth development focusing on career opportunities and skills training for young adults in tourism with a special session highlighting young African leaders in tourism
- An exclusive “state of the industry” report
- Interactive “brain box” sessions for skills development and knowledge sharing
- Facilitated connections between buyers, suppliers, potential partners and media professionals
According to De Jager, WTM Africa 2024 achieved a 53% increase in attendees compared to 2023 with 88 countries across the world represented.
“Perhaps most exciting is the number of small, medium and micro enterprises and industry newcomers that showed interest. The future of African tourism is bright – and WTM Africa is the perfect platform for those looking to connect with tourism titans and pioneers. It’s the place to be if you want to learn, network and celebrate the diversity and opportunity in our industry.”
WTM Africa is one of the cornerstones of Africa Travel Week. De Jager recommends that visitors and media register interest as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Cape Town expects further growth
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis shares this sentiment. “This event has established itself as the premier travel and tourism expo on the continent and is key to unlocking African tourism’s enormous potential. It certainly means the world to us here in Cape Town.
“If the popularity and growth of the last WTM Africa is anything to go by, the 2025 event looks set to be the biggest and most well attended to date. I encourage all prospective delegates and exhibitors to register their interest sooner rather than later to ensure they don’t miss out.”
Luxury travel
For those in the business of luxury tourism, ILTM Africa is also scheduled from April 6-8 at the Norval Foundation in Cape Town.
“It’s a new venue for ILTM Africa,” explains De Jager. “We’re celebrating art as a key component of luxury tourism and expect some of the world’s top-tier travel experience providers and international buyers with high buying power.”
As this is an invitation-only event, she advises exhibitors to register their interest as early as possible.
WTM Africa 2025 attendees will also have access to concurrent events like Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings Africa, EQUAL Africa powered by IGLTA and Travel Tech at no extra charge.
“WTM Africa is enabled by our partnerships with the City of Cape Town, Cape Town International Conference Centre and LIFT,” De Jager pointed out.
