Hosting the 20th G20 Summit in Johannesburg on November 22 and 23 will go a long way towards strengthening the tourism sector’s contribution to economic growth and job creation numbers, said Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille in an op ed for Tourism Update.
Around 40 heads of state are expected to attend, she highlighted. “Together, members (G20, EU and AU) account for around 85% of global GDP, 75% international trade and two thirds of the world's population.”
Throughout the course of this year, over 135 G20 meetings will be held throughout the country – including the Tourism Ministers G20 Meeting in Mpumalanga in September.
De Lille pointed to other successfully hosted international events in South Africa – including the 15th BRICS Summit in 2023 – and declared the country is ready and excited to host delegates from all over the world and showcase all the diverse and unique tourism offerings across all nine provinces.
Addressing barriers to entry
“Air capacity recovery has been solid for South Africa. Currently, there are active international routes connecting 72 cities worldwide, serviced by 55 airlines, offering over 7.8 million seats across over 52 000 flights in 2024,” she added.
“On the domestic front, capacity has rebounded with 18 million seats in 2024 and 4.2 million seats already projected for the first quarter of 2025.”
Furthermore, on December 4 last year, Cabinet approved the Route Development Marketing Strategy to be implemented by the Department of Tourism and the private sector.
In his State of the Nation Address address last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that over 90% of the backlog of more than 300 000 visa applications had been cleared. “These changes send a strong message that South Africa is open for business and tourism.”
He also said hosting the G20 is an opportunity to place the needs of Africa and the rest of the Global South more firmly on the international development agenda. “Our G20 Presidency is a valuable opportunity for South Africa to advance efforts towards greater global economic growth and sustainable development.”
The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa (TGCSA) is offering free grading throughout February to establishments that have not yet been graded or where grading has lapsed for longer than three years so that they will be able to benefit from G20 visitors.
Bronwen Auret, Chief Quality Assurance Officer for the TGCSA, said: “We are going to be welcoming guests from all over the world and we need to make sure that we are ready to receive them.”
She said grading is a quality assurance and, most importantly, a promise to visitors who will include world leaders, their support teams, the media and tour operators, among others.
The road to G20 for business owners
Although the benefits for the country are clear, it is unclear how tourism business owners could take direct advantage of these benefits.
In a recent informal poll, conducted by Tourism Update, an overwhelming majority (78%) of readers said they would like to see more platforms linking South Africa’s hosting of the myriad G20 meetings with specific tourism opportunities.
Speaking at the official launch of Meetings Africa two weeks ago, Glenton de Kock, Chief Executive Officer of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry, agreed. “We need platforms that link G20 delegates to business travel suppliers.”
At the Meetings Africa 2025 launch, De Lille said she will ensure there is a G20 information desk at the event.
