Tourism’s past and future will be the focus of this year’s SATSA conference, with a line-up of trailblazing and award-winning speakers coming together to share their stories of success, challenge and innovation.

This year’s conference is a departure from the usual conference structure, inspired by the idea that people have gathered around fires, with food and drink, for millennia to tell stories and share knowledge.

With the conference tied to major tourism events like World Travel Market and Indaba in previous years, the main interest was on tackling the big issues impacting the sector. This year, the focus is firmly on telling stories, sharing knowledge and inspiring one another.

The theme “This is Us” encompasses many of SATSA’s values, said CEO David Frost.

 “SATSA is a resilient, cohesive, egalitarian organisation and a really cool bunch of people. Through Covid, people have cooperated amazingly, even competitors,” he said.

Hosted at Arabella Hotel, Golf & Spa in the Western Cape, Frost said, “the venue informed the approach”, adding that it lends itself to a “jeans and jersey”, laid-back, winter vibe.

Hour-long, structured panel discussions have given way to 20-minute TED-talk style conversations, in which speakers share their stories, journeys and knowledge.

Frost said Covid was a difficult time for everyone in the industry and “no one knew where the bottom was”. Getting together to share stories would be like a “collective catharsis”, he said.

The programme of storytellers features trailblazers in their fields sharing wisdom by looking back, and planning for the future. Key themes of the conference include: Where we have come from, Covid and the Red List, Success Stories Shaping Tourism, Integrated Transformation, Voices of Tomorrow and Navigating the Future.

Among the speakers are Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, Academy Award winning documentary film maker Craig Foster and renowned chef Peter Templehoff. Conservation and regenerative tourism will also feature strongly with the Mantis Collections’ Adrian and Paul Gardiner speaking on day one, Rachel Nxele, Chair of SATSA’s Responsible Tourism Committee, and Yolan Friedman, CEO of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, on the line-up for day two.

Also on the programme are Rhino Africa CEO David Ryan, Sherwin Charles from Goodbye Malaria and Neil Markovitz, CEO of Newmark Hotels.

In line with the theme, rather than just listening to the talks, attendees will be encouraged to be part of the conversation and share their own experiences and stories.

The standard conference buffet fare has also received a major upgrade, with the Southern Sun team putting on a deconstructed dinner on night one, paired with wine sourced from the surrounding Elgin and Hemel en Aarde areas.

Frost said his vision was that people will leave the conference “having spoken to and interacted with someone they don’t know and with increased knowledge and wisdom”.

The conference takes place at the Arabella Hotel, Golf & Spa from August 14 to 16 and is open to both SATSA and non-SATSA members.

The event registration page provides more information.