By Simon Nare
This year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba will set the stage for positioning the continent as a leading player on the globe as South Africa hosts the G20 Summit in November.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille officially launched the 2025 indaba on Wednesday and promised yet another eventful gathering that brought together everyone in the sector.
The launch at Moses Mabida Stadium in Durban was attended by senior representatives from the KwaZulu-Natal government, South African Tourism and the greater tourism sector.
The minister said South Africa must use the G20 presidency to showcase how the continent was a leader in hosting events and conferences.
She declared this year’s theme as “Unlimited Africa”, which she said was a bold declaration of the continent’s spirit and ambition.
“We are even more excited about this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba as it comes soon after we launched our new global campaign: ‘South Africa Awaits — Come Find Your Joy!’— a celebration of the country’s boundless energy, rich culture and extraordinary experiences.
“Our mission is to ensure that all visitors come find their joy across the length and breadth of South Africa and discover all our diverse tourism offerings and our hidden gems in every little town, dorpie and township,” the minister said.
De Lille said the gathering was not just a trade show, but a platform to reshape narratives, forge powerful connections and unlock shared value across the continent.
For buyers, the exhibition serves as a one-stop marketplace for discovering and sourcing a diverse range of African tourism products and experiences.
This year, the exhibition boasts over 297 unique offerings, 1200 exhibitors from across 26 African countries and 908 vetted international buyers representing 55 global markets.
The event also provides tailored networking opportunities and pre-scheduled business to business meetings.
De Lille said already 7430 such engagements had been confirmed.
“Buyers gain unmatched access to curated, diverse, authentic and emerging travel products for their customers. Exhibitors benefit from premium exposure to global tourism decision-makers,” she said.
The minister said the exhibition floor has completely been sold out and this represented a high return on investments for new products, forming strategic partnerships and entering new markets.
The event is expected to significantly boost KwaZulu-Natal’s economy. In 2024, there was around R226 million in direct economic activity generated in Durban, with an additional R333 million across the province.
KZN Tourism and Film Authority Board chairperson Sibusiso Ndebele said the province has had the privilege to host the event for more than 30 years.
“This prestigious tourism exhibition is the perfect platform to showcase the destination’s offerings to the thousands of tourism buyers coming from all over the world who’ll be looking for exciting tourism destinations to sell and package to their customers,” he said.
Ndebele said the gathering also benefitted emerging tourism entrepreneurs who would have the opportunity to make valuable connections with the global traders that could propel their tourism businesses to greater heights.
“Over the years, we have also spearheaded our Tourism Ambassador programme that gives tourism students opportunities to be on the frontline of tourism and play a pivotal role in welcoming our guests to KZN. We remain hopeful to host the event for the next few decades and make KwaZulu-Natal Africa’s Travel Indaba’s permanent home,” he said.
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