Africa’s Travel Indaba to boost local economy – The Mail & Guardian

The travel and tourism fair taking place in Durban next month is expected to generate at least R1.2 billion in revenue for local businesses. (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL / AFP) (Photo by RAJESH JANTILAL/AFP via Getty Images)

aFrica’s Travel Indaba is expected to inject at least R1.2 billion into South Africa’s economy when it hosts the continent’s tourism offering in Durban next month.

The May 13 to 16 event is expected to match or exceed last year’s forum, which – according to a post-event survey – generated R408.6 million in revenue directly to the local economy and a further R776.4 million in indirect or induced revenue, deputy Tourism Minister Fish Mahlalela said.

“In addition, the event contributed R75 million in national government taxes and despite the subdued economic environment, we are confident that 2024 will match or exceed these figures,” Mahlalela added.

The trade show, which showcases Africa’s travel and leisure tourism products and services, created 2,296 jobs, including 1,374 direct, 186 indirect and 735 induced jobs.

There are 990 confirmed exhibitors from 26 African countries, including newcomers Burkina Faso, Eritrea and Guinea, and more than 1,000 buyers representing 36 countries for next month’s event. About 120 micro, small and medium enterprises (SMMEs) will be funded by the department to exhibit.

Mahlalela said last year’s survey showed that 99% of participants were likely to recommend South Africa to others.

“Despite being a long-haul destination, they find the journey to South Africa worthwhile, with no shortage of immersive experiences, local interactions and refined luxuries awaiting them upon arrival,” said Mahlalela, adding that 99% of the buyers surveyed stated that the exhibitors had met their expectations.

According to data released last November by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), Africa’s travel and tourism sector has the potential to inject $168 billion into the continent’s economy and create more than 18 million new jobs over the next decade. to generate.

Mahlalela said it was important to enable intracontinental travel and that the move to introduce visa-free travel between South Africa and Kenya had resulted in a 99% increase to 42,403 arrivals from Kenya in January and December 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.

“We are beginning to witness a similar growth trend with Ghana since South Africa and Ghana announced a visa waiver scheme on November 1, 2023, allowing citizens to travel freely between them. The visa waiver allows travel for a period of up to 90 days within a calendar year, for business or tourism purposes,” he said.

Strategic partnerships in the aviation and hospitality sectors also contributed to this growth. For example, an agreement between Kenya Airways and SAA arranged direct flights between Nairobi and major South African cities. In addition, several new routes have been launched, including SAA’s Johannesburg to Sao Paulo flights and the Ivory Coast route.

“South African Airways recently announced the resumption of direct flights to Australia, with the first flights departing for Perth in a few days in late April on April 26. Airlink has also announced a new route from Mbombela to Johannesburg and Mozambique, which will commence in July 2024,” said Mahlalela.

CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, said the event provides the industry with “bread and butter”.

“Highlighting places that may not be well known to the world is crucial because that’s where the next tourism will come from. Over the past three decades, we have focused on introducing SMMEs to the platform, but what we need to do is write our own master blueprint for tourism,” he said.

“We need to co-create what tourism will look like in the next 20 years because the consumer is changing and we need to look at how we can ensure that young people still come to South Africa.”

Tourism to KwaZulu-Natal is recovering to pre-Covid-19 levels, says Siboniso Duma, the province’s MEC for economic development, tourism and environmental affairs.

“646,234 international visitors came to KZN last year and forecasts based on tourism insights are that the province will welcome more than 800,000 international visitors in the coming year, surpassing 2019’s visitor numbers,” he said.

“More tourists means more people spending money on accommodation, transport, restaurants and food, entertainment and sightseeing. This not only maintains the estimated 161,000 direct jobs in KZN’s tourism sector, but also leads to the expansion of tourism, creating more jobs for locals and opportunities for entrepreneurs to start their own tourism businesses.”

He said Africa’s Travel Indaba attracted hundreds of visitors from the US, UK, Europe, India and Asia.

Thembo Ntuli, chairman of the eThekwini Municipality’s economic development and planning committee, said the city would take all measures to ensure an incident-free event, including a strong police presence at venues across Durban.