Africa's Travel Indaba 2023 kicks off in Durban
South Africa’s minister for tourism, Patricia De Lille. PHOTO | COURTESY
What you need to know:
- Themed ‘shaping Africa’s tomorrow, through connection today’, the exhibition’s primary focus is open Africa to the world in a manner that positively influences the continent’s economic and cultural trajectories
Durban. South Africa has today opened a three-day travelling exhibition, the Africa’s Travel Indaba 2023 at the Durban International Convention Centre.
Themed ‘shaping Africa’s tomorrow, through connection today’, the exhibition’s primary focus is open Africa to the world in a manner that positively influences the continent’s economic and cultural trajectories.
Speaking at the launch of the exhibition South Africa’s minister for tourism Patricia De Lille, said that the 2023 travel exhibition has attracted showcase of more than 350 products, 1000 buyers from across the tourism ecosystem and about 1000 exhibitors.
The attendees include destination marketing bodies, hotel groups, airlines, tour operators, 10 Africa tourism boards and 21 African representatives.
“Competition is often considered the lifeblood of destination marketing and tourism, however, it is important to note that such competition should always be balanced with collaboration. Health competition in the tourism industry can drive growth and innovation, whereas unhealthy competition can lead to a race that leads to the bottom,” said the minister.
She added that each player the tourism industry has a unique role to ensure the industry’s growth in both South Africa and the continent at large.
“By working together, we can create seamless memorable travel experiences for all visitors in Africa,” she details.
According to her, there are challenges in the tourism industry that African countries have to overcome, to ensure that the continent achieves its goals without any barriers.
“These include the visa regime and airlift capacity. African countries must have a harmonized visa regime across the continent to make it easier for visitors to move from one country to another,” she detailed.
She further said “on the global stage, Africa is deemed the strongest performer with international air connectivity, however, this growth is uneven with some African regions and countries have better airlift connectivity than the others.”
She stressed that African countries must ensure that every effort to promote the continent’s tourism is inclusive and beneficial to all of its members.
