Now more than ever, it is critical for the entire sector to unite, and attend Africa’s Travel Indaba which makes a comeback after a two-year pause due to COVID-19.
As the tourism sector is slowly recovering following the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the floods in KwaZulu-Natal will certainly set the sector back further as lives have been lost and many others injured whilst businesses and organisations have lost their properties and livelihood.
Plans remain in place for the hosting of Africa’s Travel Indaba in the city of eThekwini, KwaZulu- Natal from the 2nd to the 5th of May. Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 is ready to welcome you to come, connect and do business; contributing to the African continent’s tourism sector recovery.
“The tourism sector has remained resilient through the COVID-19 pandemic though the devastating effects of the pandemic can never be discounted. This can largely be attributed to the sector uniting, acting and advocating for recovery. Now more than ever, this spirit needs to be reignited. Your presence at Africa’s Travel Indaba will contribute to bringing much needed economic injection into the city of Durban and the KZN province at large,” said Themba Khumalo, Acting Chief Executive Officer at SA Tourism.
The National Disaster Management Centre and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Disaster Management have been activated following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s visit to the province recently. These structures are coordinating an integrated response across all spheres of government, the private sector and civil society. South Africa Tourism, owner and host of Africa’s Travel Indaba, is encouraged that there will be a speedy restoration of infrastructure so at allow citizens to resume their normal lives.
“We applaud the speedy action in clearing major affected roads. This makes the province open and ready to welcome tourists and, all Indaba delegates who will come from various parts of South Africa and the world in May. While there are some areas that are affected by power cuts and water shortages from time to time, we know that the various government structures are working tirelessly to restore. Visitors to the province can still enjoy the varied attractions, products and experiences that the province has to offer,” adds Khumalo.
Phindile Makwakwa, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal said the organisation shared the pain of those who have been affected by the floods in KZN.
“Tourism KZN is confident there will be restoration within the province and a speedy recovery to get back to normality especially after having endured two years of Covid-19. She added: “ Africa’s Travel Indaba will confidently demonstrate to exhibitors, buyers, and the international market that KZN is roaring again and ready to offer memorable travel and tourism experiences and events.”
The theme for Africa’s Travel Indaba, Africa’s stories, your success reaffirms the fact that Africa is reclaiming its own narrative and is ready to share with the world inspiring stories of resilience shown throughout the pandemic.
“More than contributing to the city and the province’s tourism sector and the economy as a whole, Africa’s Travel Indaba is poised to ensure that both our exhibitors and buyers extract maximum value from the trade show,” concludes Khumalo
At the last edition of Africa’s Travel Indaba in 2019, the show attracted about 6200 delegates from all over the world, with 1033 exhibiting businesses from 19 countries on the continent, showcasing an array of travel and tourism offerings to almost 1177 local, regional and international buyers. Furthermore, almost 452 local, regional and international media representatives participated at Africa’s Travel Indaba 2019, pointing to the stature and global profile of the African continent’s tourism industry.
