Now more than ever, sustainable travel is a fast-growing trend. With its diverse range of unique tourism experiences including breath-taking scenery, safari, history, and cultural experiences as well as quality-assured accommodation establishments, South Africa is well poised to cater for various traveller needs.  

This is the message South African Tourism has taken to the Internationale Tourismus-Börse (ITB) in Berlin this week (March 7 to 9). Taking as its slogan ‘Open for Change,’ Berlin is ready to host a live comeback after three years of pandemic-related trade fair restrictions.

“We came to ITB 2023 as a powerful team armed with a wide variety of products and experiences and these will certainly go a long way in improving South Africa’s brand appeal and of course contribute to getting more travellers to book to come visit South Africa,” said Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela.

“At a time when the world is fully plugged back in to travel after the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are looking for wide-open spaces, travelling more responsibly and making a positive impact to contribute to the preservation of our planet. Through our Live Again campaign, we will use the incredible ITB platform to show that South Africa does indeed offer this and more,” added South African Tourism, Chief Operations Officer, Nomasonto Ndlovu.

Joining the South Africa delegation, led by Mahlalela, are 45 tourism products and services, including small tourism businesses and emerging entrepreneurs from across nine provinces. 

“As ‘Team South Africa’, we go to ITB as a formidable collective that is passionate about marketing our country and finding the best partners that will ensure that we optimally and efficiently position our country as the best tourism destination in the world,” emphasised Ndlovu.

Engagements for ‘Team South Africa’ at ITB 2023 included a media panel discussion on the first day of the trade show (Tuesday, March 7) showcasing South Africa’s products and experiences as well as highlighting South Africa’s sustainable and responsible tourism products.

This was followed by a trade and media roundtable event today (Wednesday, March 8) which highlighted South Africa’s attractiveness for tourism investment. There will also be media and trade networking events throughout the duration of ITB 2023.

“Europe is a key region for us. We are looking forward to reconnecting with our long-standing partners while also forging new connections at this year’s ITB. We value all the work that our key partners do in helping package and promote South Africa. We continue with our message to the world that we are indeed open for business and ready to welcome tourists from all over the world,” concluded Ndlovu.

Between January and December 2022 the total number of arrivals from Europe was 900 703.