Organisers have dubbed Africa’s Travel Indaba 2024 as a “resounding success” with targets having been exceeded in terms of meetings, exhibitors and buyers, as well as direct and indirect revenue for the city of Durban and the KwaZulu Natal province.

According to the Deputy Head for Tourism at Durban Tourism, Winile Mtungwa, the city had recorded over R500 million (€25.2m) in revenue during Indaba week.

“In terms of direct spend, Durban saw over R226 million (€11.4m) in revenue and about R332 million (€16.7m) through the multiplier effect – spending on restaurants, retail etc,” she highlighted.

The positivity and excited energy were palpable on the trade floors yesterday (May 16) – the third and final day of ATI 2024 – as exhibitors told Tourism Update that they had mostly more than met their objectives.

Many said it was too early to tell re increased bookings and deals but were cautiously optimistic as their expectations had been met and even exceeded in some cases.

Quality of buyers?

There were some mixed views on the quality of buyers. A southern African hotel group told Tourism Update off the record that many of the buyers were not yet selling the region, “just exploring” and that there was a knowledge gap in their understanding of the destinations and the access and distance between countries.

“Yet,” the source added, “there was a definite interest in what the continent had to offer.”

COO of the Durban ICC, John Oritho, said at the Bid Wrap-up media conference that the experience of one exhibitor – who had been at ATI for the past 25 years – was that Indaba was “100% back”. This was a sentiment shared by many, including An African Anthology’s Francois Schutte, who shared that the meetings had been “phenomenal”.

Motsamayi Tourism CEO, and Chairman of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Jerry Mabena, noted that trade shows such as Indaba were important not just on the buyer/supplier level but from a continental collaboration aspect.

He welcomed news that 26 African countries had exhibited this year – a 9% increase over last year – noting: “We need to visit each other to gain an understanding of each other’s offerings and value propositions in order to collaborate and become a genuine and diverse destination.”

South African Tourism CEO, Nombulelo Guliwe, said she had been encouraged by the growth of African exhibitors, pointing out that while there was still room for improvement, Africa’s Travel Indaba was truly becoming a Pan-African event.

At the media conference, Guliwe highlighted that over 24 000 meetings were held at Africa’s Travel Indaba this year – over the 23 000 recorded last year – with exhibitors largely expressing satisfaction with the quality of buyers.

There was a 23% increase in the number of exhibitors as well this year, with over 1 200 stands.