Following the devastating floods earlier this month, plans remain in place for Africa’s Travel Indaba 2022 – to be held in the city of eThekwini (Durban) in KwaZulu Natal from May 2 to 5.
In fact, says South African Tourism Acting CEO, Themba Khumalo, now more than ever, it is critical for the entire sector to unite and attend Indaba 2022, which is making a comeback after a two-year pause.
“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. The industry’s 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 Khumalo.
The National Disaster Management Centre and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Disaster Management have been activated following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s recent visit to the province.
“These structures are co-ordinating an integrated response across all spheres of government, the private sector and civil society. South African Tourism, owner and host of Africa’s Travel Indaba, is encouraged that there will be a speedy restoration of infrastructure to allow citizens to resume their normal lives,” said Khumalo.
“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 them. Visitors to the province can still enjoy the varied attractions, products and experiences that the province has to offer.”
Phindile Makwakwa, Acting CEO of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, said the organisation shared the pain of those who had been affected by the floods.
“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.
“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,” she said.
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,” concluded Khumalo.
At the last Africa’s Travel Indaba in 2019, the show attracted about 6 200 delegates from all over the world, with 1 033 exhibiting businesses from 19 countries on the continent showcasing an array of travel and tourism offerings to almost 1 177 local, regional and international buyers.
Furthermore, almost 452 local, regional and international media representatives participated in the event.
