The 2024 Travel Indaba was hosted under the mantra “Shaping Africa’s Tomorrow Through Connection Today.” This positioning speaks to the essence of Africa’s Travel Indaba, bringing the world to Africa to positively influence the continent’s economic and cultural trajectories.
One of Africa’s best exports, Ben Okri, the Nigerian author and poet, is on point when he writes: “The most authentic thing about us, as Africans, is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love, and to be greater than our suffering.”
The Indaba was established more than 40 years ago as an annual business-to-business platform to introduce and promote South African leisure tourism product owners to international tourism product buyers by the then South African Tourism Corporation (SATOUR).
“To local and international buyers, we have a fully sold-out floor space. This year’s show boasts an impressive array of exhibitors representing the continent’s diverse leisure tourism products. With over 1100 exhibitors from across Africa, the event serves as a showcase of our collective offering,” said Minister Patricia de Lille.
Acting chief executive officer for Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN), Sibusiso Gumbi said of the 120 SMMEs, 15 are KwaZulu-Natal-based SMMEs, which are part of TKZN’s Tourism Enterprise Development Programme.
Gumbi said the SMMEs will be using every opportunity to showcase and sell their products and services to the thousands of domestic and international travel buyers attending the Indaba.
These fledgling businesses exhibiting on the TKZN stand have an integral role to play in the growth and development of the tourism sector.
In closing, Gumbi said SMMEs not only contribute to job creation but are important for bringing new products to market and creating jobs.
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