The 2024 Africa Travel Indaba (ATI) has wrapped up at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC in Durban, South Africa, after running from 13 May to 16 May 2024.
The event surpassed its initial mark of 1 100 exhibitors with 1 245 officially confirmed, while over 1 100 buyers representing 55 countries were in attendance. The 26 participating countries represent a total of 344 products – an increase of 14% from last year’s 301. Burkina Faso and Eritrea are joining the trade show for the first time.
The event kicked off with BONDay (Business Opportunity Networking Day), followed by three Showdays where there were numerous networking opportunities and presentations.
Speaking at BONDay, the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, said “it is up to the African continent to be bold about what it can offer the world.”
Minister of Tourism Patricia De Lille has applauded the new ground broken by Africa’s Travel Indaba (ATI), highlighting the event as one of the most powerful platforms for industry to advance a positive and powerful African tourism story.
Speaking in her keynote address at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC today (May 14), De Lille hailed ATI’s “ground-breaking achievement” of a fully sold-out floor space, with the participation of 26 African countries exhibiting this year.
“We look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership and wish all our exhibitors every success at this year’s show. ATI’s value lies in its targeted opportunities for networking and connecting to advance meaningful business for buyers and exhibitors,” De Lille said.
Some key take-aways from the event included visa enhancements to ease access for tourism priority markets through its visa waiver regime, an emphasis on enhancing safety measures for travellers and the launch of South African Tourism’s new global marketing campaign, which seeks to “show the world South Africa through the eye of little ones and showcase the true magic and wonder of our unique and diverse destination”.
