Africa's Travel Indaba: Discussions on Strengthening the African Tourism Economy

From May 12 to 15, the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban will host Africa's Travel Indaba, the largest tourism fair on the African continent. The event brings together exhibitors from 27 countries, international buyers and representatives of the press around a common mission: to promote African tourism as an engine of sustainable and economic development.

During one of the main panels, moderated by Lynette Ntuli, three industry leaders brought complementary visions on how Africa can reposition its tourism through cooperation, innovation and the recovery of its authenticity.

Sehloho: “We want people in Ghana to see a billboard saying: next destination, South Africa”

For Thembisile Sehloho, marketing director of South African Tourism, the future of African tourism depends on collaboration between countries. According to her, transforming the continent into a complementary — and not competitive — ecosystem is essential. “The growth of one country needs to strengthen the others,” said Sehloho.

The executive presented the new South African marketing strategy, which focuses on curating experiences based on culture, gastronomy, music and lifestyle. The idea is to extend the stay of visitors beyond the traditional safari. “Come for business, stay for pleasure,” she summarized.

Sehloho also advocated strengthening cultural and rural tourism as a vector of direct economic impact on communities. And she criticized the exploitation of South African locations by foreign productions that do not return tourist value to the country. “We have to tell our own story,” she pointed out.

Another highlight was the Basic Quality Verification program, which certifies small businesses in peripheral areas for inclusion in the formal tourism chain. For her, “South Africans who travel domestically are the true ambassadors of national tourism.”

Ramothea: “We’ve had what the world calls a trend for generations — we just need to embrace it”

The CEO of the African Travel and Tourism Association, Kgomotso Ramothea, made an emphatic call for the appreciation of cultural practices that are already well-established on the continent — but that only gain prominence when labeled as global trends. “Slow travel? We’ve always had it. Walking safaris? That’s wellness. Use of medicinal plants in spas? It’s in our DNA,” said Ramothea.

She argued that these practices should be treated as unique African value propositions and integrated into tourism marketing with pride. “It’s not enough to have it — we need to communicate it as a competitive differentiator.”

Ramothea also highlighted how artificial intelligence (AI) is democratizing content creation and marketing for small businesses in the sector. “When you don’t have the budget for high-budget videos, AI is the bridge,” she said. According to her, the personalization enabled by technology allows you to reach specific audiences with targeted offers. Among the promising niches, she mentioned: dark sky tourism and exclusive safaris for women.

Bukula: “AI writes better than me — and I was an academic”

With humor, Septi Bukula recalled that he recently left the chair of the Tourism Growth and Transformation Committee, but remains active in the South African Tourism and Business Council. As head of the Rendzo Network, he leads a collaborative network of companies that organizes business events based on the principle: “If an SME can do it, it should do it.”

Bukula sees collaboration as a competitive advantage for Africa. “Many international players want to work with small businesses, but they don’t know how. We solve that.” The network, in partnership with organizations such as the South African National Convention Bureau, is already bidding for events with up to 5,000 participants.

His speech stood out when he described how AI has revolutionized the work with proposals and event programming. “Before, I would spend days writing proposals. Today, I submit the parameters and in seconds I have something better than I could have done alone,” he said.

Among the most relevant uses of AI in his operation, he mentioned writing proposals for international events, researching bidding opportunities and creating conference programs based on topics of interest. For Bukula, adopting AI is no longer optional. “It’s a path of no return — and our entire team is already on board. I’m practically part of the AI ​​family in Arkansas,” he joked.

Report and photo: Mary de Aquino.