Africa's Travel Indaba 2025: Connecting Today to Shape Africa's Tourism Tomorrow

The coastal city of Durban, located in the rich and diverse province of KwaZulu-Natal, will once again be the venue for this fair that brings together the biggest names in African tourism and influential buyers from around the world.

Hosted at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Africa's Travel Indaba 2025 reaffirms its role as a strategic meeting point where business, culture and innovation come together to transform the future of tourism in Africa.

The official event schedule begins on May 12, 2025, with an exclusive Business Opportunities Networking Day, bringing together 1,000 hosted buyers, plus 1,300 exhibitors, 27 countries from the African continent, plus the presence of national and international media in an environment focused on generating connections and strategic partnerships. The exhibition days will take place between May 13 and 15, with the pavilions open to the public from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm on the first two days, and until 5:30 pm on the closing day, on the 15th.

Owned by South African Tourism, Africa's Travel Indaba is a leisure trade fair dedicated to opening doors to the global market by connecting a wide range of African tourism products to new commercial horizons. The event spans three days of intense negotiations and exhibitions, preceded by the now traditional BONDay (Business Opportunity Networking Day), a dedicated day for networking, knowledge exchange and access to industry trends and insights.

Developed in partnership with industry associations, African experts and global tourism organisations, BONDay aims to strengthen thought leadership in the sector and pave the way for further collaboration. The programme includes high-level panels, discussions on tourism innovation and strategies to drive sustainable growth for the industry on the continent.

The first day of the event

The day began with the BONDay Opening Plenary – Mother Africa Earth / Umhlaba, highlighting the resilience and potential of African tourism with keynotes from leaders including Nombulelo Guliwe – CEO, South African Tourism, Captain Londi ‘Blaqmermaid’ Ngcobo and South African Tourism Chairman Gregory Davids. Concurrently, BONDay Educational Sessions focused on business development and discussions on current trends in the events and tourism sector. 

In BONDay Stream the themed rooms of the day were: “Maji / Water - Connect - Creating a Collective Vision for Africa”, in BONDay Stream 2 - “Moto / Fire - Discover - Enhanced Positioning of Africa through Authentic Immersion”, and in 

BONDay Stream 3 - Ardhi/Earth - Grow - Boosting tourism in Africa with cutting-edge technology and sustainable innovation. These were the main topics covered on the first day of the event.

There was also the Tourism Communicators Forum, followed by a BONDay Beach Cleanup Action at North Beach, promoting sustainability and connection among participants.

Report and photo: Mary de Aquino.