ITB 2023: An Opportunity for South African Tourism to Rapidly Develop
Global travel is growing; travellers are back to exploring the world, and South Africa is ready to welcome them as growth is accelerated at ITB 2023!
Now more than ever, sustainable travel is a fast-growing trend. With its diverse range of unique tourism experiences, including breathtaking scenery, safari, history, and cultural experiences, as well as quality-assured accommodation establishments, South Africa is well poised to cater for various traveller needs.
South African Tourism, the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a preferred tourist destination, will once again be participating in the Internationale Tourisms-Borse (ITB) in Berlin, Germany, which will take place from 7 to 9 March 2023. Taking as its slogan ‘OPEN FOR CHANGE’, ITB Berlin is ready to host a live comeback after three years of pandemic-related trade fair restrictions.
“We come to ITB 2023 as a powerful team armed with a wide variety of products and experiences, and these will certainly go a long way in improving South Africa’s brand appeal and, of course, contribute to getting more travellers to book to come visit South Africa,” says Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela.
“At a time when the world is fully plugged back in to travel, after the COVID-19 pandemic, more people are looking for wide open spaces, travelling more responsibly and making a positive impact to contribute to the preservation of our planet. Through our Live Again campaign, we will use the incredible ITB platform to show that South Africa does indeed offer this and more,” says South African Tourism Chief Operations Officer Nomasonto Ndlovu.
Joining the South Africa delegation, led by Honourable Deputy Minister of Tourism Fish Mahlalela, are 45 tourism products and services, including small tourism businesses and emerging entrepreneurs from across nine provinces, representing the unique and culturally diverse South African tourism offering. These Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMMEs) will also showcase their proudly South African offerings to top decision-makers and experts attending ITB from various parts of the world.
“The last few years have been tough for global travel and tourism, but we survived through it, and now that we can all travel freely again, South Africa is going to ITB to place the country top of mind for all travellers. As ‘Team South Africa’, we go to ITB as a formidable collective that is passionate about marketing our country and finding the best partners that will ensure that we optimally and efficiently position our country as the best tourism destination in the world,” adds Ndlovu.
Engagements for ‘Team South Africa’ at ITB 2023 include a media panel discussion on the first day of the trade show – Tuesday, 7 March. The focus of this press conference is a showcase of South Africa’s products and experiences, as well as highlighting South Africa’s sustainable and responsible tourism products. This will be followed by a trade and media roundtable event on the second day of the show on Wednesday, 8 March, at 11h00. This discussion will focus on South Africa’s attractiveness for tourism investment. There will also be media and trade networking events throughout the duration of ITB 2023.
“Europe is a key region for us. We are looking forward to reconnecting with our long-standing partners while also forging new connections at this year’s ITB. We value all the work that our key partners do in helping package and promote South Africa. We continue with our message to the world that we are indeed open for business and ready to welcome tourists from all over the world,” concludes Ndlovu.
South Africa will be exhibiting at Hall number 21b at stand 210 at ITB Berlin, 7 to 9 March 2023.
Between January and December 2022 period increased by 152/6.9% to reach close to 5. 7 million arrivals when compared to the same period in 2021. Arrivals in December 2022 alone were 677 838. The total number of arrivals from Europe in this period of 2022 was 900 703.
