The 2025 Africa’s Travel Indaba kicked off in Durban today with a rallying cry from South Africa’s Deputy President, Shipokosa Paulus Mashatile, for unity and collaboration within Africa when it comes to supporting tourism.
Hosted annually in Durban, Africa’s Travel Indaba is Africa’s leading tourism trade show, with more than 1300 exhibitors attending.
Speaking to delegates during the conference opening ceremony, Mashatile said “Africa’s future lies in African’s choosing Africa. We must choose to explore each other’s countries. We must choose to invest in each other’s businesses.”
“Africa is a land full of stories just waiting to be told,” he continued.
Sustainability and inclusive tourism were also a big focus for Mashatile, especially ahead of the G20 Summit which is taking place in South Africa in November.
“As the only African member of G20, South Africa, has a solemn responsibility and a powerful opportunity to advocate for the developing nations, and the global South, to champion sustainable tourism, and to secure investment for others.”
“We must defend our efforts to build resilient and inclusive economies that benefit women, youth and people with disabilities as well. We come together in Durban to reflect on many aspects of our tourism industry,” he said.
Minister of tourism, Patricia De Lille noted that the number of visitors coming to South Africa in 2025 had already jumped by 6 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
“We welcomed 2.6 million tourists in the first quarter of this year,” she said.
Like Mashatile, she echoed her appreciation for tourists travelling within Africa.
“A total of 75 per cent of South Africa’s international visitors come from other African nations and we really appreciate it,” she said.
Commenting on South Africa’s ambitious plans to grow its international visitor numbers by 35 per cent, De Lille said that “Anything is possible under the condition that we all work hard. We work damn hard and we can achieve this.”
