INDABA 2015: A True Reflection Of How Africa Should Be Celebrated
WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS: BRUCE GERMAINE | 01 JUN, 2015 07:17
The recent INDABA 2015, which came to an end on 11 May, has been described as a huge success and a truly pan-African travel trade show. Held recently in Durban, South Africa, at Durban’s premier convention location, the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, the travel trade show recorded well over 8,700 meetings compared to about 2,400 in 2014, representing a more than 56% increase from last year.
South African Tourism Chief Executive Officer Thulani Nzima has described INDABA 2015 as a huge success for South Africa and Africa, and has committed to bringing the continent's biggest travel trade show back to Durban next year.
Nzima was speaking at the final media briefing of INDABA 2015. He said this year's show proved extremely effective, with a record number of high-quality meetings (between exhibitors and buyers) taking place.
According to Nzima, the show's commitment to Africa was very clear. 'You could see that this is a truly pan-African show, from looking at the branding, to the artists that performed at the opening ceremony,' he said.
"Every single INDABA element must give exhibitors an unrivalled and effective platform to showcase their products and services, and to do business. INDABA belongs to them and INDABA is the single biggest platform for African tourism businesses to come and meet global buyer delegates. This tradeshow attracts the cream and the best cross section of the African tourism and travel trade which in turn, attracts the best buyers in the world to INDABA.”
South African Tourism has worked to make sure that INDABA 2015 exceeded the business expectations of both exhibitors and buyers. Here are some of the highlights of Africa biggest travel trade show.
Highlights of Day One
Day one of Africa’s biggest travel trade show kicked off with an action-packed program, including a walkabout by Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, a television panel discussion about the South African tourism industry that was broadcast live, and a speed-marketing session with a sustainable tourism theme.
'Whatever tourism growth happens should be environmentally and socially sustainable.’
That was the message that South African Minister of Derek Hanekom left the audience with at a panel discussion on the first day of INDABA 2015. Joining the discussion, which was broadcast live on CNBC Africa, were South African Tourism CEO Thulani Nzima and business journalist Bruce Whitfield from Talk Radio 702.
According to Hanekom, growth in tourism has outstripped that of other South African industries over the past two decades, as well as growth in the global tourism industry. The tourism sector contributes about 10% of South Africa’s GDP and employs more than 1.4-million people, he said.
Although Nzima said South African Tourism’s marketing efforts were paying off, the panelists agreed that there was room for growth in the domestic market. There was also a need to focus not only on marketing South Africa as a travel destination but Africa as well.
Hanekom said government was investing a total of R1.6-billion in the tourism industry this year. Many small and medium-size businesses (SMMEs), however, are not as competitive as they could be, which is why there is a tourism incentive program that aims to assist SMMEs in terms of funding, and improving and marketing their products, he added.
‘We want to continue growing the tourism industry, but we want to make sure it’s inclusive enough, that skills development take place … And we have to focus on responsible tourism,’ said Hanekom.
According to Nzima, South African Tourism holds speed-marketing sessions especially to give SMMEs the opportunity to engage with buyers. The first of two speed-marketing events to be held at INDABA 2015 took place this morning, 9 May. Representatives from 20 tourism establishments, which are all Fair Trade Tourism accredited, had five minutes each to market their products.
Another highlight of the opening day was Hanekom’s walkabout through one of the exhibition halls and his surprise visit to the TECHZone, an eco-friendly area that showcases the best of travel technology.
The hashtag #INDABA2015 was trending on Twitter during the course of the day as attendees shared their experiences:
The official opening in the evening was filled with song and dance by top South African and African performers, such as Beatenberg and Kenyan band Sauti Sol. Hanekom, Nzima and other dignatories also spoke, welcoming delegates to INDABA 2015 and thanking the tourism industry for their passion and dedication to growing the industry.
'Tourism breaks down barriers,' said Nzima. 'It is a force for good.'
'You are members of the team that is driving Africa forward,' Hanekom told the travel trade.
Most exhibitors said they were at INDABA to network and do business.
'I'm really enjoying INDABA. It's very exciting and fun meeting all these different people from all over Africa,' said Miss South Africa 2015, Liesl Laurie.
'This is my third INDABA,' said Marlice van Vuuren from Namibia Tourism. 'We're here to market Namibia and our products. Every year it gets better. This year we've found it much better organised. People don't realise that you actually have to work, it's not just about sitting at your stall. We also find that it's great to walk around and meet people we know.'
Canadian visitor to #INDABA2015 Martin Caron said that he was very impressed with the welcome he received when he arrived in Durban. 'I go to Hong Kong quite often for trade shows, and when I got here I felt like I was in Hong Kong. Everything was really well organised.'
Said Nikki Tilley, a marketing and events specialist, 'We’re here to forge new relationships with tour operators and to drive stakeholder/private partnership business. Our passion is to share the hidden potential of the [KwaZulu-Natal] South Coast and its diverse interior.'
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Highlights of Day Two
Day two of INDABA 2015 was a mix of high-tech travel experiences, nerve-wracking activities, a showcase of African countries, and informative discussions about how to grow small tourism businesses.
Bruce Whitfield, Business media professional; Thulani Nzima, SA Tourism CEO; Derek Hanekom, Minister of Tourism and Nozipho Mbanjwa, CNBC Africa presenter on set during a live broadcast on CNBC Africa at the event.
On the African continent, tourism directly and indirectly supports 20.5 million jobs and represents 8.1 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product. In some countries, more than 50 percent of their gross domestic product comes from tourism. International arrivals in Africa increased to 56 million tourists last year, and are expected to grow by between three and five percent in 2015. This will probably exceed the projected growth in global arrivals, which is between three and four percent.”
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African Tourism Ministers at Indaba 2015.
A cross section of buyers and exhibitors at the event.
For many delegates, one of the highlights of INDABA 2015 was the TECHzone – not only for the interesting TECHtalks but also for an experience called the Oculus Rift, which gives one a taste of virtual tourism.
A headset is slipped on while you’re comfortably seated in a swivelling chair and away you go – flying, diving and gliding your way across South Africa for a couple of minutes. Look up and down and turn right around as the experience happens everywhere (warning here that looking down the sheer rock face of Table Mountain mid abseil is scary stuff). Yet the dreamlike floating quality of paragliding off Signal Hill to land on the Sea Point promenade is almost as blissful as it is in real life.
‘It's a virtual safari in an armchair. It's absolutely wonderful,’ said Geoff Applewhite of Platinum Golf, Tours and Accommodation and Garden View Guesthouse.
South African Tourism and the African Tourism and Travel Association have started engaging with the youth market in the UK via this technology, selected as part of a virtual reality pod. They hosted events at selected venues, such as bars, where guests experienced the Oculus Rift, tasted South African food and wine, and listened to South African DJs, giving them a clear idea of what they can expect when visiting the country.
In the media centre, discussions revolved around the growth of small tourism businesses.
Small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) need to collaborate, innovate and continually renew their skills in order to gain an edge in South Africa's tourism industry, the Media Talks session at #INDABA2015 heard. The session focused on how authorities can 'roll out the red carpet' to the sector that provides some 6-million jobs to South Africa.
'There is a focus on small businesses in this sector in South Africa, which you can see in the policy decisions that have been made since 1994,’ said Salifou Siddo from the Tourism Enterprise Partnership (TEP). The TEP uses funding from government and the private sector to help grow and develop small tourism businesses. One of the programssees retired tourism experts from around the world come to South Africa to share their advice and mentor SMMEs.
With a strong focus on INDABA being a Pan-African trade show, a host of African countries made their presence felt and used the opportunity to use a communal platform to share ideas and network.
Representatives from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Lesotho, Uganda, Angola, Mauritius, Réunion, Namibia, Congo, Rwanda, Seychelles and Senegal took advantage of this year’s tourism stakeholder gathering in Durban.
The events also took some further afield, with six teams taking part in the #MeetSouthAfrica challenge, similar to the Amazing Race reality TV series. The teams’ clues and challenges took them to different tourist attractions and activities in the host city, including uShaka Marine World, Moses Mabhida Stadium and the Durban Beachfront Promenade.
South African Tourism CEO Thulani Nzima, who has also done the highest commercial bungee jump in the world at Bloukrans, looked cool, calm and collected before doing the Big Rush bungee swing at the stadium. 'That was easy!' he said afterwards.
The TECHtalks, about all things new and trendy in tourism, once again didn’t disappoint. Dave Duarte, CEO of Treeshake and social media expert, did a presentation on 'Optimising your business for social media buzz'.
20 countries from West, South, North and East Africa exhibited at Indaba 2015.
In terms of buyers, there was a considerable decline in the numbers of buyers at the biggest travel show in Africa in 2015. Organiser of the event, South African Tourism, has attributed this to the conscientious focus on quality rather than high numbers.
Thulani Nzima, South African Tourism CEO while addressing media stated, “At the moment we are not looking good in terms of buyers. The number of buyers is down by just under 20% from last year. SA Tourism painstakingly vetted buyers for Indaba 2015 and there is a strong focus on quality.”
Specifically, as part of SA Tourism commitment to the West Africa region, SAT fully hosted 7 travel trade partners from Nigeria as well as 3 trade partners from Ghana respectively with additional 3 stakeholders from both countries as part of the hosted buyers programme for Indaba 2015.
During the Indaba 2015 opening ceremony, Derek Hanekom, Tourism Minister of Republic of South Africa highlighted the role and contribution of tourism to the African continent.
According to Hanekom, “On the African continent, tourism directly and indirectly supports 20.5 million jobs and represents 8.1 percent of Africa’s gross domestic product. In some countries, more than 50 percent of their gross domestic product comes from tourism. International arrivals in Africa increased to 56 million tourists last year, and are expected to grow by between three and five percent in 2015. This will probably exceed the projected growth in global arrivals, which is between three and four percent.”
He continued: “..from its early beginnings as a South African trade platform, the Tourism Indaba has evolved into Africa’s largest and most successful tourism trade platform. It is now a truly pan-African trade show, and its brand strength continues to grow year after year. Our exhibitors are essential members of the team that is driving Africa forward.”
Narrowing down to South Africa, the Minister stated that “taking the direct and indirect impacts of tourism together, our tourism sector now contributes over nine percent of gross domestic product and supports over 1.5 million job opportunities countrywide.”
Earlier, a day before Indaba 2015 opening, Minister Hanekom hosted the 2nd annual African Tourism Ministers Summit, which discussed the strategies for the growth and development of the Tourism industry in the continent.
The Summit themed “Africa: Open for Business” with 13 African Tourism Ministers in attendance advocates for cooperation and unity for the continent to overcome its challenges and achieve tourism growth.
The session resolved that the African Union should include tourism on its agenda to elevate tourism as the economic driver on the continent. It was also proposed that the next African ministerial session should consider putting systems in place to advance a uni-visa on the continent.
“Africa must work with Africa to advance tourism on the continent. Cultural and historical resources in Africa are not being adequately harnessed to lure tourists to Africa. To show our commitment, we will host our first image and branding conference in Accra, Ghana with the view to impart skills on continent, so it can better profile itself,” says Ms Elcia Grandcourt, Regional Director for Africa at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation.
She explained, “Africa is fast establishing itself as one of the most promising regions for tourism. Africa will receive 85 million international tourist arrivals by 2020, and 134 million in 2030, representing respectively 6.3 and 7.4 percent of international tourist arrivals worldwide.”
Durban, the host city of Indaba 2015, despite the recent xenophobic attacks with widespread condemnations and prompt actions by the South African Government, put together a very impressive show with many satisfied exhibitors walking away with new contacts, strategies and growth opportunities not only for within their own countries and regions, but also for Africa as a whole – a true reflection of how Africa should and can be celebrated.
