Tourism Indaba 2007

Posted by Karen Lotter May 10, 2007

There is an added buzz in the autumn air in Durban, South Africa at the moment. Hotel rooms are fully booked, good restaurants, art galleries and shows seem over-full and the number of languages spoken on the city's streets has risen considerably. Well, if it is May, it is Tourism Indaba time again. (Indaba is an isiZulu word meaning meeting or gathering).

For the 17th year running Durban is the welcoming host of Indaba 2007, a Gold Standard Travel Trade-fest which will run from 12 - 15 May 2007 at the Durban International Convention Centre (ICC)and the newly completed Arena.

It is the third biggest trade and tourism show in the world and attracts thousands of international delegates every year.

Moeketsi Mosola, CEO of South African Tourism explains: “This is the continent’s most prestigious travel trade show. It is the one place and time on the annual tourism calendar when the entire South African tourism industry is united in the pursuit of a common objective – to sell our destination effectively in order to grow the industry and the economy. This makes Indaba a truly ‘golden’ opportunity.”

If the success of last year's Indaba was anything to go by, this year is going to be bigger and better. Indaba 2006 welcomed more first-time local and international visitors than ever before, cementing its position as a ‘must-visit’ event on local, regional and international travel trade calendars.

When she opened the exhibiton last year, Deputy President, Ms Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka noted that even though the tourism industry has outperformed all other sectors of South Africa’s economy, it is by no means saturated. She remarked that while tourism in other counties may create one job for every eight arrivals, South Africans create one job for every 12 arrivals, “and that presents a very real challenge”.

The main theme for Indaba 2007, "Building a skills partnership for tourism development" highlights the need for partnerships with business and stakeholders in tourism to realise the objective of skills development in the tourism sector.

Ranging from accommodation providers to tour operators and safari companies, about 3 000 exhibitions will showcase Southern Africa’s greatest tourism products and experiences over the four day period. The Durban stand will be something to look out for with pictures, displays and a video showing the city’s best assets from uShaka Marine World, to the Valley of 1000 Hills and the Golden Mile as well the city’s cultural offerings.

With the 2010 Soccer World Cup around the corner, a lot of attention is focused on South Africa to see if the country can deliver as a safe, hospitable venue that can cope with big events. Indaba 2007 aims to prove it can do just that and also put South Africa on the map as a destination of choice for tourist across the price and interest range.