WTM Africa 2025 has attracted as many as 742 exhibitors from 96 countries around the world (Photos: Varsha Singh/India Outbound)
On Day 2 of WTM Africa 2025, a leading travel trade show currently underway in Cape Town, South Africa, a variety of engaging discussions and sessions were organised, besides the ongoing pre-fixed B2B meetings between buyers and exhibitors, not just from South Africa or Africa, but around the world.
WTM Africa 2025, which opened on April 9, has seen a record turnout with 742 exhibitors and 27 pc more buyers from over 96 countries around the world.
According to the organisers, the fact that this year’s WTM Africa is the largest-ever, indicates that the tourism industry across Africa is growing strongly.
Carol Weaving
“I think the growth of the show also just goes to show that the industry is pretty buoyant. In terms of buyers who have come to WTM Africa, we have of course our key source markets like the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States, but we are also getting new markets like Australia and countries in Southern America. Also, intra-African trade is definitely starting to connect and to grow,’’ Carol Weaving, Managing Director, RX Africa, which organises the event, tells India Outbound on the sidelines of the show.
Weaving says that to keep the buyer and exhibitor interest high, WTM Africa is always focussed on innovation and mounting discussions and seminars on issues that are of key concern to the travel and tourism industry in Africa and around the world.
“We have 150 speakers and 110 content sessions, so we have four theatres going throughout the show, and they are pretty busy. We also have the Trade and Investment Conference, which is in partnership with JLL, and that has done fantastic as it is a sell-out this year, which is exciting, and it is the first of many. In addition, there is new content in our discussions. We have got aviation, we are talking about wine tourism, because that is actually quite buoyant, apparently wine tourism in North Africa is growing by 22 pc, wellness is growing by 5 pc and there are many different types of content, obviously on inclusion and diversity, and we also have responsible tourism awards and media awards this year. And we have lots of networking events, we always have lots of networking events, so, a lot is happening within these three days,” Weaving adds.
To enrich the programme, dozens of sessions are organised at WTM Africa everyday (Photo: India Outbound)
It is not just the organisers of the event, the exhibitors, too, are pleased with their participation in the show. One of the regular attendees at WTM Africa is Rovos Rail, the only private luxury train operator in the world and which operates exclusive luxury train itineraries across southern and eastern Africa. According to the company representatives, the participation at the event has consistently been fruitful.
Armand du Plessis
“It is a wonderful platform and Rovos has been coming to WTM since it started so we are one of the very first companies that started participating here and we see the same agents that support us every year come back, along with new agents out of different destinations, bringing in new business and new ideas. It is lovely to see the industry and to see all of our partners thriving and doing well after Covid-19 pandemic. This year, WTM Africa is noticeably much larger than last year, which means we will meet some wonderful agents,’’ Armand du Plessis, Sales Manager, Rovos Rail, tells India Outbound.
He adds that this year, there is added interest as he is also meeting many more agents from India. “So we are fully booked for the next few days. All three of us have full diaries, which is wonderful. I believe we have, I think, 10 different Indian agents that are coming soon, looking for the connection. So we have some really good interest in the market as well,’’ du Plessis adds.
One of the biggest segments of exhibitors at WTM Africa are of course the destinations and this year not only are many African destinations present, but according to Weaving, destinations from as afar as Sao Paulo in Brazil or Thailand and Qatar are also participating in the exhibition.
Stephane Bonneau
But the largest contingent, of course, is from African continent and Reunion Island, a French territory in the Indian Ocean, close to Mauritius, is a regular participant at WTM Africa.
Stephane Bonneau, Head of International Markets Development of Reunion Tourism, says that by being present at WTM Africa, he gets to meet tour operators not only from the traditional markets of Europe and South Africa, but also from other parts of the world, notably Asia.
“The biggest market for Reunion is the French market and also the German market and broadly the European market. But by being present at WTM Africa we can also meet agents from other parts of the world like India and China and this year we want to develop our Asian source markets and we are hoping to see improved air connectivity with direct flights from these two countries,’’ Bonneau tells India Outbound.
It is not just destinations, hotels, safaris or luxury train operators that turn up regularly at WTM Africa. The show also attracts companies that target tourists with their
Leigh Ann-Khan
shopping experiences, notably for luxury items like gems and jewellery.
One such regular here is Afrogems, a leading chain of gems and jewellery that is headquartered in South Africa but has an extensive footprint all over the continent with a large number of retail outlets.
Leigh Ann-Khan, who is responsible for PR for Afrogems, says for her company, too, WTM Africa is an important event. “It is so important to be at WTM Africa. It is about increasing brand awareness and it is about being in the forefront of people’s minds. It is also connecting with new agents, new operators and media personalities. There are always new faces at these events and it is always a new challenge to expose your brand, what you do, your experience. So it is so important to attend these events in terms of meetings and everything. We get lots of one-on-one meetings with select buyers from around the world and this would not have been possible outside of WTM Africa, unless we travelled to those different countries,’’ Ann-Khan tells India Outbound.
WTM Africa will conclude on Friday and organisers say that they expect almost 39,000 pre-fixed B2B meetings to have been conducted successfully by then.
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