At its 29th edition held at the national capital this year, SATTE 2022 witnesses a successful conclusion of South African Tourism’s exhibition.

Following its successful completion of its 4-city roadshow held in March, South African Tourism in India has now concluded yet another highly successful association with leading travel show, SATTE 2022, in Delhi NCR region.

At the trade show’s 29^th edition, South African Tourism, along with 32 South African exhibitors, introduced new and upgraded offerings, including unique accommodation options, luxury experiences, offbeat activities, SMMEs, advanced MICE infrastructure providers, as well as adventure, wildlife and culinary capabilities.

The delegation also included 2 key South African provinces -Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and Gauteng Tourism Authority. The collective South African exhibition concluded a multitude of productive meetings and new business partnerships with key players in the Indian travel and tourism industry.

Empowering local SMMEs, along with youth and women-owned businesses was one of the key agendas for the South African Tourism board during SATTE 2022. According to a press release, these businesses known to be the building blocks of the South African economy are all set to receive a host of Indian visitors and deliver exclusive, customised and memorable experiences.

Earlier this year, the tourism board had outlined a strategic roadmap to garner 64 pc year-on-year increase in Indian visitors in 2022. Over 4,600 Indian visitors travelled to South Africa during January and February which the tourism board says has kept it well on track and now they are aiming to achieve or even surpass these targets, especially with the opening up of international air routes and easing of travel restrictions.

After launching and promoting diverse authentic destination offerings via the More & More campaign, followed by a 4-city Roadshow and experiential consumer, corporate and trade activations in India, the tourism board says it is witnessing a boost in demand for the destination with over 7000 visas having been issued from Delhi and Mumbai so far this year.

“We are extremely delighted and humbled with reception destination South Africa is receiving at SATTE 2022. We are also grateful to the trade fraternity for their support and conviction in the brand that enables us to roll-out offbeat and value-for-money itineraries. This year, we anticipate that MICE will be a driving force behind travel recovery and are happy to share that the tourism board is already seeing enquiries for large groups ranging from 2000 to 4000 pax from India,” says Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism.

 Currently, several stop-over flights fly from India to South Africa, including Emirates, Air Seychelles, Qatar Airways, Etihad, RwandAir, Ethiopian Airlines and Kenya Airways. Travellers from India to South Africa are required to produce either a complete vaccination certificate or a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test, not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from the country of origin to South Africa. Held from May 18 onwards, SATTE 2022 concludes today.