Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism, has promised the tourism industry an intensely business-focused INDABA 2014.

Thulani Nzima said, “The African continent is potentially the biggest travel and tourism opportunity in the world right now. Therefore INDABA 2014 is the paramount gateway to networking, planning and writing business.

"No other show has stood the test of time on our continent like INDABA, and we’re doing everything we possibly can to fundamentally take it to the next level."

He added that next year’s INDABA has risen to the challenge to ensure that INDABA is revamped, relevant and future proof.

"Our commitment is to the industry; it’s our job to identify, attract and assemble the very best buyers and exhibitors who have a common purpose, to connect and to share. As an extension of this, the primary purpose of INDABA is to construct an unrivaled environment for people to do business."

Nzima was speaking to delegates at the Travel and Tourism Summit in Johannesburg, when he explained that South African Tourism had commenced a three-year journey to make INDABA the vortex that fuels the Southern African (and now rest of Africa) travel and tourism industry, ensuring it provides the best possible environment to facilitate quality meetings. 

INDABA, he said, was on an irrevocable path to being a genuinely pan-African travel trade show that offers buyers the best and the widest diversity of African product under one roof. In response to demand, South African Tourism had invited all of Africa to INDABA 2014.

“INDABA is the only true travel and trade show that is owned within Africa. As the host country, South Africa is excited to unite with its fellow Africans, to join forces and actively raise the profile of our continent in the travel and tourism sector. International buyers don’t see boarders, so we are expecting to improve both the number and quality of INDABA buyers at INDABA as a result.”

This year, buyers came to INDABA from 77 countries around the world, and in 2014 this number is expected to grow. INDABA 2014 will give the world’s travel and tourism buyers an unequalled opportunity to do business with more than 1 600 African exhibitors, at a show that prides itself on being the biggest and broadest, must attend, mass-market travel trade show on the continent.

 “The African continent,” he said, “is undergoing unprecedented growth in tourist arrivals and global market interest. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation’s “International Tourism in 2012 – Key Trends and Outlook” report, average growth to the African continent  in 2012 was 6%, second only to growth in the Asia Pacific region (7%)."

INDABA 2013, Nzima noted, was attended by 2,341 local and international buyers, 249 of who were top international buyers hosted by South African Tourism.

“INDABA hosted buyers are carefully selected against specified criteria. South African Tourism sources the best buyers from around the world, ensures they qualify, and invites them to INDABA to work with the industry, with the intention of benefiting everyone’s bottom-line."

INDABA 2014 will attract more than 6,400 leading professionals and companies to meet and do business in Durban over the three days. Already, more than 200 exhibitors have reserved their space at INDABA 2014. South African Tourism expects 3,000 influential global buyers to come to INDABA 2014. No less than 800 journalists from all over the world are expected to attend, affording exciting media coverage to many exhibitors.

To illustrate the commitment to re-energize and reposition INDABA as the must-attend travel and tourism exhibition, a number of exciting changes are planned for 2014.

They include a brand new match-making system that will ensure the most appropriate meetings for both exhibitors and buyers to make optimal use of their time; a new Travel Technology zone that will showcase all the latest travel tech trends that impact the industry; and most importantly a designated Business Hub zone with back-to-back table-top meetings, simulating more business than ever before as exhibitors are guaranteed access to top quality hosted buyers.

“INDABA is justifiably known as Africa’s top travel show. We are working hard, and smart, to make sure it maintains its status as the continent’s premier trade show and one of the three most important travel events on the global calendar,” he said.

“We thank all INDABA exhibitors for their incredible support over the decades and we assure all delegates of our commitment to delivering an event every year that sets new standards in facilitating business,, promoting eco-friendliness, ensuring a sense of community and personal interaction, all to make sure we deliver a hard-working, twenty-first-century and business-focused travel trade show,” Nzima concluded.