Indaba to kick off under dark cloud

Sne Masuku

It is all systems go for this year’s Tourism Indaba in Durban.

The annual travel show, attended by thousands of delegates, media and visitors from Africa will take place this weekend under the dark cloud of the xenophobic attacks that led to the Mozambique Tourism Authority pulling out of the event.

Durban Tourism head Phillip Sithole said safety concerns were understandable. “We understand their concerns. After the xenophobic att acks they indicated they had safety issues and chose not to send their representatives.”

Sithole said there were also one or two individual tour operators from Europe who had cancelled.

Though some delegates and visitors started arriving in Durban yesterday, most are expected to arrive today and tomorrow.

The most exciting aspect of this three-day travel extravaganza is tour operators showing off their establishments and work under the beautifully decorated stands.

Sithole said they were excited about the prospect of the city reaching its targeted R180 million economic boost. “Our major hotels and those on the beachfront are booked to capacity. Others are standing at 90%,” he said.

Tourism Minister Derek Hanekom will host a round-table discussion with African tourism ministers tomorrow prior to the official opening of the Indaba.

The minister’s dialogue, themed “Africa: Open for Tourism Business”, will centre on discussions and debate on the current state of tourism in Africa.

The discussions will be chaired by African Union Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.