Tourism promotes growth

and hotels in the CBD were 100% booked and some of the Umhlanga properties were 80 to 85% booked. Restaurants and other sectors, such as transport, reported a welcome spike in sales.

SA Tourism indicated the good news – that Indaba will stay in Durban next year, with added support from the Ministry of Tourism. This, despite the number of buyers having decreased at this year’s tourism Indaba by 20%.

The focus was strong on quality with an increase in luxury products exhibited.

The Durban ICC reported an increase in the amount of floor space sold and meetings scheduled by delegates prior to the show increased from around 2 400 to more than 8 700 meetings compared to Indaba 2014.

What was encouraging was that most SADC countries were in attendance (Mozambique did pull out at the last minute on the heels of the xenophobic attacks).

Pan African countries were also represented with an addition of Commores.

Africa is one of the fastest growing regions in global travel and the Tourism Indaba as the premium trade show for African exhibitors and buyers, plays a critical role in growth and development of this sector.

I believe that growing the tourism sector will inevitably grow other sectors in our economy, including attracting foreign direct investment, as visitors who come to our shores as tourists often end up doing other business in the country.

The Durban Chamber, with all tourism partners, is working towards creating a broader understanding by all our citizens of the role we all can play to improve the experience visitors have when visiting our country and the implications that can have on the economic wellbeing of South Africa.

We are also promoting privatepublic sector collaboration to better package our tourism offerings for the growth of this sector.

I really do applaud all stakeholders and the public of Durban for working very hard to make the Tourism Indaba a success.