Exciting times ahead in the land of opportunities, says MEC Zondi, at Africa’s Travel Indaba

REVEREND Musa Zondi, MEC for Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs was hopeful that this year's Africa’s Travel Indaba would rake in more than the R550 million it brought last year for Durban and KwaZulu-Natal.

Zondi was speaking at the Durban KwaZulu-Natal Business Breakfast, staged at the Hilton Hotel, which over the years has become the event that ushered in the start of the Africa’s Travel Indaba.

The Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre was the host venue for the Indaba.

Given the fact the Indaba was the opportunity to put on display the countries as a tourist destination, Zondi used the opportunity to go on the charm offensive, and in his welcome address he reminded attendees that South Africa was recently named the “Friendliest Country in the World”.

"We offer a very warm welcome from KwaZulu-Natal and Durban to you as our guest for the next few days. And as our Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille noted recently; 'KwaZulu-Natal is a mirror of Africa’s warmth, resilience and potential'." said Zondi as declared that there was no better place than KZN to host the 2025 installment of the Indaba.

He backed up the assertion by revealing that a record number of delegates,1 200 exhibitors from 26 African countries, as well as 908 vetted international buyers representing 55 global markets, and media from far and wide, had gathered.

"More than 7 430 business-to-business meeting have already been set up and I am confident that this number has grown to date. One hundred and twenty small-and-medium tourism enterprises, including a dozen in our KwaZulu-Natal region, have been given the opportunity to showcase their products at this high-profile and vibrant event."

Zondi said the devastation of the Covid-era was a thing of the past and tourism was making a big come back, just like the Hilton Hotel, which was now fully operational after having been forced to close when the pandemic emerged.

"We are confident that this year’s Africa’s Travel Indaba will be as successful – and even more so – than last year’s event, which brought in more than R550 million to the region (R226m in direct economic activity in Durban and another R333m rippling across the region).

"We are also meeting at exciting times when tourism arrivals to the country and the region are on the increase – and when we, in KZN, are on the cusp of welcoming new tourism developments and are prioritising and supporting various catalytic projects. We mean business."

Zondi said tourism upward trajectory locally was the result of consistent investment into the sector, infrastructure, marketing, events and destination readiness.

"We have ambitious plans to attract more international visitors to the region – and this includes securing direct flights from key tourism and business destinations in Europe and Asia and other priority destinations"

He pointed out that King Shaka International Airport remained a strategic asset and they were pursuing partnerships with global carriers.

"This will coincide and support the flagship leisure investment of R2-billion into the Club Med Resort at Tinley Manor on the KZN North Coast. This mega development is due to open in July next year.

"Club Med will offer a unique beach and safari experience: the first in Sub-Sahara Africa."

Zondi mentioned the "Cable Car Project", which will be located strategically in the Okhahlamba area of the Drakensberg region, and announced that progress was being made.

"My department is prioritising this project through public sector co-ordination, investor facilitation and through enabling infrastructure.

"This long-awaited cable car will unlock cross-border tourism potential. It is a cross-border initiative involving two countries (South Africa and Lesotho) and two provinces (KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State).This has understandably made co-ordination complex and at times, slow. But I assure you, we are doing everything in our power to fast-track it."

Zondi said his department was also committed to rebuilding Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife which is one of province's jewels and strategic asset.

"We are poised to make it reach its conservation and tourism mandates. We are committed to rebuilding it through financial injection and restructuring, strategic leadership, integration into the biodiversity economy, and alignment with ecotourism objectives jointly led by our entities in tourism Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and KZN Tourism and Film Authority."

He also touched on successes of other projects that were all intended for the benefit of tourism, including the Tour Operators Training Scheme (TTOS), which is intended to fast-track the visa process – particularly for Indian tourists but also for Chinese visitors.

Zoondi reiterated that the Indaba was going to be a golden opportunity to forge meaningful partnerships for tourism growth on a global scale.

"As KwaZulu-Natal, we plan to be on the forefront of this in order to reap maximum benefits for our province. Africa’s Travel Indaba has been staged in Durban – KZN for more than 30 years, and we are committed to retaining it here.

"We are actively working with industry partners and national stakeholders to ensure that it remains a provincial asset.We have the infrastructure, we have the hospitality capacity, and we have the track record," said Zondi.

DAILY NEWS