Africa’s biggest travel trade show returns to Cape Town

The continent’s biggest and most important travel trade event, Africa Travel Week (ATW) returns to Cape Town from Monday, 3 April to Wednesday, 5 April 2023. The gathering will once again be packed with a selection of top exhibitors, conferences, and buyers from across the continent and the world.

Since becoming the official host city of Africa Travel Week in 2014, Cape Town has continued to bring together and host the world’s top travel professionals, buyers, exhibitors and media, offering a space for idea sharing and innovation in the tourism space.

Last year’s ATW welcomed 6 200 visitors, hosted more than 7 000 meetings, 384 exhibiting companies, and 500 buyers. Pre-pandemic, the event sealed deals worth around 451 000 million US Dollars and led to the creation of more than 3 000 jobs.

‘This year’s show promises to be even bigger, with 600 exhibitors and an anticipated 7 000 visitors. One of the highlights of ATW is the International Luxury Travel Market Africa (ILTMA) which will host 88% new buyers in 2023 from countries that weren’t represented last year, such as Brazil, Singapore, Germany, Kenya and Nigeria,’ said Alderman James Vos, the Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth.

Other highlights of this year’s gathering include the Africa Tourism Investment Summit (ATIS), EQUAL Africa which brings together suppliers, buyers and brands marketing to the LGBTQ+ community, and the Responsible Tourism Africa Conference.

‘The City will also proudly host another stand at the ATW. Last year, our six-sided space showing why the metro is the ideal destination for visiting, working, playing, studying, investing, and living won the award for The Best Stand Design. We’re aiming to take home the top prize again with features such as meeting rooms, a chill area, and LED screen highlighting the different kinds of adventure experiences Cape Town has on offer,’ said Alderman Vos.

Equally important is the spotlight that will be placed on Cape Town as a city of diverse attractions and cultures bursting with investment opportunities.

‘The last couple of months have shown how events are steadily emerging from the Covid-19 fog and here in Cape Town, we are doing all we can to continue providing an enabling environment for events to grow further. Events have also continued to be an important catalyst to the recovery of the tourism industry as many visitors are coming to attend events here in the Mother City. Africa Travel Week is a perfect example of intersection – of how events and tourism work hand in hand to grow the local economy. In furthering our support for women’s sports in 2023, the City also be facilitating an expert panel to discuss how women-led sports events are driving tourism,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

‘As we embark on a new three-year agreement to support Africa Travel Week, the City is reflecting on an almost 10-year partnership, which has grown from hosting 3 091 tourism industry professionals at World Travel Market in 2014 to more than 4 600 expected in 2023.’

Through ATW, the City actively positions Cape Town as the ultimate destination in Africa to Visit, Live, Work, Study, Play and Invest.

‘My mission is to secure a tourism-related job in every household in Cape Town through clever campaigns leading to increased bookings and city-to-city connections that drive demand from key source markets. The fact that Africa Travel Week is a wellspring of so many jobs and investments speaks to the platform’s value for Cape Town,’ said Alderman Vos.

Visit the Africa Travel Week resource hub for more information about the event.