A delegation from the KwaZulu-Natal economy is arriving as the city of Thekwini is preparing for the annual tourism event, Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026.
The organizers of this event say that Thekwini is ready to wait for this exhibition which will be held at the Nkosi Albert Luthuli ICC in this city from Monday until the 14th of May. It is at this leading conference venue in Africa that the hosts of Travel Indaba, KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film, will be open to more than 600 exhibitors, including those from tourism and other sectors.
Presenting this event this week, the Minister of Economic Development in the province, Mr. Musa Zondi, stated that they expect 22 African countries to be part of this exhibition where they will show the world what they can do in tourism. In addition to foreign countries, all nine provinces of the country and private companies in the tourism industry will be invited. These include 191 private small businesses and 840 consumers representing 71 countries. At the time Zondi made this speech, there were more than 3000 scheduled meetings since it was first scheduled on April 20. All will be part of this event where tourism and products brought by different marketers will be discussed.
“These figures are an indication that not only is the Travel Indaba event ready, it indicates that the work is on fire,” said Zondi.
Explaining the importance of hosting this exhibition in KwaZulu-Natal, Nondaba said its impact on the economy of the province and Durban is evident. He said that in the past five years, the hotels were overcrowded by delegates and visitors up to 90% during the Indaba. Its guests have been more than 10 000 and they have spent R232 million while they were here, while the contribution to the country’s economy (GDP) was R574 million.
“This is a strong enough reason that we should speak the truth about the role of tourism in this country. Tourism is not only a beautiful beach, or hotels and pictures. Tourism is an economic sector. It is a sector that creates jobs, sustains small businesses, transport, food, agriculture, shops, entertainment and art,” said Zondi.
He also emphasized that KwaZulu-Natal should be at the forefront of tourism in the whole of Africa because of the natural environment that has everything including beaches, mountains, wildlife, arts and culture and its heritage.
The first day of the exhibition opens with a program called Business Opportunity Networking Day (iBONDay) which is a platform that aims to promote leadership by bringing together industry experts to share information and discover the latest global trends. The BONDay program is developed in collaboration with international travel agencies, continental experts and different associations in the industry.