(Posted 06th May 2022)
Africa’s tourism recovery goes underway as World Travel Market Africa 2022 tops 2019 results
WTM Africa 2022, held from April 11th to 13th in Cape Town, South Africa, was a
huge success with preliminary numbers indicating that pre-scheduled appointments for
2022 exceeded the number of appointments booked at the show in 2019.
WTM Africa 2022 facilitated over seven thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments (both
online and in person), which saw an increase of more than 7% compared to 2019, while the
number of visitors remained on par with 2019 figures, with more than six thousand visitors
in 2022 according to the unaudited numbers – hugely positive for the WTM’s first in-person
event post pandemic and a fitting reflection of an industry that wants to get back to work
“The 2022 edition of WTM Africa and Africa Travel Week was the first inbound and
outbound travel trade show of this magnitude held on the African continent since the
outbreak of the pandemic in 2022. The undeniable success of the show, as reflected in the
preliminary numbers, is a clear indication that the industry was in desperate need of a face-
to-face platform to reconnect, conclude deals and kickstart the recovery of the industry,”
says Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director: Travel, Tourism, and Creative Industries, RX
Africa.
WTM Africa featured 187 speakers in over 63 content sessions which highlighted important
topics such as inclusivity, diversity, travel technology and investment. Exhibitors, speakers
and buyers from both the inbound and outbound tourism and travel industry were invited
to enable a platform of growth to and from the African continent. Twelve international
countries were represented, 20 African countries and seven out of the nine South African
provinces were present.
The vast majority (87%) of buyers were new buyers who had never been to Africa Travel
Week before with buyers from established source markets as well as new source markets
like Thailand, Malaysia and Japan. WTM Africa 2022 saw a great number of new exhibitors,
including amongst others the National Tourism Board of Sierra Leone and the Korea Tourism
Organisation, who all saw great value in the show and have expressed their interest to
return to WTM Africa in 2023.
WTM Africa 2023 will take place between April 03rd and 05th, so mark your calendars.
