The workshop was convened by the SADC Secretariat and brought together senior personnel from the five partner states, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe, alongside representatives from South Africa in its current capacity as SADC chair.

On the second day, the Southern Africa Tourism Alliance (SATA) delivered its Tourism-Focused Customer Service Training for Border Officials. SATA piloted the course through a train-the-trainer programme in 2024, building a facilitator curriculum, delegate manuals, and role-plays drawn from real border scenarios.

The training was delivered in support of the SADC Tourism Programme 2020-2030, which aims to build a sustainable regional tourism industry and reduce the non-tariff barriers that slow travel between member states. Victoria Falls holds a key position as a gateway to the Kavango Zambezi tourism circuits, where many itineraries cross several national borders. The training recognised that effective border management balances security with empathy, enabling stakeholders to respond professionally to the diverse needs and expectations of travellers.

“Every visitor’s experience begins with the people they encounter on arrival,” said Natalia Rosa, SATA tourism project lead, who facilitated the workshop in Victoria Falls. “For many, the border provides both the first and last impression of a destination, making these stakeholders the gatekeepers of our regional reputation.”

While border officials are primarily recognised for safeguarding national borders, the programme recognised their equally important role in representing the region to visitors. Sessions covered verbal, non-verbal and cross-cultural communication, alongside practical conflict de-escalation techniques for those working in pressured situations. Throughout the training, participants explored how customer service strengthens effective border management without compromising security.

The training also highlighted the wider role tourism plays in supporting the SADC region’s economies. Every visitor who crosses the border supports a network of accommodation providers, restaurants, guides, transport operators and attractions. Participants were encouraged to recognise that the welcome visitors receive at the border can influence whether they return, recommend the destination or choose to explore more of the region in future.

“One of the programme’s greatest strengths was bringing together the people who lead border operations across the region,” Rosa said. “By building a shared understanding of the dual role border stakeholders play as custodians of national security and ambassadors for the region, participants can reinforce that approach within their own teams. That consistency benefits travellers, supports effective border management and strengthens regional tourism.”

Behind that confidence is a sustained programme of industrial development, backed by public infrastructure investment, special economic zone incentives and private capital. The Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone has R252 billion in pipeline investment across 23 investors, according to the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. Among the flagship developments is Nyanza Light Metals’ R15 billion titanium dioxide pigment plant. Construction is already under way and is expected to create around 3,000 jobs before employing up to 850 people permanently. Richards Bay is also positioning itself as an energy hub, with a liquefied natural gas import terminal, new power stations and supporting infrastructure representing almost R100 billion in additional investment.

Projects on this scale bring a steady stream of engineers, contractors, consultants, financiers and government officials into the city, some for a few days, others returning repeatedly as work progresses. According to André de Klerk, General Manager of BON Hotel Waterfront Richards Bay, this is translating into increasingly consistent business travel demand.

“We don’t have a high and low season like a typical leisure destination,” he says. “Our business follows industrial activity. Occupancy rises when a plant shuts down for maintenance, a delegation is in town, or a major project reaches a milestone. When that activity slows, so do we. Right now, we’re in one of our busier periods and we have been for some time.”

That level of demand has taken years to rebuild. Richards Bay’s hospitality sector was hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, and just as recovery began, the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal dealt another blow. De Klerk says the hotel had to rebuild its room rates from a much lower base, with several years spent simply recovering lost ground before new investment started driving demand rather than just restoring it.

“There have already been weeks where you couldn’t find a room in this town because two or three projects needed people here at the same time,” he says. “That didn’t used to happen.”

De Klerk emphasised the hotel’s booking window reflects the same industrial rhythm. During busy periods, guests typically book around a week in advance. At quieter times, bookings are made just four days before arrival, tied to project schedules or maintenance shutdowns.

The mix of guests checking in is changing alongside the volume. “The executive flying up from Johannesburg for a two-day meeting is only part of the picture now,” De Klerk says. “We’re welcoming metallurgical engineers overseeing technology transfer, project finance teams from Johannesburg and Nairobi, government delegations, environmental consultants, construction managers and representatives from development finance institutions. Some are here for a few days. Others stay for the duration of a project, with contracts that can run for several months.”

The hotel’s guests arrive from Europe, Africa, Asia and North America, largely to support engineering, mining, logistics and infrastructure projects, while domestic business travellers provide a reliable year-round base. De Klerk says repeat business is the clearest sign of that consistency, with companies returning on standing accounts for maintenance work, site visits and ongoing projects.

BON Hotels Group CEO Guy Stehlik says Richards Bay stands out against the other secondary cities where the company operates, across South Africa and West Africa. “Corporate demand is rarely the issue in these secondary cities. The infrastructure around it usually is,” he says. “Failing infrastructure is the constraint we run into most often outside the metros. Richards Bay is the exception. Given the scale of investment going into the IDZ, it’s no surprise it works as well as it does. If anything, it’s the market the rest of these cities could  be measured against.”

BON Hotel Waterfront Richards Bay has refurbished its guest rooms, public areas, restaurant and conferencing facilities to keep pace with demand. Its largest venue seats around 120 delegates, with most bookings coming from technical workshops, project briefings and training sessions.

Much of the investment pipeline has yet to move from planning into delivery. Stehlik believes the opportunities will extend well beyond the industrial sector. “Richards Bay has always had the industrial base. What’s changing is the consistency of business travel around it. As more investment moves from planning into delivery, we’ll see more people travelling to the city, staying longer and returning more often. That creates the kind of demand that gives airlines, hotels and the wider visitor economy the confidence to invest.”

Rob Hetem remembers the moment he understood why. At a trade show in 2006, he watched representatives of a tourism business sitting inside their exhibition stand, eating lunch, while international buyers streamed past. “No one had explained how a trade show works,” recalls Hetem, who has spent more than two decades working in tourism development and transformation. “No one had shown them how to price for intermediaries, how to approach buyers or what buyers look for when assessing risk.”

When exhibitors went home without contracts, the usual conclusion was that the businesses weren’t ready for international markets. Hetem saw it differently. The businesses hadn’t failed. The model had put them in the room without equipping them to compete once they got there.

Those early lessons shaped a different approach. SATSA CEO David Frost, COO Hannelie du Toit and Rob Hetem brought their combined development, industry and sales experience together to build a model that prepares businesses properly before pushing them towards market access.

As Hetem explains, the journey starts with the less glamorous foundations: compliance, costing, pricing, packaging and distribution, with coaching and mentoring woven through each stage. Buyers only enter the picture once a business has the commercial tools and confidence to turn an introduction into something lasting.

Building businesses that can build others

The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA) Tour Operator Development Programme shows how the approach has evolved. Delivered by SATSA with Hetem leading it, the Tour Operator Project supported more than 70 small tourism businesses over four years. The fifth year added an important next step.

Working with the KwaZulu-Natal Tourism and Film Authority (KZN TAFA), the programme created a pathway for its strongest participants to move from business development into focused market access. KZN TAFA selected ten businesses with the potential to become commercial anchors in their regions, chosen not just for their own growth prospects but for the opportunities they could open up for others.

A capable local tour operator doesn’t need to sell a single accommodation establishment or experience. It can combine a lodge stay in St Lucia with a hiking experience in Underberg, a village homestay, a local transport provider and a small safari business.

To an international buyer, that’s one itinerary, one relationship and one contract instead of five. The lead operator handles pricing, compliance and quality standards, which lowers the buyer’s risk and gives smaller businesses access to markets they’d struggle to reach alone. One strong business becomes the commercial doorway for an entire network of local suppliers.

A model designed to multiply

“Our goal was to build ten reliable commercial anchors that could pull the rest of the ecosystem with them,” Hetem explains. He calls it “village alignment”: government provides the enabling investment, an NPO like SATSA coordinates the programme, experienced tourism businesses share what they know, and developing businesses grow into increasingly commercial roles.

Each participant contributes something different. The value is in how the pieces fit together. Rather than supporting businesses in isolation, the model builds a pipeline that keeps knowledge, opportunity and market access moving long after a specific programme ends.

That thinking is now reaching beyond South Africa’s borders. Ubuntu Travel Connexions, a Southern African tour operator turned marketer now based in Europe, has partnered with SATSA to launch the Ubuntu Incubator Programme. For 12 months, Charmaine Wardenberg’s Ubuntu will represent three trade-ready SMEs from the KwaZulu-Natal programme in the German market, at no cost to the businesses.

For the South African operators, it’s representation in a market they couldn’t easily enter alone. For Ubuntu, it’s a pipeline of tourism businesses that have already done the work to become compliant, reliable and ready to sell.

“It isn’t a new concept,” says Hetem. “We draw from the ideals of Ubuntu.” What’s different is applying that philosophy deliberately to commercial development, where success is measured not only by whether a business grows, but by how many others it brings into the tourism economy with it.

The same jointly developed approach shaped SATSA’s Desk to Desert initiative in the Northern Cape. The virtual familiarisation programme takes operators through compliance, pricing, distribution and marketing before they meet buyers, so they understand not just what a destination offers, but how to package and sell it.

From mentees to mentors

The clearest sign a development model is working may be what happens after the formal programme ends. Many participants go on to mentor other entrepreneurs, passing on the knowledge, connections and experience they once received themselves.

Thabo Modise started out selling T-shirts on Vilakazi Street before building Toura Travel Therapy. Today, known as “Thabo the Tourist,” he speaks at industry conferences, introduces visitors to Soweto’s art scene and creates opportunities for emerging artists.

Semadi Manganye and Paul Maluleke turned community guiding into GATHA, the Greater Alexandra Tourism and Heritage Association, which connects local tourism businesses while its greening projects supply fresh produce to restaurants in Sandton.

Thabo and GATHA aren’t just good news stories. Development that stops at keeping one entrepreneur afloat is only doing half the job.

The same principle runs through SATSA’s wider development work. In one initiative, 56 senior tourism professionals volunteered more than 1,000 years of combined industry experience to mentor 44 small tourism businesses over a year. Their focus was the practical commercial decisions that determine whether a business survives: pricing correctly, protecting margins, managing risk, and knowing when to walk away from an opportunity that isn’t worth it.

“These are results we’re proud of because they show that we now have development models that work,” says Du Toit. But she says success cannot be measured by business support alone. By the end of 2025, overseas arrivals had recovered to just 92% of pre-pandemic levels, according to Statistics South Africa. In her view, even the strongest enterprise development programme can only take businesses so far if the market itself is not expanding. “Readiness is only one side of the equation. We need to work just as deliberately on demand if the businesses we have developed are going to grow and remain sustainable.”

SATSA, the voice of inbound tourism in Southern Africa, has unveiled the full programme for its flagship annual conference, bringing together an exceptional line-up of business leaders, destination specialists, conservation pioneers, hospitality executives and tourism innovators to explore the opportunities and challenges shaping the future of tourism in the region.

Taking place from 19–21 August 2026 at Southern Sun Cape Sun, the conference will provide a platform for industry collaboration, strategic discussion and practical insight at a time when tourism businesses are navigating changing global markets, technological advances, conservation priorities and evolving traveller expectations.

Among those taking to the stage are some of South Africa’s most respected business, destination and tourism leaders, including Marcel von Aulock, Chief Executive Officer of Southern Sun; Adrian Enthoven, Executive Chairman of Yellowwoods and Family Owner of Spier Wine Farm; Graham Wood, Chief Executive Officer of the V&A Waterfront; Alderman James Vos, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, City of Cape Town; Enver Duminy, Chief Executive Officer of Cape Town Tourism; and Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director General: Economic Development and Tourism, Western Cape Government.

Joining them are respected leaders from organisations including SANParks, Rhino Africa, Africa’s Eden, Wesgro, Dream Hotels & Resorts, the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa, Nielsen Sports, Londolozi, Wild Wings Safaris, Isibindi Africa Lodges and Motsamayi Tourism Group, reflecting the breadth of expertise represented across the programme.

The programme explores some of the defining issues shaping tourism today, including:

• SANParks at 100: Legacy, Growth and the Road Ahead
• The South African Business Landscape: Navigating Change and Creating Opportunity
• The V&A Waterfront: Reinvention, Relevance and the Road Ahead
• Panorama Reimagined & Wild Eastern Cape: Destination Reinvention and Regional Competitiveness
• The Collaboration Advantage: How Government and Industry Are Building a Common Roadmap for Tourism Growth
• Beyond the Middle East Horizon: New Markets, New Routes and the Courage to Grow
• Reimagining Tourism, Together: Building a More Competitive, Connected and Inclusive Southern Africa

According to SATSA CEO David Frost, the conference has been designed to bring together the ideas, people and partnerships that will help shape the future of tourism.

“Tourism has always been one of South Africa’s greatest strengths, but the environment in which we operate is changing rapidly. Success will increasingly depend on our ability to collaborate, adapt and embrace new ways of thinking. SATSA Conference 2026 brings together the people, ideas and partnerships that will help shape tourism’s next chapter. More than a conference, it is where our industry comes together to challenge thinking, build relationships and create momentum for the future.”

SATSA Chairperson Oupa Pilane said the programme reflects both the diversity and strength of Southern Africa’s tourism sector.

“This year’s programme has been carefully curated to bring together some of the most influential voices from across business, conservation, government and tourism. By creating space for meaningful dialogue and practical insight, we hope delegates leave not only inspired, but equipped with new ideas, stronger partnerships and renewed confidence in the future of our industry.”

The full conference programme and registration details are available here.

About SATSA

SATSA is the voice of inbound tourism in Southern Africa, representing over 1,200 quality assured members across the tourism value chain. As a trusted mark of credibility, SATSA-member businesses are vetted annually with stringent financial checks and adhere to a strict Code of Conduct, ensuring high ethical and operational standards. SATSA continually works to promote responsible tourism and protect travellers from fraudulent activity within the industry. https://www.satsa.com/

Media Contact

Kim Taylor | Strategic Communications and Marketing Manager, SATSA

kim@satsa.co.za

This expansion, led by Sigma International (www.sigmaintl.co.za ) in collaboration with key industry partners and tourism leaders, signals a bold step forward in embedding environmental responsibility, enterprise development, and inclusive growth into the tourism ecosystem. The activation took place ahead of Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026.

From Concept to Movement: Scaling a National Green Lung

Following the successful launch at Vergelegen Wine Estate, where the initiative positioned itself as a “living showroom where ESD meets ESG” — the Brahman Hills expansion represents the next phase: scaling a replicable, place-based model across South Africa.

What began with the planting of 250 trees linked to SMME carbon reduction is now evolving into a national movement, with each Green Lung acting as:

• A carbon-reduction and biodiversity restoration hub
• A platform for SMME participation and visibility
• A living symbol of tourism’s commitment to regenerative practices

A Legacy Activation for Africa’s Travel Indaba

Timed strategically around Africa’s Travel Indaba, the Brahman Hills Green Lung is positioned as a legacy activation for the continent’s premier tourism gathering. It demonstrates how the sector can move beyond dialogue into visible, measurable action.

This initiative reinforces a powerful message:

The private sector is not waiting. It is leading.

By anchoring the Green Lung within real destinations, the tourism industry is:

• Translating ESG commitments into tangible, on-the-ground action
• Creating credible, verifiable sustainability narratives aligned with global expectations
• Enabling SMMEs to actively participate in climate solutions

Brahman Hills: A Natural Partner in Conservation and Innovation

Set in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Brahman Hills brings deep alignment to the initiative through its longstanding commitment to conservation, biodiversity, and thoughtful land stewardship.

The Green Lung will be integrated into the estate’s broader environmental vision, including its 22-hectare Serenity Garden and landscape restoration programme, positioning the site as both:

• A conservation asset
• And an immersive, experiential tourism destination rooted in serenity, wellness and excellence

The development also coincides with Brahman Hills’ ambitious plans to establish one of the largest labyrinths in the world, reinforcing its role as an innovative, globally relevant tourism attraction.

Leadership Voices

Akash Singh, CEO of Sigma International:

“What we are seeing today is the transition from a single project into a movement. The Green Lung is no longer just a concept. It is becoming infrastructure for impact.
This is where enterprise development meets environmental responsibility in a way that is visible, credible, and scalable. Through this expansion, we are demonstrating that tourism can lead South Africa’s ESG agenda,  with SMMEs at the centre of that journey.”

Jerry Mabena: Chairman of the Board Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA)

“Tourism has always been about connection, between people, places, and purpose.
The Green Lung takes that further by connecting growth with responsibility.
This is the kind of leadership our sector needs: practical, inclusive, and forward-looking.”

Onwaba Gonyora: Executive Director, Brahman Hills

“Partnering on the Green Lung aligns deeply with our philosophy of stewardship and long-term land care. This is not just about planting trees. It is about planting legacy, restoring balance, and creating spaces where people and nature can thrive together. These trees will long outlive us. They will cast shade for future generations”

Driving ESG, ESD and SDG Alignment

The Tourism & Travel Green Lung directly contributes to multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including:

• SDG 8: Decent Work & Economic Growth (through SMME development)
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption & Production
• SDG 13: Climate Action
• SDG 15: Life on Land

By integrating Enterprise and Supplier Development (ESD) with Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) outcomes, the initiative creates a rare, practical convergence of economic inclusion and environmental stewardship.

A New Model for Tourism Leadership

As global markets increasingly demand verified sustainability practices, initiatives like the Green Lung position South Africa’s tourism sector as:

• Proactive rather than reactive
• Credible rather than aspirational
• Inclusive rather than exclusive

The model is designed for replication across provinces and regions and ultimately creating a network of Green Lungs that collectively contribute to national climate resilience and inclusive economic growth.

Positioning Statement

“The Tourism & Travel Green Lung is a living commitment  where tourism gives back to the environments and communities that sustain it. From Vergelegen to Brahman Hills, and beyond, it represents a growing movement of purpose-led collaboration, rooted in action and built for legacy.”

The event, titled “Unlocking Regional Connectivity: Rethinking How Southern Africa Moves Its Visitors,” will take place on 13 May 2026 at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC Complex in Durban, South Africa. Supported by the Department of Tourism, Republic of South Africa, and co-funded by the German Government and the European Union (EU), the dialogue is implemented by the SADC Secretariat through the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Southern Africa’s tourism potential is vast and compelling, offering diverse experiences across its 16 Member States. Yet fragmented travel, limited air routes, varying visa requirements, and border inefficiencies have slowed progress. The SADC Tourism Programme 2020–2030 identifies connectivity as the foundation for growth, and this event is designed to move beyond reporting progress into dynamic, solution-driven dialogue. By uniting policymakers and private sector leaders, the session will focus on practical strategies to position Southern Africa as a seamless, multi-country destination that is easy to explore and attractive to global travellers.

The two-hour programme will open with a structured update on the SADC Tourism Programme, highlighting progress on the Univisa assessment, regional air access studies, Transfrontier Conservation Area development, and border efficiency initiatives. A government panel of Directors General and senior officials will then explore visa policy, air services agreements, and border management frameworks. This will be followed by a private sector panel where industry leaders will challenge assumptions and propose commercially viable solutions. Confirmed panellists include Mr Aaron Munetsi, CEO of the Airlines Association of Southern Africa; Ms Dimakatso Malwela of Women of Value Southern Africa (WOVSA); Ms Jillian Blackbeard of Africa’s Eden; Mr Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) and Chair of the Southern Africa Tourism Alliance. Audience members will be able to participate in real time through a digital platform. Both panels will be moderated by Ms Natalia Rosa of the Southern Africa Tourism Alliance.

Ms Angele Makombo N’tumba, Deputy Executive Secretary for Regional Integration at the SADC Secretariat, emphasised: “Regional connectivity is the foundation on which the entire SADC Tourism Programme rests. This side event provides an important platform for government and private sector to engage directly on the realities of moving visitors across our region, and to identify where we can accelerate progress together.”

Ms Natalia Rosa of the Southern Africa Tourism Alliance added: “The private sector experiences the consequences of connectivity gaps every day, in lost bookings, itineraries that cannot be built, and visitors who choose other regions because Southern Africa is too complicated to navigate. This event is our opportunity to bring that commercial reality into direct conversation with policymakers. We are not here to report on progress. We are here to challenge each other on pace.”

The event is open to private sector CEOs and senior executives, national tourism association leaders, SADC Secretariat officials, Tourism Working Group members, airline and aviation stakeholders, civil aviation authorities, border management and immigration officials, development finance and investment representatives, development partners and tourism media.

For more information contact:
Ms Barbara Lopi, Head of Communication and Public Relations, SADC Secretariat – Email: blopi@sadc.int and cc: prinfo@sadc.int  or Ms Marygoreth Mushi, Programme Officer for Policy and Market Development – Email: mmushi@sadc.int  and cc: prinfo@sadc.int or Ms Natalia Rosa, Project Lead, Southern Africa Tourism Alliance – Tel: (+27) 83 449 4334, Email: natalia.rosa@thenbf.co.za

Issued by the SADC Secretariat, 7 May 2026

South Africa’s latest Q1 2026 overseas arrivals data gives the tourism industry reason to be encouraged, but it also presents an important opportunity to change the way we read tourism performance.

For too long, tourism recovery has been framed largely through year-on-year or month-on-month growth. These indicators are useful, but they do not always tell us enough. Growth off a low base can look impressive, while a market may still remain materially below its pre-pandemic strength. Similarly, strong topline arrivals can mask uneven performance across source markets, shifts in traveller behaviour, or growing exposure to airfare and economic pressure.

SATSA has always championed a more practical and commercially useful reading of tourism data. This means looking not only at whether arrivals are up, but where they are coming from, how they compare to 2019, the pre-COVID benchmark, or 2017, South Africa’s strongest recent performance year, what they are likely to contribute to the economy, and which markets require renewed focus.

On that basis, Q1 2026 tells a more nuanced story.

South Africa has recorded its strongest first-quarter arrivals performance since 2019, with overall recovery now sitting at 95.2% of pre-COVID levels. Overseas arrivals increased by 4,2% in March compared to the same period last year, confirming that the broader recovery trajectory remains positive.

This is an important milestone for an industry that has worked exceptionally hard to rebuild demand, restore confidence and reposition South Africa competitively. It reflects the resilience of tourism businesses, the strength of South Africa’s destination appeal and the continued work being done across the tourism value chain.

However, Q1 is also traditionally one of South Africa’s peak travel periods, when stronger topline performance is expected. The real measure will be whether this recovery can be sustained through the rest of the year, particularly against the backdrop of geopolitical uncertainty, airfare pressure and shifting traveller confidence.

We should absolutely recognise the progress reflected in the Q1 numbers, but we also need to be disciplined in how we interpret them. Year-on-year growth is not the same as full recovery, and full recovery is not the same as future competitiveness. The real value lies in understanding which markets are growing, which remain under pressure, and where South Africa has the strongest opportunity to unlock additional demand.

One of the strongest positive signals is the UK. In Q1 2026, UK arrivals reached 101% of 2019 levels, placing the market firmly in growth territory. This is significant. The UK remains one of South Africa’s most important long-haul source markets and continues to deliver high-value travellers across the tourism value chain.

The USA, however, requires closer monitoring.

While arrivals from the USA reached 93.9% of 2019 levels in Q1 2026, this is notably lower than the 102.7% recovery recorded over the same period in 2025. The market has also softened across consecutive quarters, with arrivals down 13.7% between Q3 and Q4 2025, followed by a further 16.2% decline between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026.

This is not cause for alarm, but it is a signal that needs to be taken seriously. The USA is a high-value market for South Africa, and any sustained softening needs to be understood in the context of airfare increases, rising long-haul travel costs and broader economic uncertainty.

France, our fourth largest market, also remains below its full recovery potential, with Q1 2026 arrivals sitting at 78.6% of 2019 levels. This is a market with real opportunity, particularly for travellers seeking culture, gastronomy, nature, adventure and more geographically diverse itineraries. However, the data suggests that demand has not yet returned to its pre-pandemic strength.

The more concerning figures are from China and India.

Both markets remain significantly under-recovered, and both moved in the wrong direction in Q1 2026. India declined by 23.6% year-on-year, while China declined by 31.8% year-on-year. Recovery against 2019 levels now sits at 62.8% for India and just 29.8% for China.

This is despite the implementation of the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme over a year ago and the rollout of the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to both markets from November 2025.

The lesson here is that visa reform is essential, but it is not sufficient on its own. If South Africa wants to compete meaningfully for these markets, we need a broader and more coordinated approach. That means efficient visa processing, improved air access, stronger trade confidence and consistent in-market activation.

The opportunity is too significant to ignore.

Based on 2025 arrivals and spend data available from South African Tourism, China generated approximately R0.89 billion in tourism spend (TTFDS) from 37,902 arrivals, equating to an estimated R23,482 per arrival. On that basis, even a 5% increase in Chinese arrivals could unlock an additional R44.5 million in direct tourism spend, while a 10% increase could generate R89 million and a 20% increase could contribute approximately R178 million. This illustrates the considerable economic value of rebuilding demand from a market that remains significantly below its 2019 performance.

For a sector that supports jobs across every province, those numbers matter.

South Africa must also be mindful of regional competition. Kenya and Tanzania have both identified China and India as important emerging source markets. Kenya recorded 2.7 million international visitors in 2025, reflecting 9% year-on-year growth and a 145% recovery rate against 2019.

Our competitors are not standing still.

Another important lesson from the Q1 data is the need for greater source market diversification. In 2025, the USA, UK and Germany together accounted for just over 45% of South Africa’s overseas arrivals according to data available on South African Tourism’s International Tourist Arrivals Report. These are critically important markets and must continue to be supported. However, concentration also creates risk, particularly when those same markets are exposed to airfare increases, economic pressure and changes in consumer confidence.

South Africa cannot afford to place all its growth expectations in one basket.

Early ETA figures from Mexico and Indonesia remain modest, with 335 arrivals from Mexico and 340 from Indonesia recorded for January and February 2026. These numbers should not be over-interpreted, but neither should they be dismissed.

Mexico has a population of approximately 133 million and recorded 18.2 million outbound tourists in 2025 from January to November. Indonesia, with a population of around 288 million, is also showing signs of outbound growth opportunity.

For South Africa, these are future-potential markets. Visa access is an important first step, but it will not convert into demand on its own. Growth will require destination awareness, trade education, suitable product packaging and improved air access. The early numbers are small, but the opportunity is not.

The Q1 picture is therefore one of measured optimism.

South Africa is edging closer to full recovery, and that should be recognised. But the next phase will require sharper market intelligence, stronger coordination and a willingness to act quickly where the data shows either opportunity or risk.

We need to keep strengthening established markets, rebuild those that remain under-recovered and develop new source markets with greater urgency. This will require multiple levers working together, including visa facilitation, air access, destination marketing, trade engagement and continued private-public collaboration.

South Africa’s Q1 performance gives the industry reason for confidence. But confidence should not lead to complacency.

If we want to compete effectively, we need to move beyond simply reporting growth and start reading performance in a way that helps the industry make better decisions.

That is where the real opportunity lies.

President Cyril Ramaphosa recently called tourism the jewel in South Africa’s crown. He is right. It is a jewel. However, somebody needs to ask the obvious question. Who has been doing the polishing?

Africa’s Travel Indaba turns forty this year and Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille has done something refreshing. She has looked at four decades of the same model and said out loud what the industry has been thinking for years: it is time for a change. Her plan to bring private-sector partnership and sponsorship into the event from 2027 is welcome news.

However, the private sector needs to put something on the table too. We already fund the marketing through our levies. We are not opposed to doing more. We’re ready  to step up and help build a world-class showcase. However, a real partnership works both ways. With President Ramaphosa confirmed to open the event, this is the moment to have that honest conversation. Here is what I believe we need to see from the state to make this work.

1. Recognise the Domestic Backbone

It is easy to get caught up in the glamour of international arrivals and trophy leisure destinations, but the real engine of our tourism economy lies in places like Bloemfontein, Richards Bay, Kimberley, Pietermaritzburg, Empangeni and the outlying towns and commercial hubs beyond our major cities. Mid-market hotels are the lifeblood of commerce, conferencing and business at large. These properties do not get the same red-carpet treatment as our leisure hubs. These hotels clearly demonstrate their resilience to micro- and macro-socioeconomic factors, and they operate almost entirely on private sector grit. Entire towns and tourism ecosystems are being struck off the map as a result of municipal failures. We need clear plans from government on how municipal services and infrastructure will be prioritised to support these regional economic hubs.

2. Incentivise Growth Corridors

Once we have protected what we already have, we need to talk about growth. The Minister wants private partners to help carry the load and we are ready to do so. Look at models like the Club Med development as a blueprint for what happens when the state provides the right concessions and the private sector builds the engine. We need to resurrect Tourism Investment Zones where the state offers tax or sustainability rebates for hotels that invest in their own green infrastructure and develop properties in defined spaces earmarked for incentivised growth. If the private sector is expected to help the fiscus, we need complete transparency on where the government’s responsibility ends and our investment begins.

3. Level the Playing Field

Growth corridors and investment zones will mean very little if the playing field remains unfair. For years the formal hotel sector has shouldered the primary cost of our country’s international marketing through our tourism levies. As the Minister seeks more sponsorship and partnership, it is only fair that we finally bring the short-term rental market into a fair regulatory framework. Everyone who profits from South Africa’s brand should contribute to its upkeep and marketing. Progress in this area would be a massive signal of good faith to the formal industry and would greatly strengthen our marketing position abroad and across the continent.

4. Transparency on Safety

A fair playing field is also a safe one. The call for partnership must extend to safety where the private sector is currently filling massive gaps. We see private sector led patrols like those in the Kruger Lowveld stepping in because the state resources are simply not there. We need facts rather than generalities. How many tourism monitors are actually deployed and where are they located? If the industry is being asked to fund more of the showcase, we must have a transparent and integrated security framework that we can proudly market to the world.

5. Fix the Dysfunction in our Marketing Entities

None of the above will matter if the entities responsible for marketing our country to the world remain dysfunctional. When the Minister first took office, she showed real fighting spirit by halting the Tottenham Hotspur sponsorship deal. That was a necessary and welcome intervention. We now need permanent stability and absolute commercial competence within these marketing entities. If the industry is going to partner with government and increase our financial contributions, we must have absolute confidence that these bodies are run with corporate efficiency and clear accountability.

Indaba has the potential to be a professional powerhouse where real, direct business gets done – not just a reunion of familiar faces. The Minister has shown her fighting spirit before, and there is every reason to believe she has what it takes to make this happen. That same energy, focused alongside the President on these specific priorities, is what the moment calls for. The ask is not a complicated one. A seat at the table, straight answers on what the state is delivering, and a partner willing to pull in the same direction. Get that right, and this jewel will shine brighter than it ever has before.

I sat on a panel at WTM Africa this week titled “Skills 2030: The Tourism Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet But Should.” It is a provocative title and it sparked a conversation I want to be honest about, because I don’t think we say it loudly enough in this industry. We are not ready.

South Africa’s tourism sector contributes nine percent to GDP. Two million jobs directly and indirectly. Eleven million arrivals in 2025. Seventy five percent of those from the African continent itself. By any measure this is a sector of enormous consequence to this country. Yet when I look at how we are preparing our people for the next four years I find myself genuinely concerned.

Three weeks ago I was at ITB in Berlin. I stayed at a full service, deluxe, 220 bedroom Courtyard by Marriott in the heart of the city. I asked how many permanent staff they employed. Eleven. Eleven permanent people running that entire property. They outsource maintenance. They outsource aspects of housekeeping. They have had absolutely no choice but to completely reimagine what a hotel operation looks like because Europe is in the grip of an acute staffing shortage that forces their hand every single day.

Now come back to South Africa. We have a steady labour supply. Relatively low minimum wages. A hospitality industry that frankly remains pretty poor paying in proportion to other sectors. Because of all of that we have not been forced to adapt the way our European counterparts have been forced to adapt. We have been comfortable. That comfort is building a skills crisis beneath the surface that is going to catch a lot of us off guard.

Our hotel schools, learnerships and many accredited institutions are doing what they have done for the last twenty years. Producing a steady supply of waiters, receptionists and barmen. I am not dismissing those roles. For 2030 we need something different though. We need people who are hybrid, technical and human simultaneously. People with soft skills, genuine commercial understanding and leadership capability. As an industry we are guilty. Guilty of not adopting, not training and not investing nearly enough in the futures of the young people coming through our ranks.

So what does 2030 actually look like in terms of the roles we need to prepare for in hospitality?

I don’t believe every hotel needs a permanent AI specialist sitting on their payroll. What I do believe is that AI consultancies are going to do very well indeed contracting with hotels, independents and BnBs, coming in and conducting proper AI audits. Taking honest stock of where a business actually is versus where it thinks it is. Most of us would be quite frightened by what that audit reveals.

The second role I think is coming whether we are ready for it or not is the sustainability manager at hotel level, or at least on a nodal level. The EU compliance requirements are already knocking on the door of any operator who wants the big European tour operators sending business their way. Dedicated sustainability roles embedded in our properties are coming. People working across community engagement, water and electricity management, feeding back into the grid, bridging the gap between the business and the environment it operates in. That is a real job and a critically important job. Right now we are training nobody for it.

Here is the thing I feel most strongly about though. We have created a generation of office jockey General Managers. Our GMs are drowning in data that needs to be engineered, analysed, compiled and sent upward through layers of corporate reporting. It is keeping brilliant, passionate, hospitality-born people trapped behind desks when they should be out on the floor.

“Management by Walking Around”, which should be the most fundamental instinct of any hotelier, has been slowly strangled by administrative burden that technology should already be handling for us. By 2030 there will be no excuse. The data engineering, the reporting, the analysis is by and large automated. When that happens our General Managers get to go back to doing what they came into this industry to do.

That is what 2030 looks like to me. Not robots replacing people. A General Manager back in the lobby where they belong.

Guy Stehlik is the Founder and CEO of BON Hotels and spoke on the panel “Skills 2030: The Tourism Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet But Should” at the WTM Africa 2026 Future Stage in Cape Town.

SATSA, in partnership with Futureneer Advisors, has released a new white paper revealing South Africa’s adventure tourism industry generated R12 billion in direct revenue in 2024, while supporting 91,000 jobs.

The strategic document outlines the full economic impact of adventure tourism (which reaches R25 billion when multiplier effects are applied), gaps and opportunities, and how South Africa can capitalise on the global adventure tourism market, projected to reach USD 1.68 trillion by 2032 with an annual growth rate of 9.42%.

Key findings:

• Adventure tourism offers significant opportunities for geographic expansion beyond established tourism hotspots.
• The sector creates meaningful social inclusion in areas with high unemployment.
• South Africa faces a critical choice to either lead with its extraordinary diversity of adventure experiences or risk losing market share to global competitors.
• The report highlights the importance of integrating professional standards through initiatives like SATSA’s 101 Adventures self-regulation framework (which now covers more than 101 adventure activities), inclusive of a  free self-assessment tool,  Adventure Tourism Self-Regulation Roadmap, Category-specific Codes of Good Practice and Adventure Industry Toolkits.

“Adventure tourism is no longer a niche market for adrenaline junkies. It’s a powerful economic force reshaping how and where tourism revenue flows across destinations,” explains Nic Shaw, Chair of SATSA’s Adventure Chapter. “It spreads economic benefits into previously bypassed communities, creating opportunities for sustainable regional development – while meeting the changing needs of international visitors.”

Those needs centre on cultural immersion, natural environments, and physical activity that creates authentic connection rather than passive consumption.

For South Africa’s tourism industry, this shift offers visitors something beyond iconic destinations like Cape Town and Kruger, dispersing economic benefits into rural corridors, mountain ranges, and coastal trails. It creates jobs for guides, shuttle drivers and hospitality staff – roles that keep value local and build career ladders for youth.

Call to action

For SATSA, the question isn’t whether adventure tourism represents opportunity, it’s whether South Africa will act decisively to claim its share, as global competitors double down on adventure tourism for regional development.

“Other countries aren’t sitting still,” explains Hannelie du Toit, SATSA COO. “Australia, one of our biggest competitors, continues expanding its adventure portfolio, with regional Australia presenting massive opportunity. And yet, our offering is deeper and more diverse. It’s an opportunity we can’t afford to let slip through our fingers.”

The full white paper is available for download at here.

Review SATSA’s 101 Adventures Self-Regulation Framework here.

Adventure Tourism | Southern Africa Tourism Services Association