~India moves up two spots to become the 6th largest international source market~
~Witnesses strong momentum in leisure travel post relaxation of pandemic norms; aims for 35% increase in MICE travellers~
South Africa emerged as one of the leading travel destinations for Indians in 2022. Owing to itsrobust recovery efforts and aim to promote diverse, authentic destination offerings through the More&More campaign,an increasing number of Indian tourists are choosing South Africa as their next adventure destination. Witnessing over a 200% surge in travellers from India compared to the previous year, the Rainbow nation welcomed nearly 50,000 Indians till November last year, significantly exceeding its goal of bringing 33,900 plus visitors set at the beginning of the recovery year.
To propel the momentum further, South African Tourism organisedRoadshows in key Indian cities – Kolkata, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Mumbai between 13th and 16th February along with its 35-member trade delegation showcasing innovative and one-of-a-kind offerings for Indian consumers and trade partners.Participating exhibitors represented key regions such as Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, Limpopo, and Eastern Cape aspiring for fruitful partnerships. The Roadshow held inMumbairesulted inreinforcement of existing business deals between key Indian and South African trade partners and South African Tourism as well as pavedthe way towards building many such meaningful partnerships in the near future.
In 2022, India moved up two spots to become the 6th largest international source market for driving tourism in South Africa. Providing guidance on its strategic roadmap for 2023, itstourism board is aiming to achieve a substantial increase of 72%, in Indian travellers over their previous year’s target.Keeping in mind the current demand, the tourism board is also eyeing an overall increase of 35% in MICE travellers from India.
“This is the 19th edition of our annual India Roadshow, and each time we are humbled by the warmth destination South Africa receives from travellers across the country. India continues to remain one of our key focus markets globally and it is encouraging to see upward growth from emerging cities like Kolkata, Chennai, and Hyderabad, while traditional markets like Mumbai and Delhi continue to flourish. Building on this momentum further, we recently launched the second leg of our More & More campaign to engage with the audience from our target regions within India through desi and localized content. Through our customized engagement modelswe hope to further build aspiration and intent to travel,”said Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head, MEISEA, South African Tourism.