With six weeks to go before Africa’s Travel Indaba (ATI) 2026, scheduled for May 11-14 in Durban, SA Tourism says preparations for the show are “progressing”.
This follows concerns raised by members of the tourism industry about lack of communication from organisers regarding stand allocations, diary access and other details needed to finalise arrangements.
SA Tourism has appointed Synergy Business Events as the official event management company (EMC). The company is also the official EMC for Meetings Africa.
In a media release, SA Tourism said, to date, 528 qualified hosted and non-hosted buyers from 34 countries have been confirmed including the US, India, Japan, the Netherlands, Australia, the UK and Brazil.
Of these, 137 hosted and 73 non-hosted buyers are first-time participants.
From the African continent, first-time buyers have been confirmed from Botswana, Malawi, Uganda, Tanzania and Namibia. Broader SADC representation includes Kenya, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia and Mozambique.
In comparison, SA Tourism said, in an April 2025 media release, 873 buyers were vetted and approved at a similar stage last year. This reflects an almost 40% decrease in buyers from 2025 to 2026.
SA Tourism said preparations will continue in the coming weeks with focus on exhibitor logistics, stand allocations and the opening of the online diary, currently scheduled for April 24.
During a follow-up interview, SA Tourism said it could not comment beyond what was contained in the media statement at this stage.
