SA Tourism has opened applications for South African travel trade partners, tourism products and business owners to participate in two market access opportunities in North and Central Europe in January 2027.
The opportunities include:
- The Getaway by Vakantiebeurs 2027 in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from January 7-10
- A series of market access trade engagements across the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany from January 12-22
Applications for both close on October 1, 2026, at 17h00.
“Through these platforms, we are connecting South African product owners, including SMMEs, with the tour operators and travel agents who package and sell our destination. Working together allows us to bring a wider range of South African experiences to these markets and help more businesses benefit from international tourism,” says Ismail Dockrat, COO at SA Tourism.
For The Getaway by Vakantiebeurs, formerly known as Vakantiebeurs, SA Tourism’s North Europe hub will host the South African pavilion at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht.
SA Tourism says food and wine activations at the pavilion will help drive visitor engagement. Suppliers may also propose additional activations as part of their applications – at their own cost.
The market access trade engagements will take participating businesses to eight cities:
- Utrecht, Haarlem, Rotterdam and Amsterdam in the Netherlands
- Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium
- Düsseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany
Applicants should demonstrate how their products meet demand for distinctive experiences, responsible tourism and value for money. The programme is seeking offerings for first-time and repeat visitors, including experiences beyond established tourism routes.
Selected suppliers will work with SA Tourism’s hub teams to build digital itineraries, which will be vetted by travel professionals in the region to ensure market readiness for mid-market and traditional high-end segments. This will also enable pre-marketing and profiling of participating South African businesses.
Suppliers will be allowed to send elevator pitch videos to buyers ahead of the trade engagements with the option of AI-enabled translations in Dutch, Flemish, German and French.
For the Vakantiebeurs application form, click here.
To participate in the B2B multi-city trade events, click here.
