The Department of Tourism has launched the G20 Tourism Hackathon Challenge in South Africa, calling for digital and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven solutions to support start-ups and small tourism businesses.
The initiative was announced by South Africa’s Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille at the opening of the Middle East Africa (MEA) Future Leaders Challenge South Africa in Johannesburg on May 5.
Participants are encouraged to propose tools that can assist tourism entrepreneurs in adapting to evolving technologies and improve business operations through AI and digital transformation.
The hackathon forms part of a broader programme linked to the MEA Future Leaders Challenge, which brings together students from 18 tourism and hospitality institutions across the country. Selected students from the leadership challenge will advance to the hackathon round, based on criteria to be communicated by the organisers.
Speaking at the opening, de Lille highlighted the importance of building a future-ready workforce, noting that the tourism sector must adapt to emerging global trends including digitalisation, AI and experiential travel.
She called for stronger collaboration between government, academia and the private sector to align training with industry needs, and encouraged tourism stakeholders to invest in upskilling youth and funding mentorship and networking platforms.
The Department of Tourism is also reviewing tourism skills development and training programmes to align with current and future demands as part of the National Tourism Sector Strategy, Strategic Plan 2020-2025, Tourism Master Plan and the Medium-Term Development Plan 2024-2029.
