World Travel Market (WTM) Africa has kicked off in Cape Town with 8 000 trade professionals, 786 exhibitors and more buyers than ever before from over 100 countries – presenting significant opportunities for travel and tourism marketing, investment and industry relationship building.
The event opened yesterday (April 13) at the Cape Town International Convention Centre with 13 500 appointments booked, which is 35% more than last year with 15% more trade professionals.
“This year, WTM Africa welcomes 786 exhibitors, marking double-digit growth on 2025, representing 40 countries, 43 tourism boards and 65 event partners,” said RX Africa’s MD Carol Weaving during the opening ceremony.
She said new exhibitor destinations at the event include:
- Angola
- Cyprus
- Djibouti
- Jordan
- Norway
- Switzerland
- Netherlands
- Germany
- Dubai
Weaving also highlighted the double-digit growth in travel buyer attendance across hosted buyers and the buyers’ club.
“This will be the first WTM Africa experience for 81% of the buyers who are attending this year,” added Weaving.
The event is seeing buyers from 15 new countries, she pointed out:
- Mozambique
- Rwanda
- Benin
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Senegal
- Jamaica
- Kazakhstan
- South Korea
- Pakistan
- Slovenia
- Albania
- Greece
- Montenegro
- Denmark
- Portugal
Cape Town nurtures tourism growth
Weaving and James Vos, the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, explained that Cape Town, as an international attraction, is the perfect host city to nurture travel and tourism development on the continent.
Vos revealed that, at the end of 2022, Cape Town was celebrating 184 international flights per week. At the end of March this year, that number had grown to over 230 international flights per week.
“Cape Town’s Air Access team has worked hard to negotiate those routes, land more flights and open up new markets,” said Vos.
“We are also actively looking to grow connectivity across Africa, further expand into the Americas, strengthen our links with Europe and the UK and, importantly, open up more direct routes to the East, especially India and China, where we are already engaging with partners to unlock those opportunities.”
Vos emphasised that travel and tourism in Cape Town is not just about creating economic opportunities but also employment opportunities as nearly 7% of Cape Town’s workforce currently work for travel and tourism industries.
“In 2022, tourism supported just over 89 000 jobs in Cape Town. Two years later, in 2024, that number grew to over 106 000 people now employed in tourism,” said Vos.
Cape Town: WTM Africa’s home
Cape Town is set to introduce a new tourism framework that will prioritise growth, employment and essential service delivery.
Vos said this framework aims to grow arrivals to nearly 3.4 million by 2030, unlock R34 billion in visitor spending and double tourism jobs to over 200 000.
As part of the strategy, the City of Cape Town has allocated a budget of R40 billion to basic infrastructure and service delivery that is essential to the growth of tourism, including water infrastructure, energy installations, urban mobility, public transport and safety and security.
“As a city government, we have made a deliberate decision to host WTM Africa and we have entered into a multi-year agreement to keep it right here in Cape Town,” said Vos.
“Yes, it comes at a cost but it is an investment that delivers real economic returns. With over 100 countries represented here, 8 000 trade professionals and deals being done right here on this floor, the impact goes far beyond these few days because it translates into future bookings, sustained demand and long-term growth.”
