Cape Town, Western Cape support ‘showcase for Africa’
The inaugural Africa Travel Week next year will be backed by the Western Cape province and the city of Cape Town.
The province, the city and Reed Travel Exhibitions, through Thebe Reed Exhibitions, will co-fund the event to be held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) from April 28 to May 3.
It will comprise the Incentives, Business Travel and Meetings (IBTM) Africa event, the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Africa and World Travel Market (WTM) Africa.
Speaking at the partnership announcement, CTICC CEO, Rashid Toefy, said Africa Travel Week’s entry into a market, until now dominated by South Africa Tourism’s annual Indaba trade show, had not been without controversy.
Quoted by South African Tourism Update, he predicted: "It is going to really shake up the market."
WTM Africa exhibitions manager, Polly Magraw, said the intention was not "to rattle cages", but to provide competition and choice.
She said Reed Travel Exhibitions had done its research over the past three years and had identified a market niche.
"We genuinely believe the time is right for Africa to take a greater presence on the international tourism stage."
She said the vision was for Africa Travel Week to be "a catalyst for economic growth, to be a showcase for Africa and to give its travel industry a voice."
Ian Jarrett
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