will look to expand the longevity of the event ’ s content beyond its set dates . Through ATW365 , WTM Africa will create a year-round itinerary of podcasts , webinars , masterclasses and content with the aim of connecting both inbound and outbound travel and tourism stakeholders long after the event .

“ The plan for WTM Africa has always been about offering value beyond the show floor ,” says Oberholzer . “ This year , we ’ re focusing heavily on that , with a robust plan that offers significant ROI across 365 days , instead of three .”

Who ’ s who ? The portfolio director of Reed Exhibitions considers WTM Africa 2022 to have a strong balance between regional and international exhibitors . There are local provinces from South Africa , such Mpumalanga and Kruger , exhibiting . In the wider continental region of Sub Saharan Africa , countries like Eswatini , Zimbabwe and Tanzania are taking to the floor . While looking beyond mainland Africa , the Indian Ocean islands of Mauritius , Maldives and Seychelles will also have exhibitor representation .

Oberholzer asserts : “ Looking at our outbound markets , the biggest international exhibitor this year is India , which is incredible . We can see that travel between Africa and India is on the rise , and it ’ s an affordable destination .”

This year ’ s event also has a significant representation from the MICE industry . Not only has the show floor confirmed MICE exhibitors such as African Sun Hotels and Resorts , Wesgro and Seeza Network but “ 50 buyers have already indicated their interest in the MICE market , which is an increase on previous years ,” states Oberholzer .

African MICE industry During recent months , the MICE market ’ s recovery from the pandemic in southern Africa has taken a hit . “ The return has been obviously stagnated , particularly when borders were shut from the emergence of Omicron discovered by scientists in South Africa ,” indicates Oberholzer . “ We saw a lot of cancellations . But as those borders have opened , it ’ s picking up across the board .”

“ We saw a lot of cancellations . But as those borders have opened , it ’ s picking up across the board .”

Left : Cape Town

Oberholzer highlights the importance of regional co-operation throughout the continent , in providing cross country incentive offerings during the pandemic . “ You may have an incentive trip from South Africa that also moves into Tanzania . This shows how African countries have actually worked together and carried each other through the pandemic ,” she says .

While it is vital for WTM Africa to offer virtual elements to its international exhibition , Oberholzer says the enormous appetite for returning to in-person throughout the continent . Last year , RX Global ran a sentiment study to understand attitudes towards event formats throughout Africa . “ It was an overwhelming response wanting to return to in-person ,” she says . “ 92 % of our responses said they wanted face-to-face .”

Oberholzer believes that the pandemic was critical to underlining the industry ’ s desire for human connections : “ People took it for granted . It ’ s that old adage , ‘ you don ’ t know what you ’ ve got until it ’ s gone .’ But as soon as you could see that even the smallest things were opening up , there was a huge shift towards in-person .”