Africa-Press – Eswatini. The local tourism sector has expressed appreciation and excitement about participating in this year’s World Travel Market Africa ‘WTM’ Africa which was recently held in South Africa, Cape Town.
A group of about ten industry players were led by the Eswatini Tourism Authority (ETA) to this international Trade Show which attracted over 40 African and 12 countries from different other continents. There were 400 exhibitors and more than 200 buyers and tour operators.
This was the first World Travel (WTM) Africa held since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was hosted by the South African Tourism at the Cape Town Convention Centre from 11 to 13 this month.
ETA Head of Marketing Siboniso Madlopha, who led the delegation, mentioned that the local stand was visited by tour operators from countries such as Canada, Australia and European countries such as the United Kingdom which is one of Eswatini’s source markets.
He said it was a necessity for the local sector to partake in this trade show which attracts the decision makers in holiday planning. He highlighted that one of the important meetings they had was Thompson Holiday Group which is looking to package Eswatini on their holiday itineraries for tourists.
Meanwhile the exhibitors who attended the show expressed delight at the numbers and quality of visitors they had at the stand. The general feeling among those interviewed is that Eswatini offers a lot of those experiences which only need to be discovered.
Mountain Inn GM Marc Ward, who is also Chairperson of Hospitality and Tourism Association of Eswatini (HOTAES), said shows like the WTM Africa are a necessity for the tourism sector as it serves to fulfill the government of the Kingdom of Eswatini’s economic policy which identifies tourism as a priority sector in the country’s economic recovery strategy.
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He stated that they had higher than average number of meetings with buyers who have been looking for something different and unusual to do. “This was an exceptionally busy show and I believe most of the Eswatini exhibitors have had close to or more than 30 appointments.
It’s been a good show. The tourism industry is excited to travel especially with the decrease in COVID-19 cases and easing of travel restrictions, buyers and tour operators from different countries are ready to travel back to Eswatini,” he said.
Noxolo Nkabinde, Marketing Coordinator at Happy Valley Hotel said “It has been two years since we physically attended WTM Africa and even though we participated in the virtual show last year, the experience was not the same as hospitality requires in-person interactions. One of the most positively-received news during our meetings has been the elimination of the PCR test requirement for fully-vaccinated tourists,” she said.
She noted that they got a lot of positive feedback from the European and American markets, as well as the SADC region.
“The COVID-19 pandemic exposed us to the ease of travelling within the SADC region and we have seen great interest from neighboring countries. After the pandemic, there are a lot of new trends. Before COVID-19, we were dealing with the same guests, but after the past two years, we are anticipating first-time visitors to Eswatini from as far as Poland.
This year has offered us the opportunity to sell ourselves for the first time to new buyers and tour operators as opposed to our usual guests,” she added.
Nkabinde noted that there were a lot of people who would not have heard about Happy Valley Hotel if it were not for WTM Africa. She observed that in the meetings they had, a lot people were excited to know that the hotel has a casino as well as the recent renovations and the hotel’s new wing.
Big Game Parks Marketing and Sales Manager Xolani Gama, mentioned that they observed a great shift in the buyers and tour operators they met. She said this was prompted by the Eswatini’s acceptance of vaccination certificates for fully vaccinated tourists.
“The PCR tests posed great challenges as tourists began avoiding travel to Eswatini due to the added cost it demanded. Even tour operators were hesitant to bring their clients to the country due to the PCR test requirement. Now that this regulation has been adjusted, we have managed to draw keen interest tourists planning to visit us from countries such as Russia, Italy and France among others.
We have made great connections and are anticipating more visitors to the Kingdom of Eswatini,” she noted.
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