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Africa which has been depending mostly on the European and American tourist market sources, is now going through a new path to an integrated and full-fledged destination for regional tourists banking on South Africa’s highly developed tourist infrastructure and products.
South Africa is now the continent’s pioneer in tourism development strategies and conservation of tourist attractions available in the continent. These initiatives have attracted other countries throughout the continent to lobby South Africa’s highly developed tourism infrastructure in marketing their destinations.
The annual INDABA tourism exhibition in Durban, South Africa is a growing and strong magnet pulling tourist business stakeholders from all parts of the African continent to sell their destinations.
Tanzania’s fast growing tourism is not an exception. This year’s INDABA exhibition attracted 39 Tanzanian tourist and travel trade companies to market their travel services and the attractions available in Tanzania.
INDABA 2004 exhibition took place from May 8-11 attracting over 5,000 travel trade visitors and 1,683 exhibitors from 93 countries in Africa, Europe, America and other nations. The INDABA exhibition stands as Africa’s largest and premier travel market. The annual even has been recording a growth as more and more African states participate since its inception over the past 13 years.
Head of Tanzania’s delegation to the exhibition, Ms. Mary Lwoga from the
Tanzania Tourist Board (TTB), said, “Tanzania has been attending this premier exhibition since the past five years and has managed to facilitate marketing and promotional campaigns in selling its tourism and travel trade inside South Africa and outside the continent.â€Â
After the London’s World Travel Market (WTM) and the ITB in Berlin, INDABA ranks third in prominence, South African tourism officials said.
Tanzania has taken the INDABA – regarded as Africa’s premier travel and trade exhibition – to showcase its premium attractions including Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s tourism marketing logo, the wider plains of the wild Serengeti National Park, the magical Ngorongoro Crater, historical and cultural sites plus the Chimpanzee parks of Gombe and Mahale.
South Africa is a source of tourists to other African countries and has recorded a big outflow of its citizens to neighboring states. Namibia receives 300,000 South African tourists each year, while Zimbabwe, Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique share a good number of South African holiday makers under the privileges of Southern Africa Development Community (SADC).
African states are looking for South Africa’s best tourist infrastructure and air links to market their destinations. More tourists from the USA, Far East, South America, Australia and New Zealand can easily fly to Africa through South African Airways (SAA) and make their connections at Johannesburg’s Jan Smutt International Airport.
SAA has entered into alliance with a number of international and big airlines across the world. South Africa shares a big stake in the continent’s tourism and travel trade industry in terms of revenue and visitor arrivals.
Tanzanian minister for Tourism Mrs. Zakia Meghji said in her recent statement that tourism has been growing steadily in southern Africa.
In 2002 the 14 southern African states registered 12.8 million inbound tourists who generated US$7 billion, and in 2003 there were 13.5 million visitors who spent over US$7.2 billion while visiting the regional states, Mrs. Meghji said.
Biggest rivals to this region are the northern African states of Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia whose attractions are only historical or man made and beaches. | 
