The award winning INDABA is one of the largest and most important tourism marketing events on the African tourism and travel calendar, and is widely recognised as one of the top three must attend events on a global calendar. INDABA is a product of South African Tourism with the purpose of showcasing Southern Africa’s best tourism products, attracting international buyers and media stakeholders from around the world. The event will take place from 16-18 May 2017 at the Durban International Convention Centre and expects to see an even bigger turn out this year, building on its success in 2016.
INDABA attracts over 13000 delegates annually from the travel tourism and associated industries, serving as a platform for exhibitors to promote their products to the international market. In 2016, a total of 14000 quality meetings were held over the three day event between exhibitors and hosted buyers such as: Inbound Tour Operators, Foreign Travel Agents, Airline Companies, DMC’s, Online Booking Companies and transport companies.
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism has utilized this ever growing platform to meet and collaborate with trade partners from around the world, marketing the city as a destination of choice to be included in their itineraries and travel packages worldwide. Through INDABA, NMBT has built meaningful relations with various foreign trade partners in the industry such as cruise liner ground handlers, foreign tour operators, travel management agencies and international media.
“Our aim is to market Nelson Mandela Bay as an accessible city with an array of activities which are in close proximity to the city centre. This means that visitors are able to experience more of our offerings in a shorter space of time. Not many cities offer such a diverse range of products that are in such close proximity to one another.” Said NMBT CEO: Ms Mandlakazi Skefile
In addition to promoting Nelson Mandela Bay as an accessible city with great offerings, NMBT will focus on marketing the NMB Pass, a smart card access card, which provides visitors with free admission to a variety of activities, such as museums, game reserves, scuba diving, art galleries, sightseeing tours and many more, whilst providing great discounts in selected stores for shopping, activities, entertainment and more. The NMBT team will also focus highlighting the Nelson Mandela Bay Travel Guide mobile application, which offers visitors updated information about latest events, entertainment and venues to visit in the city, whilst showcasing Nelson Mandela Bay and local businesses, in a streamlined and easy use format.
Attending INDABA has proven beneficial and informative to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism and its members, keeping them up to date with the latest industry trends and news, through its informative workshops and interactive meetings. This keeps Nelson Mandela Bay on par as world class travel destination.
“By gaining a firm grasp and understanding of international travel trends and news, as a city, we are able to keep on par with the requirements and standards of the foreign travel trade. It also provides great insight as to how we could improve our efforts to market Nelson Mandela Bay as a travel destination to all foreign markets.” Says NMBT CEO: Ms Mandlakazi Skefile
In an effort to gain a wider international reach for the city, NMBT continues to build strong relations with South African Tourism and its international satellite offices, leveraging off their existing international partnerships and industry contacts to grow the Nelson Mandela Bay brand, which leads to positive growth for the local economy and businesses.
Alan Straton
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