Africa Tourism Indaba made over R500 mln for KZN last year: De Lille

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille says the Africa Tourism Indaba generated over R500 million for KwaZulu-Natal last year.

She opened the second G20 tourism working group meeting in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.

This was ahead of Africa’s Travel Indaba, which will open in Durban on Tuesday. De Lille says the Indaba is a vehicle for creating jobs.

“In 2024, the Africa Travel Indaba generated R226 million in direct economic activity for Durban and, in the province, an additional R333 million across the KwaZulu-Natal Province. It has also created more than a thousand jobs through the event. We’ve seen more than a 120 micro, small and medium enterprises that were also given a platform to engage with global buyers with direct market access support from the Department of Tourism.”

Meanwhile, KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli says the hosting of the Nedbank Cup soccer final between the Soweto rivals Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates shows that local tourism can contribute to the province’s economic growth.

“Yesterday, we hosted a spectacular game in our province between the big teams Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates. Well, who won is another story for another day, but what is important is that we really witnessed the strength of tourism contributing to the economic growth in our province.”