South Africans travelling to Zambia will have more choice ahead of the festive season as Proflight Zambia expands its Johannesburg and Cape Town schedules.

More weekend and festive-season choice from Johannesburg

The airline is now operating a third daily return service between Johannesburg and Lusaka every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, supplementing its existing services throughout the week. It will also operate 54 additional flights on the route during the December 2026 and January 2027 holiday period.

The additional weekend services between Johannesburg and Lusaka began on Saturday, 19 September. The new evening flight departs Johannesburg at 18:25 and arrives in Lusaka at 20:25. The return service departs Lusaka at 15:30 and arrives in Johannesburg at 17:30. The expanded schedule gives South African business travellers, holidaymakers, and people visiting friends and relatives more flexibility when planning weekend and festive-season travel.

Cape Town gains a new Friday connection

Cape Town travellers will also gain a new Friday service from 11 December, joining Proflight Zambia’s existing Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday flights.

The Friday flight will depart Cape Town at 15:55 and arrive in Lusaka at 20:10. The return service will depart Lusaka at 10:40 and arrive in Cape Town at 15:05.

Operating via Livingstone with a brief stopover, the service gives Cape Town travellers a fourth weekly connection to Lusaka and a fourth weekly direct link to Livingstone. It also improves access to destinations across Zambia through Proflight Zambia’s domestic network.

The Friday schedule connects with morning services from Ndola, Solwezi, Kalumbila, and Mfuwe, making it easier for passengers travelling between Cape Town and Zambia’s key business and leisure destinations to complete their journeys through a single airline network.

Captain Josias Walubita, Director of Government and Industry Affairs at Proflight Zambia, said: “Air connectivity works best when a schedule reflects how people actually travel. The Johannesburg additions provide greater choice over the weekend, while the Friday Cape Town service has been timed to connect with flights from key destinations across Zambia. Rather than simply adding seats, this expansion is about building a more useful regional network that supports the business relationships, family ties, and tourism links between Zambia and South Africa.”

Full schedules are available at flyzambia.com. All flights are bookable through flyzambia.com, Proflight Zambia’s sales offices, and travel trade partners. No flights will operate on Christmas Day, 25 December.

The acquisition increases the airline’s Jetstream 41 fleet from four to seven aircraft. For South African business and leisure travellers, the expanded fleet will support more dependable regional travel and smoother onward connections from Lusaka and Livingstone to key destinations across Zambia.

Proflight Zambia currently connects South Africa and Zambia through services between Johannesburg/Cape Town and Lusaka, and Cape Town and Livingstone. Once in Zambia, passengers can connect onwards to destinations including Mfuwe, home to South Luangwa National Park; Livingstone, gateway to Victoria Falls; Ndola in the Copperbelt; and other important commercial and leisure centres.

The additional aircraft will allow Proflight Zambia to increase frequency and capacity across its domestic network while supporting improved schedule reliability and passenger convenience. They also create the potential for new domestic and international routes next year.

Crucially, the larger fleet provides greater operational redundancy. This gives the airline more flexibility when aircraft undergo scheduled or unplanned maintenance, helping to protect flight schedules and reduce disruption for passengers travelling between South Africa and Zambia or connecting onwards within the country.

“Proflight Zambia welcomes the additional three BAE Jetstream 41 29-seat turboprop aircraft, which have now been flown home to Lusaka by our very own crew,” said Captain Josias Walubita, Proflight Zambia’s Director Government and Industry Affairs.

“The purchase of these aircraft will enable the airline to meet growing local demand and support our commitment to providing safe and reliable connectivity across Zambia, even as the country targets 20 per cent growth in domestic tourism in 2026. We are extremely proud of our flight and maintenance crew, who successfully ferried the three aircraft from North Lincolnshire in the UK to Lusaka, Zambia.”

As the Jetstream 41 is already an established part of Proflight Zambia’s fleet, the airline has the operational, maintenance and crew capability to integrate the additional aircraft smoothly into its existing operations. Before departing the UK, all three aircraft received the necessary regulatory approvals and were successfully placed on the Zambian register and issued their 9J registrations.

The investment comes as Zambia continues to attract South African visitors travelling for business, holidays, safari experiences and visits to friends and relatives. By strengthening its domestic operation, Proflight Zambia is making it easier for travellers to connect from South Africa and explore more of Zambia through a single airline network.

The resort will reopen on November 1, 2027, with an upgraded lobby, new signature dining experiences including the new Beach Rouge and EAST restaurants, as well as refreshed guestrooms and public spaces. 

The reopening will take place in phases, with the resort launching seven new villas on February 1, 2028.

For upcoming reservations that fall within the closure period, TLC Vacations will facilitate a relocation to another resort within the LUX* portfolio on the island.

SOUTH AFRICA, 8 July 2026 – Lion Sands Game Reserve has been named the No. 1 Safari Lodge in Africa and the No. 4 Hotel in the World, while Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel has been recognised as the No. 1 City Hotel in Africa and the No. 35 Hotel in the World in the 2026 Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards. The awards are widely regarded as one of the most authoritative benchmarks in global travel. The results are featured in the August 2026 issue of Travel + Leisure and are available in full at travelandleisure.com.

Both awards are determined entirely by reader votes, making them a direct reflection of the experiences guests carry home. Lion Sands Game Reserve and Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel are part of MORE Collection, the fourth-generation South African luxury hospitality group, which becomes the first hospitality collection to hold the No. 1 position in both categories in the same year.

“We’re incredibly grateful to every guest who has chosen to stay with us and share their experience. This recognition from Travel + Leisure belongs to every member of our team who shows up for our guests every single day. Lion Sands Game Reserve and Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel are extraordinary places, but it is the people within them who make them what they are. This is their achievement, and we are enormously proud of them,” said Robert More, Custodian and CEO, MORE Collection.

LION SANDS GAME RESERVE | No. 1 Safari Lodge in Africa

Set along 13 miles of the Sabie River, Lion Sands Game Reserve encompasses four lodges – River Lodge, Narina Lodge, Tinga Lodge, and Ivory Lodge – two private villas, and three open-air treehouses perched above the African bush.

Each lodge offers its own character and pace, from the family-friendly warmth of Tinga Lodge to the secluded sophistication of Ivory Lodge, while sharing the same founding philosophy: that a safari should connect guests not just to wildlife, but to the land, the people, and the conservation work that sustains both.

Artist residencies, wildlife photography masterclasses through the Creative Lab, helicopter flights over the Mpumalanga escarpment, and community experiences complete an offering that goes well beyond the traditional safari itinerary.

Both River Lodge and Ivory Lodge offer dedicated kosher kitchens – Ivory’s fully accredited – with Beth Din-certified ingredients and private Mashgiach supervision available.

Across all lodges, Lion Sands accommodates a wide range of dietary requirements, including halal, vegan, and vegetarian, with advance notice.

CAPE CADOGAN BOUTIQUE HOTEL | No. 1 City Hotel in Africa

Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel occupies a restored National Monument on Upper Union Street, in Cape Town’s Kloof Street Neighbourhood, within the suburb of Gardens – a building that dates to the early 1800s and sits within walking distance of the city’s most celebrated restaurants, galleries, and independent boutiques, with Table Mountain rising behind it.

The hotel’s 29 rooms, suites, and private villa, combine heritage architecture with contemporary comfort. The Cape Cadogan Villa offers six guests a fully private experience with a breakfast chef, concierge, and wellness and beauty treatments available on request.

The hotel’s culinary reputation is anchored next door at Upper Union Restaurant, led by Amori Burger, MORE Collection’s Group Executive Chef. Her seasonally driven menu draws hotel guests and neighbourhood locals in equal measure, earning a 2025 Eat Out Woolworths One Star and the Culinary Rising Star Award. Burger’s culinary standards and training extend across the group, shaping the food philosophy at the kitchens of MORE Collection’s safari lodges as much as Upper Union’s.

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For more information, contact Sue Kelly on pr@more.co.za | www.more.co.za
View Travel + Leisure Top 100 Hotels in the World here.

ABOUT THE TRAVEL + LEISURE WORLD’S BEST AWARDS
Each year, Travel + Leisure recognises the top hotels, islands, cities, cruise lines, airlines, spas, and more around the globe, according to the results of the Travel + Leisure World’s Best Awards 2026 readers’ survey. Additional information about methodology and criteria is available at travelandleisure.com/worlds-best/survey-methodology.

ABOUT MORE COLLECTION
MORE Collection is a fourth-generation South African hospitality company with a portfolio of luxury safari lodges, boutique hotels and exclusive-use villas across some of the country’s most remarkable destinations. Rooted in a family legacy that began in 1933, the business has evolved from protecting a single stretch of wilderness into a collection shaped by people, place and genuine hospitality.
Today, MORE Collection’s purpose – Great People. Strong Connections. – reflects its belief that exceptional hospitality begins with the relationships between guests, teams, communities and the natural environments that surround them. Across Lion Sands Game Reserve, Marataba Game Lodges, Monwana Game Lodge and Cape Cadogan Boutique Hotel, every stay is guided by thoughtful hospitality, a deep respect for place, and a commitment to creating meaningful experiences that endure long after guests leave.

Now in their third year, the awards recognise outstanding organisations and individuals driving positive environmental, social and economic impact across Africa’s tourism sector and received more than 100 entries across ten categories.

Each winner received a trophy handcrafted by the FlipFlopi Project – an East African movement dedicated to ending single-use plastic pollution through community-led circular economies. Makers of the world’s first recycled plastic sailing dhow, the FlipFlopi Project embodies the values these awards exist to celebrate. The trophies were revealed for the first time on the night.

2026 ATTA® for Action Award Winners

• ATTA® Purpose & People Award — TAMàNA (Madagascar)
• ATTA® Earthkeepers Award — Gamewatchers Safaris (Kenya)
• ATTA® Eco-Innovation Award — Porini Safari Camps, Gamewatchers Safaris (Kenya)
• ATTA® Zero Waste Trailblazer Award — Sirikoi Lodge (Kenya)
• ATTA® Community Upliftment Award — Nomad Tanzania (Tanzania)
• ATTA® Marine Impact Award — andBeyond (South Africa)
• ATTA® Collaborative Impact Award — The Safari Collection (Kenya)
• ATTA® Traveller Education and Awareness Award — Blood Lions and Marine Dynamics (South Africa) (joint winners)
• ATTA® Media Voice for Action Award — Marco Barneveld, Wide Oyster Media (Netherlands)
• ATTA® Emerging Changemaker Award — Travel4Purpose (Kenya)

Each award category was assessed against rigorous criteria designed to identify organisations delivering measurable impact. From ethical wildlife experiences and marine conservation initiatives to community empowerment programmes, circular economy innovations and traveller education campaigns, the awards recognise leadership that goes beyond aspiration and demonstrates tangible outcomes.

The joint award in the Traveller Education and Awareness category – shared by Blood Lions and Marine Dynamics – was a direct reflection of the quality of entries. The judges recognised the two organisations as excelling in distinct but equally vital dimensions of the same challenge: one for advocacy and policy change, the other for direct traveller engagement and measurable conservation outcomes.

This year also marks the first time in the awards’ history that a single organisation has won across two categories in the same year. Gamewatchers Safaris and their Porini Safari Camps claimed both the Earthkeepers and Eco-Innovation Awards – a result that speaks to the depth and consistency of a conservation model nearly three decades in the making. In 2024, the inaugural year of the awards, they were recognised for their collaborative approach. TAMàNA, meanwhile, returns as a multi-year winner, claiming the Eco-Innovation Award in 2025 and, this year, recognised for heritage tourism leadership in an entirely different category. Marine Dynamics similarly becomes a two-time winner across the awards’ history, previously recognised for marine conservation and this year for traveller education – a testament to the breadth of their work.

Virginia Messina, Group CEO of ATTA®, said: “The ATTA® for Action Awards exist to celebrate the organisations and individuals proving that tourism can be one of Africa’s most powerful forces for positive change. Across the continent, we continue to see extraordinary leadership in conservation, community empowerment, cultural preservation and environmental innovation. In many ways, African tourism businesses have been pioneering responsible tourism practices for decades, often developing solutions that the wider global industry is only now beginning to embrace.

“As an association, we will continue to champion evidence-based responsible tourism, showcase innovation from across Africa, and provide our members with the knowledge, tools and inspiration they need to thrive in a rapidly changing landscape. The future of African tourism depends on protecting the very people, places and wildlife that make the continent so extraordinary, and these winners are showing what that future can look like.”

The ATTA® for Action Awards form part of ATTA®’s broader commitment to advancing responsible tourism across Africa and supporting members in creating measurable, positive impact for people, places and the planet.

For a full list of winners and finalists, visit: https://awards.atta.travel/winners-finalists-2026/

ENDS

High res images can be found here

ABOUT ATTA®

The African Travel and Tourism Association (ATTA®) is the leading trade association promoting tourism to Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Through its global membership spanning the entire tourism ecosystem, strategic partnerships and internationally recognised events, ATTA® connects African tourism businesses with buyers, media and industry leaders worldwide, helping drive sustainable growth and opportunity across the continent. 
For more information, visit atta.travel.

LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram

Issued by: Big Ambitions Brenda Walters
Email: brenda@bigambitions.co.za
Tel: +27 76 061 3114

Munetsi gave the figure at a side event co-convened by the SADC Secretariat and the Southern Africa Tourism Alliance (SATA) at Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 in Durban. Visas, border efficiency and air access were all on the agenda, three angles on the same challenge. As SATA Project Lead Natalia Rosa told delegates, “Regional connectivity is the single most important strategic conversation the tourism sector should be having right now. Every other conversation, about brand, about positioning, about the growth of our visitor economy, is downstream of it.”

The machinery to achieve the goals set out in the SADC Tourism Programme 2020-2030 is moving. The SADC UniVisa is working through the inter-ministerial process towards the Heads of State Summit in August, a border post audit begins in July, and the air access study is complete and under review.

What industry is asking for

The private sector used the session to table proposals. Munetsi called for aviation policy, taxation and pilot licensing to be aligned across the region. Jillian Blackbeard, CEO of Africa’s Eden Tourism Association, proposed a SADC-wide border training programme with dedicated tourist channels and consistent procedures at crossings, the kind of standard the July audit could adopt.

Dimakatso Malwela, President of Women of Value Southern Africa, took the conversation somewhere it usually does not go. Her proposal, a supply development pilot across three to five member states, would bring women-led businesses into the tourism value chain and report measurable results inside twelve months. Her point was that connectivity moves visitors, but it does not decide who earns from them.

A live delegate poll showed where the consensus lay. New intra-regional air routes and one-stop posts at the busiest crossings were named as the changes most likely to shift things within two years.

The case for Team Tourism

“Team Tourism” kept coming up, because the reforms now under way only work when government and industry pull in the same direction. Governments can set the visa frameworks, the border procedures and the aviation policies, but none of it reaches a visitor unless the private sector is ready to act on it: itineraries built, operators briefed, agents able to sell the region as one place, not one country at a time.

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa and SATA Chair, put the obligation on both sides. “Apex bodies across SADC must commit to coordinated action,” he said. “Governments cannot respond to fragmented briefs.”

On the UniVisa, the ICT systems, legal frameworks and revenue-sharing models are built, benchmarked against the KAZA UniVisa and the East African Tourism Visa. The founding group of Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe provides a strong foundation for a pilot, and the August Summit is one of several moments where the pilot could be formalised.

A shared visa already makes travel between Zambia and Zimbabwe easier, so the model is proven. Scaling it is a step only government can take. The UniVisa needs an implementation roadmap and a go-live date. The air access study needs a public position on what proceeds, and by when. The July border audit is the moment to ensure training translates into consistent regional standards.

The private sector is getting ready, which is why SATA will keep pressing for all three together. A visa with no routes behind it, or open borders with no air access to use them, helps no one. Move them as one, hold every party to its part, and Southern Africa finally connects itself.

The recognition in Indaba’s Inspirational Awards rounds off a landmark 12 months for the EcoTraining team.

In the past year, EcoTraining became the first and only field guidetraining provider in South Africa to offer university-level NQF5 qualifications accredited by the Council on Higher Education.

In September, it was named Best Education Study Abroad Provider at the 2025 Global Youth Travel Awards in Lisbon.

Now, South African Tourism has recognised the organisation for innovation in conservation education through its Inspirational Awards.

Bringing the bush to a global audience

Over 33 years, EcoTraining has trained more than 17,000 people from 33 countries at its immersive, unfenced camps in South Africa, Botswana and Kenya. Its graduates lead safaris across the continent. Close to a thousand have come from China alone, returning home as guides and guardians of the African wilderness.

The Indaba judges recognised the way EcoTraining is opening the world of conservation to people who can’t always reach the bush. In 2023, it launched the Online Field & Trails Guide Programme, making FGASA-accredited training available anywhere through virtual classrooms, live lectures and field videos, with the option to follow up with an immersive in-camp practical.

Other online courses, including the newly launched Inside the Pride, which explores the evolution, ecology and behaviour of lions, allow guides, wildlife enthusiasts and conservationists to broaden their knowledge and safeguard Africa’s vulnerable species and natural heritage – alongside courses in ecology, wildlife photography, birding and tracking, designed for travellers who want to add more onto a traditional Big-5 safari.

Recognition with a wider message

The Indaba Inspirational Awards honour innovation, inspiration, empowerment, and excellence across African tourism, and the recognition means a great deal to the entire team.

“Three achievements in a single year tell us something bigger is happening,” says EcoTraining’s MD, Anton Lategan. “People want travel that means something. They want to understand the places they visit and leave them better than they found them. Our job is to keep building the courses, camps, guides and advocates that make that possible.” EcoTraining has delivered guide training in eight countries over the last year and is honoured to train the safari guides of A&K Sanctuary, Londolozi, Great Plains Botswana, the Female Nature Guide Training Programme of African Bush Camps Foundation, and many other top safari organisations. Alongside this, EcoTraining’s wider course range continues to grow, with career courses for school leavers, guides, career-changers, gap year students, mature learners and lifelong conservationists, online and in the bush.

Cape Town: Africa Travel Week, built by RX Africa, has released its annual State of the Industry Report. The comprehensive, data-driven report examines the forces transforming travel and tourism across the continent, from aviation access and AI-driven distribution to sustainability compliance, inclusion and the next generation workforce.

The report arrives at a pivotal moment. Africa welcomed 81 million international visitors in 2025 – 8% growth, the fastest of any region globally – and aviation capacity surged 13.7% to 182.4 million departure seats. Yet the headline numbers mask a more fractured reality: Central and Western Africa recorded 0% aviation growth while Eastern Africa surged 24.3%; fewer than 5% of African hospitality properties hold third-party sustainability certification, despite the EU’s greenwashing ban activating in September 2026; and 72% of Gen Z now use AI to plan travel, meaning operators without machine-readable inventory are invisible before the conversation even begins.

“This report explores current themes and trends,” said Olivia Gradidge, Marketing Manager, WTM Africa & ILTM Africa. “Including trust, AI and travel tech, traveller psychology, sustainability and authenticity.”

Commissioned to Big Ambitions, RX Africa’s content, communications and marketing agency, the report draws on contributions from more than 25 industry leaders, academics, and practitioners across the continent, including environmental expert Dr Louise de Waal, director of the Blood Lions campaign to end commercial captive lion breeding and canned hunting, Judy Kepher Gona, founder and executive director at Sustainable Travel and Tourism Agenda (STTA), and Luckson Zambuko, Founder of the African Youth in Tourism and Hospitality Association. 

“What struck us most when compiling this report was not the scale of the opportunity – that has always been evident – but the specificity of what is now required to capture it,” said Dorine Reinstein, Content Director, Big Ambitions. “The operators and destinations that are winning in 2026 are not the ones with the best product, but the ones with the best proof. Proof of access, proof of trust, proof of sustainability, proof of welcome. That shift– from aspiration to verification – is the defining commercial reality this report addresses.”

The full report, including a ten-point manifesto for African tourism stakeholders, is available at https://soi2026.yop.co.za/ – required reading for every operator, investor, policymaker, and destination marketer with a stake in the future of African tourism.

It was introduced by Carol Weaving, Managing Director of RX Africa, with a video at the opening ceremony of WTM Africa on Monday, 13 April, and supported by a panel discussion on the Future Stage on Wednesday, 15 April. 

The panel, sponsored by LIFT and moderated by Dorine Reinstein, included David Frost, CEO of SATSA; Judy Kepher Gona, Director of Sustainable Travel & Tourism Africa; Kwakye Donkor, CEO of Africa Tourism Partners; Liesel van Zyl, Head of Positive Impact and Product Development at Go2Africa; and Rashid Toefy, Deputy Director-General for Economic Operations at the Western Cape Department of Economic Development and Tourism.

The full video can be found here: WTM Africa 2026: ATW State of the Industry Report Launch

-ENDS-

Issued by: Big Ambitions 

Contact: Sonnette Fourie

Tel: +27 81 072 2869 

Email: sonnette@bigambitions.co.za 

Notes to editors:

About CBISN
CBISN is a leader in market intelligence and capacity-building services for those engaging with the Chinese outbound tourism market. Their partnership with WTM Africa aims to provide African stakeholders with actionable insights and tools to welcome and serve Chinese visitors more effectively.

Now in its 33nd year, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. Held annually at the Dubai World Trade Centre, ATM 2024 spanned 12 halls, making it the largest edition to date. The event attracted over 47,000 attendees and more than 35,000 visitors (including 6,000+ high-value buyers) and over 2,550 exhibitors and representatives from over 161 countries. In 2025, ATM will expand to 13 halls, growing across all sectors, and will continue to be a crucial gathering for the global travel and tourism industry. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai

ATM takes place from 4 – 7 May 2026, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.
https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html

Arabian Travel Week is a week-long festival of events alongside Arabian Travel Market 2025. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes Start-Up Competition, Influencers’ Event, GBTA Business Travel Forums, and ATM Travel Tech. The event also features ATM Buyer Networking and a series of country forums.

https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html

About RX

RX is a global leader in events and exhibitions, leveraging industry expertise, data, and technology to build businesses for individuals, communities, and organisations. With a presence in 25 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX hosts approximately 350 events annually. RX is committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX empowers businesses to thrive by leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.rxglobal.com.

About RELX

RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 36,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. *Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors

World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events and online portals across four continents. The events are Arabian Travel Market, WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.

WTM London is the world’s most influential travel & tourism event for the global travel community. The show is the ultimate destination for those seeking a macro view of the travel industry and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping it. WTM London is where influential travel leaders, buyers and high-profile travel companies gather to exchange ideas, drive innovation, and accelerate business outcomes.

Next event: 3 to 5 November 2026 at ExCel London

http://london.wtm.com/

WTM Latin America is held annually in São Paulo and attracts more than 29,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers a qualified content combined with networking and business opportunities. In its most recent edition, in 2024, WTM Latin America maintained its focus on the effective generation of business and managed to secure the early scheduling of more than six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents, and exhibitors.  WTM Latin America contents are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.

Next event: 14 to 16 April 2026, Expo Center Norte, São Paulo, Brasil
latinamerica.wtm.com

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2024, WTM Africa facilitated more than 10 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 8% compared to 2023 and welcomed more than 10 thousand visitors (unaudited), 25% more than 2023.

Next event: 13 to 15 April 2026 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/

About ATW Connect:  Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
https://atwconnect.com/

WTM Global Hub, is the WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub. https://hub.wtm.com/

The boutique travel event, held at the Norval Foundation in Cape Town, recorded a 37% increase in attendance compared to 2025, with 87% of buyers attending for the first time, drawn from 32 countries. Appointments increased by 29% year-on-year, reflecting a surge in commercial intent from luxury buyers actively seeking African experiences.

The results are striking given the broader context of global uncertainty. According to the newly released State of African Tourism 2026 report, the continent is successfully “selling certainty in an anxious world.” Because high-end safaris and luxury itineraries are typically booked 12 to 18 months in advance, and demand for established destinations remains resolute, the region’s tourism industry is not expected to be materially affected by ongoing disruptions in the Middle East. Instead, discerning luxury travellers are increasingly looking to Africa not as an alternative, but as a trusted destination of first choice.

Africa’s hotel development pipeline tells its own story: with 55% of the entire continental pipeline currently under construction, investor confidence in African luxury hospitality is at an historic high. The infrastructure is being built, and ILTM Africa’s record buyer numbers suggest the demand is ready to meet it.

The 87% new buyer figure is perhaps the most telling statistic of all. As the State of African Tourism report highlights, the post-pandemic “revenge travel” wave has crashed, replaced by a more informed, discerning traveller for whom trust is the new currency. This influx of new buyers suggests that ILTM Africa is actively converting these new markets, translating directly into fresh commercial pipelines and relationships for exhibitors that did not exist twelve months ago.

Carol Weaving, Managing Director of RX Africa, the organiser behind ILTM Africa, noted: “The travel sector has always been a people industry selling high-value, high-stakes experiences. Africa Travel Week has evolved into a powerful in-person event where technology handles the heavy lifting, and humans focus on the relationship building that defines this industry.”

-ENDS-

Issued by: Big Ambitions 

Contact: Sonnette Fourie

Tel: +27 81 072 2869 

Email: sonnette@bigambitions.co.za 

ABOUT:

ILTM Africa gives leaders in the African luxury travel market every opportunity to re-connect, build relationships and grow their business. An invitation-only event, the very best travel agents from across the globe meet Africa’s most spectacular luxury travel experience providers.

Next event: 10 to 12 April 2026 – Norval Foundation, Cape Town https://www.iltm.com/africa/en-gb.html

WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2025, WTM Africa facilitated more than 60 000 appointment request from 70 countries with a 30% increase in exhibitors from 2024.

Next event: 13 to 15 April 2026 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/

ATW Connect:  Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel, LGBTQ+ travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
https://atwconnect.com/

RX: is a global leader in events and exhibitions, leveraging industry expertise, data, and technology to build businesses for individuals, communities, and organisations. With a presence in 25 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX hosts approximately 350 events annually. RX is committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people.  RX empowers businesses to thrive by leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.rxglobal.com. 

 
RELX: is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 36,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX.

*Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors

As the gap widens between ‘marketing sustainability’ and ‘operational reality,’ these awards identify the trailblazers who are turning responsible tourism principles into measurable, scalable business assets.

Important Dates and Entry Information

• Entry Deadline: 17 April 2026
• Awards Ceremony: 22 June 2026 at Experience Africa, London
• Cost: Free to enter
• Limit: Applicants may enter a maximum of two categories.

Following a surge in high-calibre entries in 2025, the 2026 programme retains its ten established categories spanning the full spectrum of regenerative travel, from marine conservation and climate innovation to community empowerment and ethical storytelling. This is a deliberate strategic move. By keeping the criteria consistent, ATTA® is establishing a year-on-year yardstick.

Chris Mears, CEO of ATTA Group Events, explained the shift in expectation:

“By keeping our categories consistent, we are challenging the industry to show us progress. We want to see how last year’s emerging ideas have become this year’s business models. An initiative might look good on paper, but we need to question how it actually changes a life, contributes to saving a species, or alters a supply chain. We encourage all organisations to enter, from small eco-lodges to major operators. If you have a blueprint that works, the industry needs to see, model, and celebrate it.”

Nigel Vere-Nicoll, ATTA® Honorary President, emphasised that these awards are designed to separate those saying the right things from those doing the hard work.

“Africa is setting itself apart as a world leader in regenerative tourism, and these awards are the mechanism by which we validate that claim.”

The awards apply a double check process on scoring with a selected group of judges. “We have assembled a judging panel that combines historical industry knowledge with the fresh, uncompromising perspective of young changemakers,” added Vere-Nicoll.  

“Beyond recognition, these awards provide a platform for organisations to position themselves as leaders in the eyes of international buyers actively seeking purpose-led partners. Entering is an opportunity to validate their team’s hard work on a global stage,” Vere-Nicoll concluded.

To enter and view full criteria, visit: https://awards.atta.travel/

For further information please contact: chris@attagroup.events

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ABOUT ATTA®

ATTA® (The African Travel and Tourism Association) is the leading pan-African trade association promoting tourism to Africa and the Indian Ocean islands. Known as the “Voice of African Tourism,” ATTA® serves over 900 member businesses, including accommodation providers, tour operators, and travel specialists. It provides accurate industry news, hosts networking events and trade shows, and delivers valuable member training and resources. For more information, visit atta.travel.

Join the ATTA® Media Network to gain access to news about tourism in Africa, access to spokespeople and thought leaders and other media benefits. Email media@atta.travel for details.

About ATTA® Group Events:

ATTA® Group Events is the foremost platform for connecting African suppliers with top international buyers at various shows. Promoting an expansive range of travel products and unique experiences from across Africa, ATTA® Group Events hosts B2B events that are not just a meeting ground but a catalyst for forging essential industry connections, making these #ThePlaceToConnect for the African tourism industry.