Nelson Mandela Bay at Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026: Strengthening Connections Across Leisure, Business, and Regional Tourism Growth

Greater Garden Route Regional Collaboration

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality (NMBM), through the Economic Development, Tourism and Agriculture Directorate (EDTA) and Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, successfully participated in Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026, held in Durban from 11–14 May 2026 under the theme “Unlimited Africa: Growing Africa’s Tourism Economy.” Africa’s Travel Indaba remains one of the continent’s most important tourism trade platforms, providing a strategic environment for destinations, tourism products, buyers, media, and industry stakeholders to connect, collaborate, and generate both leisure and business tourism opportunities.

NMBM’s participation focused on positioning Nelson Mandela Bay as a dual-purpose destination with strong appeal in both leisure tourism and business events. The destination continues to offer a compelling combination of safari and wildlife experiences through Addo and surrounding reserves, coastal and marine tourism, adventure activities, cultural and township tourism, and a growing business events infrastructure that supports conferencing, meetings, and incentive travel.

A key highlight of Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 was the strengthened emphasis on regional collaboration and integrated destination marketing. Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality worked closely with Garden Route partners and Kouga Municipality to promote the Greater Garden Route concept, stretching from Tsitsikamma through to Nelson Mandela Bay. This collaborative approach reflects global travel trends, where more than 60% of packaged Garden Route itineraries already include Nelson Mandela Bay and the Addo region, making regional alignment both commercially and strategically relevant.

The Greater Garden Route positioning supports longer stays, increased visitor spend, and improved regional dispersal of tourism benefits by offering seamless travel experiences across coastal, safari, adventure, cultural, and scenic tourism offerings. Nelson Mandela Bay strengthens this route through Addo Elephant National Park, Big 7 wildlife experiences, accessible air connectivity via Chief Dawid Stuurman International Airport, and a strong combination of urban, coastal, and cultural experiences.

In parallel, the emergence of the Wild Eastern Cape collaboration brought together private game reserves under a unified destination umbrella to strengthen the province’s positioning as a malaria-free safari destination. This initiative enhances visibility for the Eastern Cape’s safari offering, including Big Five experiences, conservation tourism, luxury lodges, and family-friendly safari products, while improving destination clarity for international buyers and tour operators.

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, together with its sharing exhibitors, successfully showcased a diverse range of tourism products including accommodation, adventure tourism, marine experiences, nature reserves, township tourism, and community-based tourism initiatives. This diversity generated strong interest from international buyers seeking authentic, experience-driven itineraries and multi-destination routes.

Engagements during Indaba 2026 included extensive networking with inbound tour operators, Destination Management Companies, airlines, media, and business events stakeholders. Key areas of interest included safari and adventure combinations, coastal and marine tourism, cultural and township experiences, route-based touring across the Eastern Cape, and the continued growth of Nelson Mandela Bay as a business events destination.

A notable activation during the event was the Skål International presence within the ICC exhibition hall, which promoted the upcoming Skål International World Congress 2026 to be hosted in Nelson Mandela Bay from 29 September to 2 October 2026. The dedicated activation, together with participation in the official Skål networking function, significantly enhanced destination visibility and strengthened engagement with global tourism industry leaders, positioning Nelson Mandela Bay as a host city of international importance.

Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality also participated in a full-day National Department of Tourism Visitor Information Centre workshop focused on strengthening visitor servicing standards across South Africa. The Municipality presented its plans for the digitisation of visitor services and improved access to destination information. As one of the few Eastern Cape destinations with established Visitor Information Centres, accounting for over 80% of international arrivals into the province, this workshop reinforced the critical importance of continuous innovation and improved visitor experience delivery.

Africa’s Travel Indaba 2026 reaffirmed the importance of collaboration, innovation, and integrated destination marketing in strengthening South Africa’s global tourism competitiveness. For Nelson Mandela Bay, the event delivered increased trade engagement, stronger regional partnerships, enhanced SMME exposure, and improved destination visibility across both leisure and business tourism markets.

The growing alignment between destinations through initiatives such as the Greater Garden Route and Wild Eastern Cape demonstrates a clear shift towards a more connected and collaborative tourism economy. Nelson Mandela Bay continues to play a strategic role within this landscape, strengthening its position as a gateway to the Eastern Cape and a competitive destination for both international leisure travellers and global business events.