Cape Town Tourism has been hard at work preparing for Indaba – one of the largest tourism conventions on the African calendar and one of the top events of its kind on the global calendar.

Owned by South African Tourism and organised by Kagiso Exhibitions and Events, Indaba attracts visitors and media from all over the world.

The convention will run from May 9 to 12, 2009 at the Albert Luthuli Convention Centre in Durban, and will showcase an extensive array of Southern Africa’s best tourism products.

Cape Town Tourism is sending six staff members to the convention to promote the beautiful Mother City. Visit us at WCB013 at the Western Cape Pavilion, where we will be hosting web activations and announcing spot prizes. Web activations take you on a guided tour of our phenomenally popular visitor website – www.capetown.travel.

The premier event at Indaba is the World Travel Awards – the most prestigious awards programme for the travel business. Cape Town has been nominated for an award under the category of “Africa’s Leading Destination”. Anyone who has visited the Mother City will agree that Cape Town deserves this nomination (and a win) at the “Oscars of the travel industry”.

Cape Town Tourism eMarketing Coordinator Aslam Levy will be attending the eBusiness Seminars on Monday May 11, and tweeting throughout Indaba. You can follow him at www.twitter.com/Aslam_Levy. Make sure that you check the blog for updates throughout the convention.
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Oh.. and dont forget to meet Zakumi

Meet our Mascot Zakumi

The following info from www.travelwires.com gives some insight into the numbers:

About Indaba
Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing event on the African calendar and one of the top three ‘must visit’ events of its kind on the global calendar.

It showcases the widest variety of Southern Africa’s best tourism products, and attracts international visitors and media from across the world. Indaba is owned by South African Tourism, organised by Kagiso Exhibitions and Events and takes place from May 9 to 12 at the Chief Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban.

Highlight of the event
The Global Media Face Off will be SA Tourism’s flagship media event at Indaba. It is a media conference attended by local and foreign journalists giving South African Tourism an opportunity to tell the world’s media about the health of the industry and to unpack the challenges and opportunities the industry and the country face. The Face Off gives journalists an opportunity to direct questions to national and tourism principals and experts. The upcoming 2010 Soccer World Cup will also feature prominently.

Exhibitor Profile
Indaba brings together a showcase of Southern African tourism products and services for the international travel trade. Exhibitors in the DEC (Durban Exhibition Centre) include provincial authorities and provincial products. In the ICC (International Convention Centre), exhibitor categories include accommodation, tour operators, game lodges, transport, online travel, media publications and industry associations. Outdoor exhibitors include transport, camping and safari companies.

Statistical Details for 2008
Attendance has not only been impressive, but has exceeded all expectations with a record-breaking 12,429 participants having visited Indaba in 2008 – the most in the history of the trade show. Furthermore, Indaba 2008 has welcomed more first-time local and international visitors than ever before, cementing its position as a ‘must-visit’ event on local, regional and international travel trade calendars. The total number of visitors attending the exhibition grew by 7.5%, from 4,161 to 4,437.

The official statistics are:

* Overall Attendance 12,429
* Exhibiting Companies 1,725
* Exhibiting Personnel 7,992
* Visitors 4,437
* Countries represented 70
* Media representatives 559

So now that you know what Indaba is, you understand why it’s so important to the industry.
I will be blogging and tweeting the event, giving you the news and launches as they happen!

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