Andrew McQuarrie reports from annual Atta event, where attendees hear how sales for the continent are on the rise
The travel trade is crucial for selling trips to Africa as the UK outbound market continues to perform well, according to the chief executive of Experience Africa Events.
Chris Mears, who oversaw the fifth edition of the African Travel & Tourism Association’s (Atta) Experience Africa trade show last week, said safari itineraries were among those best arranged by an expert.
He added: “The travel trade is vitally important because Africa is not necessarily a straightforward destination. If you’re going to Cape Town, it’s relatively easy to book a flight and hotel online. But if you’re looking for a safari package, it will often involve a number of different components and those are not necessarily easily accessible, so you need to have experts in the field who understand what connects with what and how they can all tie together.”
If plans go “awry” during a trip, he said, specialist operators have contacts on the ground who can help solve problems.
This year’s trade show, held at 155 Bishopsgate in London, attracted more than 600 people over the three days with 183 exhibitors reaching 220 buyers each day. “We’ve almost doubled in size since the first show in 2018,” said Mears, describing this year’s event as “fantastic”.
The inaugural Atta for Action Awards were held on the opening night, with eight categories featured, while the trade show also benefited from the introduction of an app which provided access to online diaries and contained “matchmaking software”.
“There were opportunities for colleagues to network physically and digitally,” said Mears. “If people didn’t have a pre-scheduled appointment, they could use the app and set up an ad hoc appointment.”
Mears was pleased to have secured a “very wide selection” of exhibitors, with first-time guests including the Zambian tourism board.
Most buyers were tour operators from the UK and Europe, but there were also some from North America as well as five from China.
Asked how the UK outbound market was performing, Mears described it as “strong”, adding: “The UK is a very mature market for travel to Africa. It’s the number-one source market for a number of countries across the continent and it’s doing very well, so long may that last.”
South Africa cheers Norse link
South African Tourism is looking forward to the introduction of Norse Atlantic Airways flights between Gatwick and Cape Town, with existing air capacity viewed as a major obstacle to growth.
Arrivals in the year to date are 2% up but visitor numbers remain at 86% of pre-Covid levels, when South African Airways flew from the UK.
South African Tourism campaign and partnership manager Rachel Lewis said: “We would welcome SAA coming back to the UK, because at the moment it’s really difficult to grow.”
She added that Norse Atlantic’s route, which launches on October 28, would be an “amazing” boost and hoped greater capacity would be introduced.
“It’s not all about airline capacity, though,” she said. “We also need to make sure we’re getting people travelling year-round – at the moment flights are skewed towards the UK winter season.”
The destination delivered a presentation on four itineraries which Lewis described as “outside the norm for buyers”.
How was the show?
Penny Hooper, director, Samphire Travel Consulting
“I represent adventure safari companies and promote them to the UK industry. This year’s show has been outstanding. In pretty much every meeting, the buyers have been interested and engaged.
“There has been a perfect mix of people who I know and want to see and new companies I don’t know but who are relevant to the markets I’m aiming for. The vibe has been good and there’s a buzz about the place.”
Ronald Mutie, chief executive, Karen Blixen Group
“We offer accommodation in Nairobi and Masai Mara in Kenya. We receive UK travellers but not as many as we want. This is my third time at Experience Africa and it’s been great. There have been good buyers and contacts. What counts is the organisation of the event and the buyers – and both have been good.”
Neil Basnett, director, Holiday Inspirations
“This event has been absolutely superb. I only do these shows if there’s a regimented appointment system. I’ve learnt about new properties and there’s a huge variety of product.
“For many years the South African Tourism slogan was ‘It’s a world in one country’ and that strapline has never been bettered. It has everything – beaches, mountains, history, culture, food, wine and fabulous people. You can leave Africa, but Africa will never leave you.”