ATW 2021 to Host Connect in the City Live in September

Selected international buyers and media will visit Cape Town in September for a first-hand experience of the Mother City and all it has to offer, which forms part of the Africa Travel Week (ATW) celebrations in 2021.

The Connect in the City Live event will be hosted during Tourism Month and is one of several events that ATW is hosting this year. The first of these were the headline shows, held virtually early April, including World Travel Market Africa (WTM Africa) and International Luxury Travel Market Africa (ILTM Africa). which saw delegates conduct 5,000 successful 1-on-1 meetings and attend over 4,300 minutes of speed networking to reignite travel to the continent.

ATW has put a firm spotlight on the continent’s tourism sector, starting with a a virtual event that included content sessions, pre-scheduled 1-on-1 meetings, ad hoc meetings and speed networking on Reed Exhibitions’ ConnectMe Platform, says Megan Oberholzer, Portfolio Director: Travel, Tourism & Creative Industries for Reed Exhibitions South Africa.

“We were delighted with the connections that were forged during the recent virtual WTM Africa and ILTM Africa and are looking forward to bringing key tourism stakeholders together in September to experience Cape Town first-hand.”

Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town Dan Plato says ATW is the perfect platform for the city to showcase, to the international market, how its tourism sector has adapted to the times and improved on its already world-class offerings. 

“We have worked with the tourism industry and other government counterparts to put together health and safety protocols to ensure we can safely welcome international visitors to our shores,” says Plato.

“Our blended approach allows travel trade professionals to connect with their industry peers face to face in September. Safety and wellbeing remain our number one priority and we will adjust this element of our offering accordingly,” adds Oberholzer. 

The three-day Connect in the City Live event is exclusive to exhibitors who were a part of ATW Virtual and to a selection of hosted buyers and media who will undergo an application process in the coming weeks. It will comprise:

• Familiarisation tours. ATW Virtual exhibitors will benefit from the opportunity to invite international buyers to experience their products first hand.
• Exhibitors will also be given an opportunity to educate buyers about their products and destination during a dedicated 15-minute time slot.
• A dedicated travel and tourism conference with a top-notch speaker programme of industry thought leaders and experts.  
• Our ever-popular speed networking sessions where buyers are split according to region and product interests.  
• The African Travel & Tourism Awards, with a special category recognising COVID-19 campaigns that focus on reigniting travel.  

Regularly voted one of the best tourism destinations in the world, Cape Town has maintained a diverse tourism offering.

The Mother City has the perfect attributes: a scenic coastline, warm and welcoming people, a wide range of high-end and affordable accommodation which makes it the ideal location for a memorable holistic experience for visitors.

Delegates will have an opportunity to enjoy some of these, most notably their stay at The Vineyard, one of the most sought-after properties in Cape Town providing a breath-taking garden and wellness retreat in tranquil Newlands set against the eastern slopes of Table Mountain.

“The Vineyard Hotel is excited to partner with ATW and to be celebrating the start of spring in Cape Town and Tourism Month with Hosted Buyers in our gardens. We look forward to kicking ATW off from our lawns, taking in the beauty and majesty of Table Mountain with you,” says Vineyard Hotel MD Roy Davies.

Additional sponsors for the Connect in the City Live event include Gold Restaurant, which will be hosting the  African Travel & Tourism Awards, as well as Shimansky which will treat Hosted Buyers to an elegant evening of art and culture at the Norval Foundation.

Further, attendees and industry professionals will remain connected and informed throughout 2021 via atwconnect.com, ATW’s dedicated resource hub jam-packed with free digital tools, industry news and updates.

“Making travel happen again is all about connecting buyers with exhibitors across as many platforms as we can throughout the year. With the level of interest we saw from buyers worldwide for Africa during our bumper Africa Travel Week virtual event in April, we are delighted to be able to bring some of our hosted buyers to South African shores to enjoy first hand all the very best of what our beautiful country and the African continent can offer travellers,” concludes Oberholzer.