Tourism Indaba 2009

I got back from Indaba 2009 yesterday afternoon totally exhausted. Unfortunately it was a hectic 6 days in Durban, so I didn’t get to take many photo. Definitively not nearly what I would have wanted to take at the actual event.

Indaba is South Africa and Africa’s biggest tourism trade show and is held in Durban annually. It is a massive event with exhibitors from all over South Africa as well as other mostly Southern African countries competing for the attention of the national and international tour operators, travel agents and media that attends the show. Exhibitors include destination marketing organisations, hotels and other accommodation establishments, transport and tour operators, game reserves, attractions and much more.
Indaba is hosted by South Africa Tourism in the Durban International Convention Centre and the Durban Exhibition Centre in the heart of Durban in KwaZulu Natal. Durban is a very popular coastal destination in South Africa although I’m not a very big fan of the city. I think Port Elizabeth is much cleaner, safer and less congested than Durban. But maybe that’s just me.

I work for a destination marketing organisation who had a big stand at Indaba. We were extremely busy during the four days of exhibiting and as the coordinator of the stand and all the organisation’s involvement in the show, I had my hands full the whole time to see that everything went smoothly. Here one of my colleagues is attending to some enquiries.

I have had people ask me if I blog mostly about travel because I work in the tourism industry. My answer is no. I work in the tourism industry because I have an absolute passion for travel and tourism and that is the reason I blog about it. Nothing to do with where I work. That is also the reason why I blog in the evenings and not during work hours.

This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Janet

    Interesting! I agree with you about your comparison between Durban and PE by the way. PE is MUCH cleaner! In fact, Durban is quite gross, but up and down the coast is lovely. I like the warmer water there though!! Welcome back!

  2. Avril

    Interesting! Yes – Durban city is not nice! North and South coasts are much better. Carl (http://carl-carlsstuff.blogspot.com) and his wife used to work in Durban but lived in Hillcrest. They loved it there but work prospects for them were better here – they miss it a lot.

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