The City of Cape Town is thrilled to welcome the delegates of the seventh edition of We Are Africa taking place in the Mother City from today.
We Are Africa is one of the world’s most vibrant gatherings where people from around the globe meet here in our beautiful city to get a taste of the continent’s luxury travel brands.
Approximately 700 people, including 320 exhibitors from around Africa, 350 international tourism agents, 25 international media and local tourism industry professionals are coming together at DHL Stadium for the event.
The four-day event consists of conferences, workshops, exhibitions, an awards ceremony, sunrise adventures, media programmes and networking opportunities.
In line with this year’s themes of conservation and sustainability, We Are Africa will be donating more than 150 indigenous trees to be planted by delegates at the Christel House School in Ottery.
We Are Africa is also partnering with community development non-profit Uthando, which aims to raise funds for community development projects.
In 2020, the event raised over R400 000 towards Uthando.
‘The City of Cape Town is proud to partner with an organisation that not only helps put our city on the global map, but also raises awareness about important causes. The City’s partnership with We Are Africa over the last seven years has provided us with an opportunity to showcase our city to visitors, with nearly 80 percent of these attendees coming from outside Cape Town. We Are Africa’s return is on course with a trend over the last few months where the major events are steadily approaching pre-pandemic numbers. This is a wonderful indicator for our economy as well as the recovery of the events and tourism sectors,’ said the Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.
Cape Town will be represented at the We Are Africa exhibition where Cape Town Tourism, the City’s official Destination Marketing Organisation, will highlight the best the city has on offer.
‘Cape Town International Airport’s most recent data shows a recovery rate of 75% for domestic passenger volumes in April while international movements recovered to 76% of the same period in 2019. This recovery of Cape Town’s visitor economy is a major gain for the city’s wider economy even though we haven’t yet fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Given that the sector contributes between 2% and 3,5% annually (pre-Covid) to the local economy and sustains up to 5% of all jobs in the city – not to mention those working in affiliate industries – we must do all we can to support local tourism. These positive figures are the result of targeted and effective campaigns and strategies implemented by the City and Cape Town Tourism that capture the variety of our destination and we will continue working hard to ensure we reach greater heights,’ said Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Growth, Alderman James Vos.