Satsa, SA Tourism to host emerging tourism businesses

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The conference is one of the tourism industry’s biggest networking platforms and will ensure small enterprises who are just entering the sector have direct exposure to the tourism industry, its issues, and the opportunity to network with experienced industry players.

This year marks the association’s 50th celebration; it’s also the first year that members of South African Youth Travel Confederation (SAYTC), who recently merged with SATSA, will be in attendance.

"The tourism industry in South Africa needs to be an inclusive industry for all," commented Sthembiso Dlamini, SA Tourism CEO. "The Satsa conference is crucial to exposing our emerging businesses to the larger tourism industry and having them in attendance speaks to one of our goals of transforming the industry so that historically disadvantaged South Africans benefit from the sector as well."

Expansion of the SME sector

"The growth of the tourism Industry is strongly reliant on the development and knowledge expansion of the SME sector," says David Frost, Satsa CEO. "Growing SMEs’ businesses is how we introduce diversity and variety into our sector which helps ensure we keep offering our visitors the selection of unique tourism products and services they seek."

To this end, Satsa has been active in similar initiatives such as the Limpopo High Flyers’ Programme which it piloted along with Limpopo Tourism. The programme identified thirteen relevant provincial products and assisted them with their tourism and marketing development needs to ensure a successful introduction to a large and established trade.

SA Tourism will support the travel and accommodation costs for the emerging businesses to attend the event, while SATSA will sponsor the conference attendance fee.