Satsa and Joburg Tourism have launched the Welcome2Joburg Experience, a partnership designed to turn destination marketing into bookable Johannesburg itineraries and tourism products.
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The programme builds on Joburg Tourism's existing “Welcome to Joburg” campaign and will bring together packaged itineraries, consumer marketing, a booking platform and consumer insights.
Visitor numbers to Johannesburg, across domestic and international markets, grew from just over 4.5 million in 2024/25 to five million in 2025/26, according to S&P Global data cited by the partners. Joburg Tourism said the city generated more than R106bn in tourism spend from those visitors in 2025/26.
From campaign to conversion
The Welcome2Joburg Experience has four elements:
• Market-ready offers: Satsa members will package 72-hour, longer-stay and shorter-stay Johannesburg itineraries.
• Consumer demand generation: Joburg Tourism will promote the offers through its ongoing marketing campaigns.
• Conversion via an Experience Hub: A consumer-facing booking platform will connect travellers directly with Johannesburg tourism products.
• Consumer insights: Information gathered through the programme will be used to refine what is offered and how it is marketed.
The existing “Welcome to Joburg” campaign positions Johannesburg as an all-year-round destination for business and leisure travellers, with a focus on encouraging visitors to experience the city during their first 72 hours.
Satsa CEO David Frost said Johannesburg has been underrepresented in travel itineraries. “Our tour operators want to book Johannesburg; they just need the itineraries and packages to do it,” said Frost, who notes that Satsa represents over 500 inbound tour operators through its membership, all of whom have already been through Satsa's strict annual verification process, giving Joburg Tourism a ready-made, credible base of partners to build with.
“Bringing our members together with Joburg Tourism to jointly build, package and market these experiences is genuinely pioneering, and it's a model we should take to the rest of the country.”
Belu Mabandla, executive head for destination marketing and events at Joburg Tourism, said the partnership builds on a long-standing effort to work more directly with the travel trade.
“We're grateful to have reached this stage, launching a partnership with the players who will help us bring the right deals to market and present the right persona of Johannesburg to the world,” said Mabandla.
Converting existing visitors
Johannesburg attracted five million visitors in 2025/26, according to Joburg Tourism figures, generating more than R106bn in tourism spend.
The partners said the bulk of those visits are currently driven by people visiting friends and relatives, creating an opportunity to convert more of that existing visitor base into leisure tourism.
The Welcome2Joburg Experience will therefore focus on creating bookable products that can be promoted to consumers through Joburg Tourism's existing destination marketing activity.
A call to tourism businesses
Satsa is inviting its members, and in time Johannesburg-based tourism experience providers, to put their offerings forward for inclusion in the programme.
Phase 1 is open to Satsa members, whose businesses have already passed the association's annual verification process. Phase 2 will consider opening the programme beyond Satsa's membership.
Destination management companies and tour operators with a ready, bookable Johannesburg package can submit an expression of interest.
Experience providers can also submit a ready, bookable Johannesburg package across heritage, art, culture, gastronomy, accommodation, attractions, activities, food, guiding, transport or venues. SATSA membership is not required for this track.
There is no cost to participate. Expressions of interest will allow Satsa and Joburg Tourism to identify and match Johannesburg's tourism offerings with the demand generated through the programme.
Frost said the initiative could also help broaden the spread of tourism activity across the city's visitor economy.
“This is how we spread the love and start addressing the real problem of geographical spread in our tourism economy,” he concluded.
