Africa Travel Indaba 2026 Interview with Thandiwe Mathibela

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]We're no longer in the car feature, but what we are doing is continue to celebrate KZN and eThekwini municipality. We are in the phenomenal warm Durban, and now we chat to Tandy with my team leader, global PR head for South African Tourism. Oh, Tandy, how are you?

[00:00:18]>> Kishap, we're not going Are we not kuluming? No, no, no, no.

[00:00:22]>> Because when in Everywhere they go. We're stubborn like that.

[00:00:30]>> Exactly. Please share with me. I mean, your job as a global PR head for South African Tourism, you are selling us to the world.

[00:00:39]>> Correct. Now, what happens when you need to do the job of selling South Africa to South Africans, particularly this province and this place? In fact, thank you for that question, because I think a lot of people actually think South African Tourism only markets to people that are coming from out outside of the country, but but domestic tourism is is a big part of what we do. That's why we've got the long-standing formidable short-left campaign that you will be very familiar with. So, that's what we do. We love it when South Africans travel their own country.

[00:01:14]Just say experience really great numbers in terms of between January and February this year, where we've seen an increase in travel in South Africans actually exploring uh doing day trips, you know, exploring in more experiences. So, it's a very good thing, you know, that we do as South African Tourism, also because it really contributes to the economy. If you travel, you know, you are able to create one more job, we're able to feed a family, so it really goes a long way.

[00:01:36]Can I tell you a very funny story?

[00:01:38]>> Yes. It must have been around 2008, 2009 >> Right. that I was acting in a show called Rhythm City.

[00:01:45]>> Okay.

[00:01:46]>> My character, Mpho Meyi, and the boyfriend, Fats, came to KZN on a short-left trip.

[00:01:52]>> Yazo, love it for us. Wabona, but the storyline was he was telling me he spent all this money on me, but it turned out he had voucher, so we got to enjoy Ushaka Marine World.

[00:02:05]And it was the very first time I actually got to be in the water with the baby baby sharks that are there, and I will never forget that trip. And it is just it feels like a bit of a full circle moment at the moment. So, to come back to what you were saying, there are so many initiatives like you said that short-lived. What are the challenges you think that you face in terms of your job of encouraging South Africans to keep our money at home? Yeah, the biggest consideration really is affordability.

[00:02:36]So, a lot of South Africans will tell you that it's quite expensive to travel within South Africa. And then for some weird reason they will then equate that to say I might as well then just go to Europe, right? There is or Thailand.

[00:02:46]Then that comes very quickly. So, that's one of our biggest challenges to actually show value for the travel that South Africans can actually enjoy in South Africa.

[00:02:54]One of the other challenges that we really face is just the wide variety of experiences, but we've also found the sweet spot, right? We know that South Africans will travel for events of whatever nature, whether you're going to a family gathering or you're going to a concert. So, we've really done a lot of work in ensuring that, you know, we attract and in this instance not only just South Africans, but people that are coming from all over the world as well, because we host we are amazing hosts, you know, when it comes to events we really really pull them off well. People get to experience our friendly nature.

[00:03:22]People get to really interact with South Africans in a very immersive manner. So, that is what we do. I mean, I think in terms of domestic tourism that's one of that's basically the challenge when it comes to affordability, but we do partner with the sector to ensure that we put together packages that are really affordable, so that South Africans can continue, you know, traveling because we do want to make tourism accessible to all South Africans. Please share with everybody listening around the fact that there are opportunities which I have seen some um type of places try to have a price for locals and not the one that looks like this should have been in euros or dollars or pounds or and their randela is not stretching that far.

[00:04:03]>> Yeah, the industry is um putting more and more effort in ensuring that we make travel accessible. It's exactly one of those initiatives, you know, because we do know that some uh some places could be you know, the luxury offerings are really highly priced for some South Africans. So, we are doing um you know, work in ensuring that we price for South Africans. I know Sand Parks actually does a great job to actually also open up the park some of the national parks to South Africans either at a discounted rate or for free.

[00:04:28]>> Travel with your ID, guys. You will get it the cheaper rate.

[00:04:32]>> Exactly.

[00:04:33]>> And get to enjoy it.

[00:04:34]>> in Cape Town there are some experiences that you can also experience. Yeah, you can enjoy.

[00:04:38]>> the one that we [clears throat] got a cheaper South African rate is the penguin park situation in Simon's Town.

[00:04:45]>> it. Yeah. You know, so you go there, you show your your your ID and then they're like, "Okay, you get the cheaper rate and you go in."

[00:04:52]>> Also for senior citizens we do do that.

[00:04:54]Why are you looking at me when you say senior citizen? Oh, Shamila, no. I am so a senior citizen [laughter] myself.

[00:05:01]What is exciting about this uh this year's Travel Indaba? What's really exciting about this year's Africa's Travel Indaba is that we are focusing more and more on what it is that the sector can do for the economy. You know, you recall in the state of the nation address the president gave us a challenge. He said, "Market South Africa and use our cultural heritage, our festivals to actually you know, make South Africa even more attractive to a lot of people that are not only in South Africa, but across the world." And that's what we're doing. So, because Africa's Travel Indaba is exactly that, it is a pan-African trade show, we're wanting to grow this uh the um tourism sector across the African continent together. So, tomorrow the Minister of Tourism will host a panel of uh African Ministers uh from the rest of the continent where we will actually discuss how it is that we can use digital um as well as other marketing initiatives to promote the continent because we do know that if one country on the continent wins, we all win. And that is what we're going for. Yeah. Despite any of the other challenges being faced, we do know when it comes to things like this, celebrating some of our iconic areas of which KZN is one of them.

[00:06:08]You know, one of the guests we were speaking to earlier is a earlier is a German woman who now does tourism.

[00:06:15]>> Lovely.

[00:06:16]>> goes to show it is a place everybody wants to be. In closing, what would you share with all of the listeners, especially in your role as a South African tourism and why it is so so critical for our economy that we participate? Firstly, I want to thank all the South Africans that have heeded the call to actually explore their own country. It absolutely goes a long way.

[00:06:36]And secondly, I just want to encourage, you know, a lot of people that are not necessarily traveling as frequently as they should be to actually start doing that because the impact of the travel, you know, right through where the fuel cost is a bit high at the moment, but you can save for it and it really is good for the soul. It's also very good for creating those memories, you know, that you'll forever cherish because, you know, travel is very much also a learning experience. So, I'd like to encourage South Africans to explore their own country and I'd like to thank them for being really great hosts. We get a lot of feedback from people that are coming from various parts of the world that say, you know, an experience in South Africa is so unique, it's so different. You know, there's one lady who actually posted on the socials, she was like, a stranger offered to buy me bottled water, only in South Africa. So, we really want to thank South Africans for continuing to be welcoming and being really great hosts. And thank you for sharing that. I think we underestimated.

[00:07:26]It's only when you travel abroad where you realize how warm and welcoming we are as South Africans. But from us as the 702 Afternoons team, thank you to Durban for hosting us. To all of you that want to check it out, visit durban.travel.

[00:07:43]Visit durban.travel.

[00:07:46]And I'm sure if you take the time to go and explore online, there are great deals and opportunities for you to come and enjoy. But