TIFA REPORTBACK

The Tourism Investment Forum Africa 2024 — generates solid leads

The Tourism Investment Forum Africa (TIFA) 2024 was hosted at the Cape Town International Convention Centre from 10-12 April, in collaboration with World Travel Market Africa.

TIFA brings together the tourism and investment sectors, to create sustainable economic growth, job creation, and employment opportunities. The two-day conference promotes investments and trade opportunities within tourism and related sectors.

The stakeholders delved into investment prospects within the sector, with a focal point on the theme ‘Unlocking Intra-Africa Tourism Investment, Building Long-Term Sustainability, and Resilience’. Speakers from across the globe deliberated on key sector topics, including competitiveness and soft infrastructure, green tourism investments, as well as technology and innovation.

Miller Matola, chief executive officer of Millvest Advisory, who organised the investment forum, highlighted the significant presence of numerous key investors from various parts of the world and the continent who gathered in Cape Town for the TIFA. Stressing the pivotal role of the tourism sector in job creation, particularly for women, young Africans, and small and medium enterprises, he emphasised that TIFA is evolving into a global tourism platform by uniting essential stakeholders.

Mr Matola said that the conference location, as part of the WTM Africa platform, did bring some challenges, as delegates were distracted, which unfortunately meant that some delegates were lost at times to WTM. “Other challenges, besides co-location of the event, was the timing, as it fell over Eid, which meant some delegates were no longer able attend over that period.”

However, interestingly, he said, this did not put a damper on the investment leads. In fact, Mr Matola said there were some solid leads that came as a direct result from the conference.

Moving forward, Mr Matola said that they are going back to the drawing board, but have decided that they will return to the old format where the event will standalone — ensuring less distractions.

“We are currently doing a review in consultation with our 2024 partners, and announcements regarding the 2025 host location will be made thereafter,” Mr Matola added.

Number of investment projects and opportunities submitted for TIFA 2024

• Cabo Verde 8

• DR Congo 6

• KwaZulu-Natal 15

• Mozambique 9

• Northern Cape 5

• North West 1

• Western Cape 3

• St Helena 9

• Zanzibar 5

• Mauritania 5

Total No of Projects Submitted 66

Value of investment projects and opportunities submitted for TIFA 2024

Total Projects Value (US$ million)3 493

• Cabo Verde 2,6

• DR Congo 66

• KwaZulu-Natal 498

• Mozambique 627

• Northern Cape 26

• North West 315

• Western Cape 390

• St Helena 695

• Zanzibar 873

To view investment opportunities log into the TIFA website — https:// tourisminvestmentforum.africa/ investment-opportunities-register/

Here are the number of investment leads generated by TIFA, for the following regions:

• Western Cape 1

• DRC 2

• KZN 2

• Ghana 1

• Mozambique 1

Joy Priya Somasundaram, principal of FDI Strategies at the Financial Times, highlighted in her presentation that international tourism receipts have shown consistent recovery, reaching 93 percent by the end of 2023. She noted that Africa saw a total of 66.4 million tourists in 2023, achieving a remarkable 96 per cent recovery of pre-pandemic visitor levels, outpacing other regions in terms of visitor rebound.

Yofi Grant, chief executive officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, who attended the forum via video conference, detailed how Ghana has strategically invested in infrastructure to prepare for the upcoming tourism boom. “Infrastructure is essential if we are to achieve the objectives of the AfCFTA and if we are to connect the continent.”

The introduction of the long-awaited e-visa system is a significant step, although it’s still a work in progress. Implemented just two years ago, the system is improving, despite encountering some challenges on a backlog in converting the paper-based system to a computerised one.

The Deputy Minister of Tourism to South Africa, Amos Fish Mahlalela, said that his ministry is making strides in enhancing accessibility through the introduction of the e-visa system: “It might not be 100 per cent of where we want it to be, but it’s in the making, because it’s something that we’ve just introduced two years ago, so it is in the making, and it’s gradually improving.’’

According to Statistics South Africa, foreign arrivals dropped by 71 per cent, from just over 15.8 million in 2019, to less than 5 million in 2020. It is evident that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the tourism industry around the world and in South Africa, mainly due to the lockdown and travel restrictions that were imposed.

“We’ve established the investment portfolio and the investment strategy, not just for the tourism sector, but for South Africa as a whole, in terms of various business opportunities that the country is able to offer,” he said.

Mr Mahlalela added: “Some tour operators have already informed us that they will not invest in a market where they are not able to ascertain whether the supply will be able to keep up with the anticipated demand.

The introduction of the long-awaited e-visa system is a significant step, although it’s still a work in progress. Implemented just two years ago, the system is improving, despite encountering some challenges on a backlog in converting the paper-based system to a computerised one.

According to Statistics South Africa, foreign arrivals dropped by 71 per cent, from just over 15.8 million in 2019, to less than 5 million in 2020. It is evident that the Covid-19 pandemic impacted the tourism industry around the world and in South Africa, mainly due to the lockdown and travel restrictions that were imposed.

“We’ve established the investment portfolio and the investment strategy, not just for the tourism sector, but for South Africa as a whole, in terms of various business opportunities that the country is able to offer,” he said.

“We’ve established the investment portfolio and the investment strategy, not just for the tourism sector, but for South Africa as a whole, in terms of various business opportunities that the country is able to offer,” he said.

Mr Mahlalela added: “Some tour operators have already informed us that they will not invest in a market where they are not able to ascertain whether the supply will be able to keep up with the anticipated demand.

“Many private sector stakeholders have indicated that they would invest more resources if some of the regulatory, financial, and infrastructure barriers were addressed — these are issues such as long-term leases on state-owned land, which will unlock funding from the development finance institutions and commercial banks.”

The Department of Tourism has invested in infrastructure such as the Look Out Hill in Khayelitsha and Wolwekloof Nature Reserve in Cape Town as part of our Tourism Infrastructure Maintenance Programme. The Department has also invested resources in the Table Mountain National Park, which is one of the major attractions in the country.

“The SANCB has been tasked with growing the country’s business events industry. A significant number of bids for events between 2024-2032 have been submitted, with an economic value of over R1,5 billion. When such bids become successful, they lead to further investment in the tourism industry.”

“We stand firmly behind the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) as they work on a unified visa system for the region as part of the SADC Tourism Programme 2020-2030, which bodes well for both travel and investment within the region,” Mr Mahlalela said.