The South African Minister of Tourism, Ms Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, will visit Mumbai, India from 14 to 16 January 2020 as part of a trade roadshow to grow Indian tourist arrivals and consolidate market share of the Asia-Pacific region to South Africa.

South Africa and India share strong historical and cultural ties, and Minister will seek to use this visit to strengthen these ties.

In January 2019, a Strategic Programme of Cooperation inclusive of tourism was signed during President Cyril Ramaphosa's state visit to India. The two countries will sign a three-year plan of action that will outline the implementation plan of the Strategic Programme of Cooperation in the tourism sector.

The Minister will also utilise the occasion of the road show to engage with stakeholders, tour operators, and investors in an effort to build confidence, seek partnerships and opportunities to unlock the market for both countries' tourism sector. This is part of the new marketing approach which aims to pay greater attention to the needs of tourists in all the markets especially our priority markets.

India is an important tourist source and priority tourist market for South Africa with 93,428 Indian tourists visiting the country in 2018. This visit is part of the effort to grow this number in the coming years.

For inquires, contact:

Mr Blessing Manale

South African Departmental of Tourism Spokesperson

Mobile: + 27 66 487 8867

E-mail: bmanale@tourism.gov.za

Ms. Mitalee Karmarkar

Marketing and Communications Manager

South African Tourism

mitalee@southafrica.net