South African Tourism engages 235+ trade partners at Bengaluru roadshow.
In keeping with its outreach to the Indian travel industry and reaffirming India’s position as a crucial source market for South Africa, South African Tourism has wrapped up the Bengaluru portion of its Annual India Roadshow, which began with their roadshow engagement at OTM Mumbai. The roadshow offers a forum for communication with trade partners, discussion of changing traveller habits, and opportunity identification across leisure, corporate, and MICE segments. It is led by Mitalee Karmarkar, Marketing and Communications Manager (MEISEA), South African Tourism.
More than 235 Indian travel trade brokers in Bengaluru attended the roadshow, which included more than 40 exhibitors offering a wide variety of products. On February 10, 2026, the multi-city project will relocate to Ahmedabad, further enhancing trade partnerships and promoting international travel to South Africa, as part of its ongoing targeted engagement with the Indian market.
“India continues to be a priority growth market for South African tourism, driven by strong interest across family travel, experiential holidays, and premium travel,” Karmarkar stated during her roadshow presentation. Today’s Indian tourists are also planning in a different way, researching and customising their vacations with AI-powered tools, travelling more frequently, and demonstrating an increasing willingness to visit places other than their traditional favourites. This change in tourist behaviour reflects an audience that is more self-assured and inquisitive, and it creates new chances to showcase lesser-known South African destinations and experiences. She continued “Bengaluru has solidified itself as one of South Africa’s major source markets in India. City dwellers are experience-driven, tech-savvy, and growingly comfortable travelling to distant places. We hope to increase our interaction with the local travel industry and boost South Africa’s prominence and relevance in this significant market by means of the roadshow.”
Bengaluru is a high-potential market for South African tourism, especially in the premium leisure, adventure, and wildlife areas, because to its robust base of regular foreign visitors. Safaris remain a major driver for the city’s outbound audience, which is increasingly looking for individualised, well-paced itineraries that blend renowned experiences with less-traveled areas. South African Tourism is committed to opening up new itineraries and encouraging more thought and conversion from this market through ongoing cooperation with the tourism industry.
In 2026, South African tourism hopes to reach pre-pandemic levels of Indian tourists and is committed to fortifying its long-term alliances with Indian commercial partners. Furthermore, it is anticipated that South Africa’s hosting of the 2027 ODI World Cup will increase travel interest and destination visibility. The tourism board wants to maintain growth and increase its presence in the Indian market through ongoing trade interaction and focused marketing campaigns.
