South African Tourism’s North Europe Hub Celebrated for Creative Brilliance in Africa’s Top Tourism Film Festival

SSouth African Tourism is proud to announce its double victory at the International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA) for the recognition of its innovative "Live South Africa" campaign localized for a North Europe audience, aimed at attracting travellers from the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden (North Europe) to experience and “live” South Africa through the eyes of locals. January to April 2025 arrival statistics recorded 80 787 arrivals from North Europe, reflecting a 5.8% increase in travellers from the region compared to the same period in 2024. The Netherlands, responsible for approximately 65% of the hub’s arrivals, has also achieved a 7% increase on 2019 arrivals, and is currently on 107% of 2019 arrivals. Notably, the Netherlands is also one of two international markets that have tourists who visited all nine provinces of South Africa in 2024.The other market being the USA, which was the top overseas market for arrivals in 2024.

The tourism film awards which recognise excellence and honour video content related to tourism and travel industry storytelling, were held in Sandton, Johannesburg and saw SA Tourism’s North Europe Hub receive two gold awards in the Tourism Services thematic category. The awards were for: Tourism video 2025: Tourism destination – best advertising campaign and Best Tourism video for city in Africa categories. The former was showcased through Madikwe Safari Lodge, a lodge in the Northwest and chosen to showcase safari to show safari beyond the Kruger National Park in accordance with the hub’s objectives to achieve geographic spread, while the latter was showcased through “Aah Aah Travel and Tours”, a female SMME tour operator business focusing on Soweto storytelling and tours and owned by Zandile Dlamini. The 2025 edition of the ITFFA received 448 film submissions from 60 countries, with 90 films awarded across various categories.

The award-winning "Live South Africa" campaign leveraged authentic storytelling by showcasing South African experiences and businesses through the lens of local tourism entrepreneurs. A key element of the campaign was the "South Africam”, a unique camera crafted from recycled South African materials and used to capture the country’s diverse offerings, literally allowing audiences to see South Africa through the perspective of locals. And shine the spotlight on local businesses, responsible tourism initiatives and SMMEs who share stories about South Africa through their own lens.

Since 2022, South African locals have been at the heart of all marketing and communication initiatives of SA Tourism’s North Europe Hub due to the insight that travellers, particularly Dutch travellers want to travel like a local and want to immerse themselves into South Africa’s culture.

“We are excited to have been awarded these two accolades as part of the “Live South Africa” campaign. Getting recognition from our industry stakeholders is a testament to the collaborative spirit and passion that fueled this project from start to finish. We wanted to create a campaign that not only showcased the beauty of South Africa as destination but also tell a story that could resonate with audiences from North Europe on a deeper level. We're so proud of the arrival impact it's having, and we hope it inspires more travellers from different parts of Europe to visit our country and immerse themselves in unforgettable travel experiences while surrounded by the warm South African people”, say Abby Jacobs, Acting Hub Head: North Europe, South African Tourism.

Insights leveraged for the “Live South Africa” campaign:

• Locals and tourism entrepreneurs build trust and familiarity by letting the audience into SA through their own lens. This was to counter dropped familiarity scores post COVID and used as counter messaging to safety and security barrier.
• Sustainability is a consumption motivator for North Europe audiences, so apart from a responsible tourism focus in highlighting the economic benefit of tourism to communities, the South Africam that was built from recycled SA materials becomes an additional sustainability lever.
• North Europe consumers want to immerse themselves in communities, and the content allows for this invitation to immerse to become prevalent.

Award-Winning Themes:

The winning entries featured:

• Culture: A vibrant showcase of Soweto’s storytelling and tours by Aah Aah Travel and Tours, a female-owned SMME operated by Zandile Dlamini.
• Safari: A breathtaking perspective of Madikwe Safari Lodge, highlighting safari experiences beyond Kruger National Park to promote provincial diversity.

Issued by South African Tourism

For further information, contact:

Thandiwe Mathibela

Tel: +2711 895 3177

Email: mediaq@southafrica.net

Email: thandiwe@southafrica.net

Note to editors

South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for the marketing of South Africa as a preferred tourist destination, headed by Chief Executive Officer, Nombulelo Guliwe.

Links to the winning videos:

Madikwe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9hQyCnzoAg&ab_channel=SouthAfricanTourism

Soweto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mDKGRNKcm5A&ab_channel=SouthAfricanTourism

About the International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA) awards

• The International Tourism Film Festival Africa (ITFFA) honours all video content related to the tourism and travel industry and has become a premier platform for recognising excellence in tourism storytelling across multiple formats and platforms.
• Founded in 2019, ITFFA promotes innovative and high-quality content from all continents, showcased across TV ads, promotional films, social media videos, documentaries, and more. It is a unique and exclusive festival on the African continent dedicated to elevating the audio-visual portrayal of travel and tourism.