South African Tourism takes a business enabling role for market access opportunities in North and Central Europe in collaboration with the Private Sector and Provinces of South Africa

AAs a key enabler of market access, South African Tourism (SA Tourism) is excited to partner with the Travel Trade and broader tourism industry in showcasing South Africa at key SA Tourism facilitated platforms in North and Central Europe.

SA Tourism invites South African travel trade partners, tourism product, and business owners to apply for “The Getaway by Vakantiebeurs 2027” (formerly known as the Vakantiebeurs) and Market Access Trade Engagements across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany in January 2027.

The two platforms offer complementary opportunities to reach Dutch travellers directly (Vakantiebeurs) and build relationships with tour operators and travel agents across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany (Market Access Trade Engagements). The aim is to help South African businesses access these markets and support growth in tourism arrivals.

“Collaboration with the private sector is essential to growing tourism to South Africa and creating market access for our tourism businesses. The Netherlands, Germany and Belgium are important source markets, with opportunities to attract new visitors and encourage repeat travel. Through these platforms, we are connecting South African product owners, including SMMEs, with the tour operators and travel agents who package and sell our destination. Working together allows us to bring a wider range of South African experiences to these markets and help more businesses benefit from international tourism,” says Ismail Dockrat, Chief Operations Officer at South African Tourism. He further echoed the Minister of Tourism’s words at the Tourism month launch stating that “Tourism remains a human business” he says that this is why we keep it human and ramp up our tools to create both digital and human access to markets for the South African tourism industry.

Germany and the Netherlands were South Africa’s second and third-largest European source markets respectively in 2025. Together with Belgium, these markets contributed 481 267 tourist arrivals, accounting for 34.0% of all tourist arrivals from Europe.

South Africa recorded 140 338 tourist arrivals from the Netherlands between January and December 2025, up 6.0% on 2024. Germany contributed 290 795 arrivals, an increase of 14.0%, while Belgium recorded 50 134 arrivals, up 10.9%.

Growth continued during January to July 2026. Arrivals from the Netherlands reached 84 002, up 11.6% compared with the same period in 2025. Germany recorded 166 429 arrivals, up 17.0%, while Belgium recorded 29 106, up 8.1%. Together, the three markets generated 279 537 tourist arrivals during the seven-month period.

The Getaway: An Experience by Vakantiebeurs 2027

South African Tourism’s North Europe Hub will host the South African Pavilion at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from 7 to 10 January 2027. The programme includes Professional Day (Distribution channel) on 7 January and consumer days from 8 to 10 January.

The revamped show places greater emphasis on bringing destinations to life through experiences. Food and wine activations on the South African Pavilion will help drive visitor engagement, while suppliers may also propose additional activations as part of their applications, at their own cost.

South Africa Market Access Trade Engagements

From 12 to 22 January 2027, the North and Central Europe Hubs will take participating businesses to eight cities for engagements with tour operators and travel agents: Utrecht, Haarlem, Rotterdam, and Amsterdam in the Netherlands; Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium; Düsseldorf and Frankfurt in Germany.

Applicants should demonstrate how their products meet demand for distinctive experiences, responsible tourism, and value for money. The programme seeks offerings that appeal to first-time and repeat visitors, including experiences beyond established tourism routes.

Innovation and Digital first – differentiated itineraries as a market need:

In aligning with consumer insights in all the work the hub teams do – off the beaten track, differentiated itineraries are a key need that is being addressed in various ways. Successful products selected to attend the platforms will build digital itineraries with the hub teams. Travel professionals in the region will vet these to ensure market readiness for both mid-market and traditional high-end segments, also enabling pre-marketing and profiling of South African businesses ahead of the engagements.

An additional innovative addition will be each product’s elevator pitch sent to buyers ahead of the trade engagements, so the audience knows who is coming, with the option of ai enabled translations in Dutch, Flemish, German and French accompanying the elevator video pitches.

Applications for both opportunities close on Thursday, 1 October 2026 at 17:00 South African Standard Time (SAST).

Application form for Vakantiebeurs accessible here: Click here

Application form for B2B multi-city trade events accessible here: Click here

Link to 2026 edition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oD_n8zKE9sI

Businesses applying for both must meet each initiative’s requirements outlined in the documents provided. Request the application documents and full participation details from netrade@southafrica.net. Questions on B2B application criteria may be directed to Abby Jacobs at the same email address stated above.

ENDS

Issued by South African Tourism

Media enquiries: Thandiwe Mathibela | mediaq@southafrica.net | thandiwe@southafrica.net

Note to editors: South African Tourism is the national tourism agency responsible for marketing South Africa as a preferred tourist destination.