By Martin Wiest, CEO of Tourvest Destination Management
Africa welcomed 81 million international tourists in 2025, an 8% increase from 2024, making it the strongest performing region globally according to the UN Tourism World Barometer[1]. To put this in perspective, global international arrivals reached 1.52 billion in 2025, putting Africa’s performance ahead of the global average. The question is – why?
Why is Africa taking centre stage in travel? At the recent ITB Berlin 2026 convention, the event’s 60th anniversary, the dominant themes mapped closely to what Africa has to offer. The market is moving away from commodity travel towards the experiential segment, a change now visible in tourist purchasing behaviours and not just aspirational posts and offers. Travellers are selecting their travel stories based on key factors such as cultural authenticity, ecological integrity and access to experiences that cannot be replicated. And Africa competes across all these benchmarks very effectively.
Experiential travel cannot be standardised. At ITB Berlin, hyper-personalised, tech-enabled experiences have become a core future travel trend with AI and data use positioned as the primary enablers. Bringing in personalisation and individual-tailored experiences is now an expectation, with travellers willing to share relevant personal data when they see a clear payoff in meaningful customisation, efficiency and better recommendations.
However, the role of technology in this segment is complementary rather than substitutional. AI and other emergent technologies do improve efficiency and response times, but they don’t replace local knowledge and the judgement needed to define a well-executed itinerary. AI featured heavily in the ITB Berlin programme, but the on-the-ground picture was more nuanced. Operators report real efficiency gains in itinerary-building, customer response management and data-driven personalisation – but human expertise remains the differentiating factor, particularly in adventure and specialist travel.
There is a direct connection between the use of technology for build-and-discover experiences and the prevailing demand for immersive and memorable moments in travel. Travellers want diversity, wellness, luxury and adventure – not necessarily at the same time, but as individual components of a well thought-out travel itinerary. At Tourvest Destination Management (TDM), we identified, some time ago, a move towards trips defined by purpose and personal meaning rather than destination novelty. And this type of itinerary requires insight and relationships that technology supports but can’t supply on its own.
Sustainability was also a structural theme at the event under ITB’s focus on leading tourism into balance. Research across the global hospitality sector confirms that travellers are now filtering providers on sustainability credentials rather than simply factoring them as a preference. Africa’s conservation models, defined by companies like Tourvest, prioritise communities and wildlife management, where tourism revenue functions as an integrated system. This is increasingly being recognised internationally as a best practice framework rather than a mere regional characteristic.
Destination storytelling is also closely connected to wellness and cultural depth. Travellers want to lose themselves within the regions they visit, discovering real moments that they carry with them and resonate with their values and purpose. These kinds of journeys are increasingly built around how travellers experience their destination and their life within it.
Angola was a country that drew the most concentrated interest at the show. It’s role as a host nation created visibility, but the commercial conversations went further. Repeat Africa travellers and international buyers already familiar with the established circuit were specifically seeking new product, and Angola’s largely undiscovered character has positioned it perfectly for growing demand. The pattern is consistent with deeper market analyses – the Skift’s Africa-focused Megatrends 2026 report identified Africa as the next frontier for high value, experience-led travel, underscoring how the region is growing at nearly twice the global average with a corresponding rise in urban, cultural and music-led tourism in African cities[2].
Investment is following demand. The 2026 Hotel Chain Development Pipelines in Africa report by W Hospitality Group records 675 hotels and resorts currently planned or under development across the continent, representing 123,846 rooms and an 18.6% year‑on‑year increase in pipeline activity. More than 65,000 of those rooms are forecast to open between 2026 and 2027[3]. For South Africa specifically, recent European booking data shows it ranking among the top‑performing long‑haul destinations for summer 2026, with demand from key EU markets up by more than 20% year‑on‑year[4].
The trends that defined ITB 2026 – depth over volume, experience over convenience, sustainability as standard, preference for destinations that offer something genuinely irreplaceable – describe a market that has moved toward a position Africa has occupied for a long time. And organisations like Tourvest Destination Management are ready.
[1] https://www.ndtv.com/travel/world-travel-records-1-52-billion-tourists-in-2025-africa-leads-regional-growth-10802568
[2] https://atta.travel/resource/skift-megatrends-2026-spotlights-africa-s-tourism-growth.html
[3] https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/africas-hotel-development-pipeline-reaches-record-more-than-one-hundred-thousand-rooms-in-2026-led-by-egypt-and-morocco-with-east-africa-emerging-as-a-new-construction-hub/
[4] https://www.getaway.co.za/travel-news/south-africa-tourism-growth-europe-itb-berlin/
