South Africa: Wesgro is building a stronger Western Cape-India travel and business events corridor. It is their commitment to unlock access towards new and emerging markets, including India. It was reinforced through Wesgro’s participation at OTM Mumbai, which is India’s leading outbound travel trade exhibition.
Wesgro is the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town & the Western Cape, marketing the destination at global level. Over the course of the show, more than 180 targeted engagements were conducted with key outbound operators and corporate buyers.
This momentum was further strengthened through a focused four-city roadshow in partnership with South African Tourism across Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Kolkata and New Delhi, that resulted in over 200 structured trade meetings.
It considered, key market insights from OTM & the four-city roadshow which included:
- Growing demand for incentive and long-haul corporate travel, with strong outbound growth from hubs such as Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
- A clear preference for curated, bespoke and experience-led itineraries, well aligned with the Western Cape’s diverse offering.
- Rising demand beyond traditional gateways, as emerging metros expand their global travel footprint.
- Continued growth in ‘b-leisure’ travel, reinforcing the strong link between business events and leisure tourism.
- The importance of clear messaging on air access, visas and logistics to support conversion.
- Relationship-led engagement remaining critical to long-term market success.
Notably, India represents a high-value, long-term opportunity market. Through sustained collaboration and consistent on-the-ground engagement, Cape Town and the Western Cape continue to strengthen destination confidence, deepening trade partnerships and expand market share within this dynamic outbound landscape.
Wesgro, the official tourism, trade, and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, is actively strengthening its economic and tourism ties with India. It recognises India as a high-growth, long-term opportunity market, with outbound travel spending, projected to reach $410 billion by 2030. Wesgro is implementing a targeted strategy to boost travel, business events i.e. MICE and trade.