Rekindling the Jozi’s Spanish Connections at FITUR 2023

Although attending the FITUR Madrid Trade Show for the first time, the Joburg Tourism
Destination Marketing team are enjoying re-igniting the passion, excitement and enthusiasm
that the City enjoyed in the wake of Spain’s victory at the Soccer World Cup in 2010.

“We’re making the most of this first trade show for the year, as well as the first time we’ve
participated in FITUR,” explains Lumka Dlomo, Destination Marketing Manager at Joburg
Tourism. “As a growing market with a keen appetite for South Africa, this is an ideal
opportunity to promote our City to the Spanish and our global partners to grow it as a top of
mind destination – as well as accelerating our tourism recovery, contributing to job creation
and a more sustainable tourism sector. This year FITUR is expected to attract in excess of
8360 global exhibitors and 112 000 delegates over five days.

Taking place from January 18 to 23, FITUR is a global meeting point for tourism
professionals and a leading trade fair for Spain and the Ibero-American region – comprising
central and South American countries. Joburg Tourism is part of the SA Tourism
delegation at the International Tourism Trade Fair, better known as FITUR MADRID at
IFEMA MADRID, and will continue its strong global post-pandemic marketing drive.

According to Themba Khumalo, Acting CEO for South African Tourism, South Africa’s
appeal as a destination is growing globally, with the country ranked at #16 globally in the
recently released Tourism Sentiment Index for the third quarter of 2022. As stated in the
Index, top contributors to South Africa’s overall performance are wildlife viewing (15%),
restaurants and dining (12%) and festivals, events and concerts (10%).