Cape Town, 9 October 2025 – The Africa Tourism Investment Conference (ATIC), one of the continent’s leading gatherings for tourism investment, returns to Cape Town on 14 April 2026 as an integral part of World Travel Market (WTM) Africa. Held on the Global Stage at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), the conference is produced in partnership with global real estate and investment leader JLL Africa and will once again be spearheaded by respected industry strategist and Conference Director, Gillian Saunders.
ATIC 2026 offers a dynamic, full-day programme full of actionable insight designed to catalyse sustainable tourism investment and cross-sector collaboration across Africa. With a strong emphasis on meaningful engagement and real-world opportunities, ATIC delivers essential knowledge sharing, impactful networking, and direct access to finance and investment leaders shaping the future of tourism.
“Investment is the lifeblood of transformational tourism,” said Saunders. “ATIC goes beyond traditional conferencing – we’re connecting key role players, including governments, banks, DFIs, developers, and private capital, across the tourism value chain – all aligned around one goal: unlocking the power of Africa’s tourism sector.”
Presented in Partnership with JLL
With Africa’s tourism environment becoming increasingly attractive to global investors, JLL’s alignment with the conference underscores ATIC’s strategic importance. JLL will bring its hospitality and tourism advisory expertise to the fore with two of its leading experts headlining the conference agenda:
Wayne Godwin, CEO: JLL Africa
Bernadine Galliver, Head of Tourism Advisory MEA
“This partnership with JLL strengthens the bridge between opportunity and capital,” says Megan De Jager, Portfolio Director – Travel, Tourism & RX Africa Marketing. “Their experience across mixed-use tourism investments, real estate, and destination building will provide attendees with a much-needed edge when developing or scaling projects.”
Headline Speakers Announced
This year’s speaker lineup features high-level African and international voices across the tourism investment spectrum, including:
Tim Harris, Economic Development Advisor and former CEO of Wesgro
Kelvin Watt, Chairman of Nielsen Sports SA
Paul Jordaan, Executive Director and Co-Founder, ENVI Lodges
Daniel Silke, Director, Political Futures Consulting
Paul Gardiner, Director, Mantis Group and Founder, Terra Nova Create
John Gibson, CEO, Chobe Holdings Limited
Each speaker brings a diverse and pragmatic perspective, from media monetisation in sports tourism, eco-lodge development to public-private delivery models and regional investment case studies.
What to Expect at ATIC 2026
This premium, paid-entry conference is designed for tourism professionals serious about turning vision into viable ventures. Key features of ATIC 2026 include:
Deep-dive panel discussions with private and public sector leaders
Exclusive access to WTM Africa’s main exhibition floor
Industry insights underpinned by global and local market data
“The African tourism investment conversation is no longer peripheral – it’s central to the continent’s economic development,” says De Jager. “ATIC provides the platform where deals are sparked, feasibility is debated, and impact-driven investment takes root.”
Secure Your Spot Today
Tickets are now available! Early bird pricing is available at R1,250 per person (excluding VAT) until the end of the year – an unmissable opportunity for those serious about access to Africa’s fast-growing tourism and hospitality investment space.
Click here to register or visit the website to find out more.
-ENDS-
Issued by: Big Ambitions
Contact: Sonnette Fourie
Tel: +27 81 072 2869
Email: sonnette@bigambitions.co.za
Notes to editors:
About CBISN
CBISN is a leader in market intelligence and capacity-building services for those engaging with the Chinese outbound tourism market. Their partnership with WTM Africa aims to provide African stakeholders with actionable insights and tools to welcome and serve Chinese visitors more effectively.
Now in its 33nd year, Arabian Travel Market (ATM) is the leading international travel and tourism event in the Middle East for inbound and outbound tourism professionals. Held annually at the Dubai World Trade Centre, ATM 2024 spanned 12 halls, making it the largest edition to date. The event attracted over 47,000 attendees and more than 35,000 visitors (including 6,000+ high-value buyers) and over 2,550 exhibitors and representatives from over 161 countries. In 2025, ATM will expand to 13 halls, growing across all sectors, and will continue to be a crucial gathering for the global travel and tourism industry. Arabian Travel Market is part of Arabian Travel Week. #ATMDubai
ATM takes place from 4 - 7 May 2026, at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Dubai.
https://www.wtm.com/atm/en-gb.html
Arabian Travel Week is a week-long festival of events alongside Arabian Travel Market 2025. Providing a renewed focus for the Middle East’s travel and tourism sector, it includes Start-Up Competition, Influencers' Event, GBTA Business Travel Forums, and ATM Travel Tech. The event also features ATM Buyer Networking and a series of country forums.
https://www.wtm.com/arabian-travel-week/en-gb.html
About RX
RX is a global leader in events and exhibitions, leveraging industry expertise, data, and technology to build businesses for individuals, communities, and organisations. With a presence in 25 countries across 42 industry sectors, RX hosts approximately 350 events annually. RX is committed to creating an inclusive work environment for all our people. RX empowers businesses to thrive by leveraging data-driven insights and digital solutions. RX is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. For more information, visit www.rxglobal.com.
About RELX
RELX is a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries. It employs more than 36,000 people over 40% of whom are in North America. The shares of RELX PLC, the parent company, are traded on the London, Amsterdam and New York stock exchanges using the following ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX. *Note: Current market capitalisation can be found at http://www.relx.com/investors
World Travel Market (WTM) Portfolio comprises leading travel events and online portals across four continents. The events are Arabian Travel Market, WTM London, WTM Latin America and WTM Africa.
WTM London is the world’s most influential travel & tourism event for the global travel community. The show is the ultimate destination for those seeking a macro view of the travel industry and a deeper understanding of the forces shaping it. WTM London is where influential travel leaders, buyers and high-profile travel companies gather to exchange ideas, drive innovation, and accelerate business outcomes.
Next event: 4 to 6 November 2025 at ExCel London
WTM Latin America is held annually in São Paulo and attracts more than 29,000 tourism professionals during the three-day event. The event offers a qualified content combined with networking and business opportunities. In its most recent edition, in 2024, WTM Latin America maintained its focus on the effective generation of business and managed to secure the early scheduling of more than six thousand meetings that were held between buyers, travel agents, and exhibitors. WTM Latin America contents are available in English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Next event: 14 to 16 April 2026, Expo Center Norte, São Paulo, Brasil
latinamerica.wtm.com
WTM Africa launched in 2014 in Cape Town, South Africa. In 2024, WTM Africa facilitated more than 10 thousand unique pre-scheduled appointments, an increase of more than 8% compared to 2023 and welcomed more than 10 thousand visitors (unaudited), 25% more than 2023.
Next event: 13 to 15 April 2026 – Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town http://africa.wtm.com/
About ATW Connect: Africa Travel Week’s digital arm, is a virtual hub packed to the seams with interesting content, industry news and insights, and the opportunity to hear from experts on a variety of topics in our new monthly webinar series. All with the aim to keep all of us in the travel and tourism industry connected. ATW Connect focuses on inbound and outbound markets for general leisure tourism, luxury travel and the MICE/business travel sector as well as travel technology.
WTM Global Hub, is the WTM Portfolio online portal created to connect and support travel industry professionals around the world. The resource hub offers the latest guidance and knowledge to help exhibitors, buyers and others in the travel industry face the challenges of the global coronavirus pandemic. WTM Portfolio is tapping into its global network of experts to create content for the hub. https://hub.wtm.com/
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