Deputy Minister of Tourism Sotyu visits South African Embassy before ITB

On the eve of ITB Berlin, Deputy Minister of Tourism Magdeline Sotyu, Dr Shamilla Chettiar Acting CEO, Corne Koch: Chief Convention Bureau Officer, Regional General Manager: Europe, Ian Utermohlen, and Acting Hub Head: Central Europe, Abby Jacobs, South African Tourism, attended a briefing with Andries Oosthuizen, Chargé d’affaires, a.i.. of the South African Embassy. 
Subsequently, the South African Embassy in proud cooperation with South African Tourism hosted the South African Deputy Minister of Tourism and delgation, and about 100 South African exhibitors, at a networking reception. 

In his welcoming address, Andries Oosthuizen, Chargé d’affaires, a.i, underlined that tourism was the ultimate peacekeeper and that Germany remained one of the world’s leading outbound travel markets, with over 290,000 arrivals by German tourists in 2025.

Markus Orth, Senior Vice President of the DRV German Travel Association, gave perspective from the German travel trade and highlighted their close collaboration with the South African Tourism Central Europe team to promote South Africa in the German market. He noted that this partnership focused on targeted marketing campaigns, trade education and strengthening long-term demand for the destination.

In her a keynote address, the Deputy Minister Sotyu emphasised that the ITB provided a vital platform for South Africa to convert strong global interest into concrete economic opportunities while strengthening its competitive position in the international tourism market. She highlighted Germany as one of South Africa’s most important European source markets with continued growth in German arrivals (about 14 % year-on-year from 2024 to 2025). She stressed the importance of deepening long-term trade partnerships, increasing visitor spending and length of stay, and using tourism as a driver of inclusive economic growth and stronger bilateral cooperation between South Africa and Germany.

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