On Friday the 23rd January 2026, Councillor Sarah Mabotsa, the Member of the Mayoral Committee (MMC) responsible for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, officially opened the Tshwane Tourism Showcase 2026 at the CSIR International Convention Centre.

The Tshwane Tourism Showcase 2026 is hosted by the Tshwane Tourism Association, with support from the City of Tshwane’s Tourism Division and sponsors including SANTAM, the CSIR and Pretoria News. The showcase serves to highlight the many tourism offerings available to Tshwane visitors.

“Located just 40 minutes from OR Tambo International, Africa’s biggest and busiest airport, the City of Tshwane is South Africa’s safest city, the third largest city in the world by area, and the only city in the world with a Big 5 Game Reserve” explained MMC Mabotsa in per opening remarks. “This locality and our tourism offerings provide exciting opportunities for both local and international visitors, as well as great strategic advantages for the growth of the industry.”

Domestic visitors to Tshwane have increased by 37% increase in 5 years – up from 1,9 million domestic visitors in 2019 to more than 2,6 million domestic visitors in 2024.

In 2019, 806 000 international visitors were estimated to have visited Tshwane and, following the Covid-19 low of 196 000 international visitors in 2021, in 2024 there were more than 775 000 international visitors.

According to Tshwane’s bed night tracking data, Tshwane tourism provides almost 7 million bed nights - meaning on average there are more than 19,000 visitors in the city each evening. These domestic and international visitors contributed R28,6 billion and created over 200,000 direct and indirect jobs for the city’s economy.

As MMC Mabotsa explained, some of the priorities in accelerating the growth of the tourism sector include continuing to position Pretoria and the greater Tshwane metro area as a premier global destination and promoting inclusive growth to ensure that tourism benefits townships and local entrepreneurs. The City of Tshwane supported a Sustainability Village as part of the Showcase to highlight Tshwane SMMEs. Supporting SMMEs is one way the City of Tshwane is working to build a more inclusive economy.

“The tourism economy is one of the economic sectors prioritised for support as part of the capital city’s new economic growth plan, the Tshwane Economic Revitalisation Strategy, which was adopted by Council in April 2025. The economic growth strategy aims to achieve a 3,9% growth rate and add at least 80,000 new jobs in Tshwane by 2029” explained Mabotsa.

“The Tshwane Tourism Showcase 2026 coincides with the 25th anniversary of the Tshwane Tourism Association. The Tshwane Tourism Association (TTA) and City of Tshwane have a Memorandum of Understanding committing us to work together to promote and grow the tourism industry in Tshwane” said Susan Marais, the Chair of the Tshwane Tourism Association. “The TTA is very excited about the opportunities that the capital city, South Africa’s safest city, according to the SA Cities network data, has to offer visitors and we are proud to be supporting and driving inclusive growth of the tourism sector in Tshwane.”

Delegates and industry representatives at the Tshwane Tourism Showcase were encouraged to visit www.discovertshwane.com or follow the social media @DiscoverTshwane pages to learn more about what Tshwane has to offer visitors.

Enquiries - Office of the MMC: markrountree@tshwane.gov.za