South Africa today hosted the first G20 Tourism Working Group, which will almost meet from the head office of the International Relations and Cooperation Agency (DIRCO).
Mr. Nukumeleni Victor Bere, Director of the South African Tourism Authority, chaired the first Tourism Working Group meeting attended by senior officials and experts in the tourism sector of G20 countries, and invited guest countries and international organizations. The representatives deliberated and agreed to address four priorities for the year.
1. People-centered artificial intelligence (AI) and innovation to enhance travel and tourism startups and SMME.
2. Tourism funding and investments to strengthen equality and promote sustainable development.
3. Air connections for seamless travel, and
4. Strengthening resilience for inclusive and sustainable tourism development.
The meeting was the first of a series of engagements held throughout the year ahead of the G20 Tourism Ministers' Meeting in September 2025.
Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille welcomed the representatives through a video-recorded message. She said: “South Africa welcomes all G20 representatives, member states and organizations to our beautiful country and is proud to host the G20 for the first time in African soil. When convening with our first tourism working group, I focus on all of our representatives on how tourism can be used to change people's lives, communities and the world.”
Tourism Working Groups exchange knowledge and best practices of Member States in terms of creating practical deliverables.
The Tourism Working Group is one of the 16 working groups of the G20 during the South African presidency, focusing on solidarity, equality and sustainability. As the first African nation to preside on the G20 presidency, South Africa uses its term to promote its developmental agenda to benefit the continent.
The next G20 Tourism Conference is planned in South Africa in the future.
・2nd G20 Tourism Working Group Meeting – Kwazulu Natal Province from May 13, 2025
・3rd G20 Tourism Working Group Conference – September 10th to 11th, 2025, Mpumalanga Province
・G20 Tourism Ministers Meeting – September 12, 2025, Mpumalanga Province
The G20 economy accounts for approximately 85% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), over 75% of global trade, and roughly two-thirds of the world's population. In 2023, the G20 welcomed 69% of tourists across the country and accounted for 71% of tourism exports around the world. In 2023, direct tourism GDP reached 3.1% of the G20 economy.
Tourism plays an important role in the global economy and is one of the key economic sectors that contribute significantly to socioeconomic development, but remains vulnerable to natural and artificial dangers. In many countries, the tourism economy is growing faster than most other economic sectors. Its broad value chain and labor absorption capacity makes it acknowledged as a tool for comprehensive economic development and plays an important role in responding to socioeconomic challenges.
Tourism is an important economic sector in Africa. In 2023, the continent's direct tourism gross domestic product reached US$8.5 billion, accounting for 3.5% of the region's GDP. This value is still below the pre-pandemic US 1.099 billion days (4.3% stake) that reached 2019.
Challenges facing the travel and tourism sector in Africa include air connectivity, limited investment, funding for tourism development, positioning and marketing, social and environmental sustainability, safety and security.
South Africa's tourism priorities for the 2025 G20 presidency are in line with the continental priorities expressed in Agenda 2063 and the strategic roadmap that guides the promotion of inclusive growth tourism and the promotion of Africa's sustainable tourism development.
The conference also praised South Africa's intention to build on the efforts and success of the past three G20 presidents of the Global South and to defend the African developmental agenda.
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