April 2026 | Tshomo Divine Travels
From 13 to 15 April 2026, the Cape Town International Convention Centre hosted the most internationally diverse edition of WTM Africa to date. Eight thousand trade professionals from 63 countries. Seven hundred and eighty exhibitors. Thirteen thousand five hundred confirmed appointments, a 35% increase on the year before. And somewhere in that room, under the banner of the National Department of Tourism, was Tshomo Divine Travels.
A boutique Destination Management Company from Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. Women-owned. SMME. And absolutely meant to be there.
How We Got There
TD Travels was selected to exhibit through the National Department of Tourism’s Tourism Incentive Programme, which identifies SMMEs across the country’s provinces that show real potential and offers them access to platforms they would otherwise have to build their way to over years. Being chosen is not a small thing.
I’ll be honest. Starting a business means you spend a lot of time questioning yourself. Am I doing enough? Is this the right path? Those doubts are quieter some days than others. When the NDT selected TD Travels, it answered something I hadn’t quite found the words for. A government department with a mandate to represent South African tourism on the world stage looked at what we’ve built and said: yes, you’re ready. That meant everything.
It also meant something bigger than us. SMMEs in this country can play on the world stage. We don’t have to wait until we’re big. We can show up, represent, and hold our own.
Three Days on the Floor
WTM Africa 2026 drew buyers from countries including the USA, Poland, Bulgaria, Kenya, Uganda, Ghana and Tanzania, and for the first time ever included buyers representing Jamaica, South Korea, Denmark, Portugal and Kazakhstan. Fifteen new buyer countries in a single edition. That’s not incremental growth. That’s the market moving.
What struck me most was the message we kept hearing from buyers across those three days: their clients are asking for South Africa. Not just asking, requesting specifically. International travellers want to come here, and the agents and operators we sat with were actively looking for ground operators who know this region and can deliver something worth the trip.
That’s where TD Travels comes in. We cover South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe and eSwatini, and we specialise in multi-city and multi-country packages for solo travellers, FITs and small groups. Our offering isn’t off-the-shelf. Buyers at WTM wanted to know what makes us different, and we had answers. The Jeep Day Tours were a particular talking point, drawing genuine excitement from buyers who hadn’t seen that kind of experience packaged that way.
Boutique is not a limitation. It’s the point. We personalise because we choose to, and buyers who understand what their clients want responded to that immediately.
What the Numbers Tell Us
The data coming out of this year’s event makes it clear that Southern Africa’s moment is now. Cape Town alone now receives more than 230 international flights per week, with the tourism sector supporting over 106,000 jobs in the city. The Alderman James Vos, speaking at the opening, described tourism as “a team sport” where choosing South Africa means choosing an experience no single destination can deliver alone.
That’s exactly the philosophy TD Travels is built on. We don’t sell one destination. We build journeys across a region, connecting the landscapes, cultures and experiences that make Southern Africa unlike anywhere else.
What Comes Next
We left Cape Town with more than business cards. We left with confirmed relationships, a clear sense of what international buyers are looking for, and invitations to visit Kenya and Uganda to further build the partnerships we started on that floor. There is also real possibility of adding those destinations to the TD Travels offering in time.
WTM Africa 2026 confirmed what the business has been quietly building toward: the international market is ready to consume what Southern Africa has to offer, and TD Travels is now positioned to deliver it.
I am grateful to the National Department of Tourism and the Tourism Incentive Programme for the opportunity. We will not waste it. The flag stays up, the work continues, and the company grows.
Tisetso Bodiba
Founder & Director, Tshomo Divine Travels (Pty) Ltd
Ekurhuleni, Gauteng | www.tdtravels.co.za
Article by: Tisetso Bodiba
