Tshwane to Showcase Capabilities and Promote Tourism at C20 and G20 Meetings

Strategic Insights -

The City of Tshwane is preparing to leverage the upcoming C20 and G20 meetings in South Africa to demonstrate its capabilities in hosting international conferences, highlighting its infrastructure, hospitality, and tourism sector. Member of Mayoral Committee for Economic Development and Spatial Planning, Sarah Mabotsa, emphasized the significance of tourism in boosting job creation and economic growth, particularly in 2024, when tourism and travel contributed R618 billion to the South African economy. The city's focus on growing the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions component of the business tourism sector aligns with its economic growth strategy.

Key Takeaways:

  • The City of Tshwane aims to boost job creation and economic growth by prioritizing the tourism sector, which contributed R618 billion to the South African economy in 2024.
  • The city has co-hosted the 2025 Urban20 (U20) meetings with the City of Joburg, featuring tourism stakeholders from across Africa and globally, with the theme "Harnessing Tourism for Inclusive and Sustainable Cities".
  • The U20 meetings provided a platform to explore how tourism can transform cities into more inclusive, resilient, and future-focused hubs, with the city focusing on growing the meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions component of the business tourism sector.
  • The Friends of Toloane, under its director Thabang Rabotho, promotes environmental awareness and conservation within the Toloane Nature Reserve and has received notable recognition for its efforts.
  • The City of Tshwane has been recognized as the safest city in South Africa, as reported by the SA Cities Network Safe Cities 2024 report, and has seen decreases in reported crime categories in 2025.
  • The city organized a trip for delegates to the Union Buildings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Dinokeng Big Five Game Reserve, which has generated over 1,000 job opportunities and numerous small businesses through a public-private partnership.
  • The multiparty coalition government will actively showcase Tshwane to the world, encouraging residents to promote the city and encourage friends and family to visit.

Statistics:

  • In 2024, tourism and travel contributed R618 billion to the South African economy (R117 billion from international visitors and R430 billion from domestic travel spending).
  • The tourism sector provided employment to 1.8 million people in South Africa in the same year.
  • The Dinokeng project, a public-private partnership, has generated over 1,000 job opportunities and numerous small businesses that support or benefit from the reserve's tourism activities.
  • Tshwane has been recognized as the safest city in South Africa, as reported by the SA Cities Network Safe Cities 2024 report.
  • The city has seen decreases in reported crime categories in 2025, as evidenced by the SAPS quarterly report for January to March 2025.

Sources:

  • SA Cities Network Safe Cities 2024 report
  • SAPS quarterly report for January to March 2025
  • Sarah Mabotsa, Member of Mayoral Committee for Economic Development and Spatial Planning
  • Thabang Rabotho, director of the Friends of Toloane