Travel Trade Events›We Are Africa
We Are Africa 2027
3–7 May 2027 · Cape Town, South Africa
We Are Africa is a trade show held at DHL Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa. The 2026 edition ran 4–8 May 2026; the organiser's website lists 3–7 May 2027 for the 2027 edition. It brings together travel industry professionals from across Africa and beyond for business meetings, networking and trade appointments.
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📅 2027 dates: 3–7 May 2027. Found on the organiser’s own website by our weekly date check — it reads “3 - 7 May 2027 — https://www.weareafricatravel.com”. We have not confirmed it with the organiser, so check the official event website before booking flights or hotels.
📅
Dates
3–7 May 2027
2026 edition: 4–8 May 2026
📍
Location
Cape Town, South Africa
🏛️
Venue
DHL Stadium
About We Are Africa
We Are Africa is the innovative travel trade show that has redefined how Africa's tourism industry presents itself to the world. Held in Cape Town, We Are Africa is deliberately boutique — limited attendance, carefully curated buyers and sellers, and a festival-like atmosphere that prioritises authentic connections over volume. For Africa's most forward-thinking lodges, operators and experience providers, We Are Africa is the show of choice.
Official We Are Africa website →Get the cards off your desk before the week runs away.
Reps and DMCs, operators and agents, lodges and hotels, travel media — whoever you were there as, forward the follow-up email or jot the conversation down and RepBud files it against the right contact, with the next step kept where you will see it.
Free to join. No card. The same allowance whoever you are.
1,000 contacts and 5 clients, 25 logs a month, 1 form taking 25 responses, and Relay for 1 GB of file transfers across 2 active links. Card scanning, reports, email and WhatsApp sending, meeting prep and follow-ups pulled out for you are on the paid plans — see what each adds.
What reps use at a show
Hotels & flights for We Are Africa 2027
Some links below are affiliate links. If you book through them, RepBud may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you — it helps keep these event guides free. We only list services we’d use ourselves.
Hotels near DHL Stadium
💡 The CTICC is a short walk from the V&A Waterfront hotels. The Radisson Blu Waterfront, Westin and DoubleTree are popular with event delegates.
Hotels near DHL Stadium fill quickly once delegates begin booking — typically 6–8 weeks before the event. Searching early secures better rates and more choice.
🏨Search hotels near DHL Stadium
3–7 May 2027 · Compare hotels near the venue
Flights to Cape Town for We Are Africa
Fares climb steeply inside a month, once delegates start booking the same dates — 8–10 weeks out is usually the last comfortable window. Search for the best fares into Cape Town's main airport.
✈️Search flights to Cape Town
3–7 May 2027 · Compare flights and travel sites
Airport transfers to DHL Stadium
Pre-book your airport transfer to avoid taxi queues on arrival — particularly useful during busy trade show periods when demand spikes.
🚗Book airport transfer to Cape Town
Pre-book your transfer at a fixed price
Stay connected in South Africa
An eSIM is the easiest way to get local data rates in South Africa without swapping your SIM card. Activate before you travel and connect the moment you land.
📱Get an eSIM for South Africa
Local data rates, instant activation, no physical SIM needed
Working on the Wi-Fi at We Are Africa
Show halls, hotel lobbies and airport lounges run open networks that anyone in the building can join. A VPN encrypts your connection over them, so the rate sheets, client emails and CRM logins you handle across a week in Cape Town travel through a network you don’t control without being readable on it.
🔒Set up a VPN before you fly
Encrypts your connection on Wi-Fi you don’t control
Security while travelling for reps → — the rest of what to set up before a show, from the badge scanner to the hotel safe.
Airport parking
Pre-book airport parking before you fly to Cape Town — compare prices across airport car parks and save versus turn-up rates.
🅿️Book airport parking
UK departures · Compare and pre-book airport parking before you fly
Airport lounges
Start your trip in comfort — pre-book an airport lounge with complimentary drinks, snacks and Wi-Fi while you wait for your flight.
🛋️Book an airport lounge
UK departures · Pre-book an airport lounge for a comfortable wait
Car hire in Cape Town
Compare car hire rates at your destination in Cape Town — pick up at the airport or city centre. Book early for the best trade show rates.
🚘Search car hire in Cape Town
UK collection · Compare car hire rates before you travel
Things to do in Cape Town
Got a free afternoon around We Are Africa? A digital city pass bundles skip-the-line entry to top attractions in Cape Town and beyond — one pass, often cheaper than booking each attraction separately.
🎟️Get a city attraction pass
Skip-the-line entry to top attractions with one digital pass
Register for We Are Africa 2027
The 2026 edition ran 4–8 May 2026. The organiser’s website lists 3–7 May 2027 for 2027. The organiser’s registration pages below are where 2027 registration opens; visitor registration for qualified travel trade professionals is typically free or low-cost.
Save the date
Add We Are Africa to your calendar so you don't miss registration deadlines or early-bird hotel rates.
Frequently asked questions
Where was We Are Africa 2026 held?
We Are Africa 2026 was held at DHL Stadium, Fritz Sonnenberg Rd, Green Point, Cape Town, 8051, in Cape Town, South Africa.
Who organises We Are Africa?
We Are Africa is organised by This Is Beyond. Full details and official updates are published on the organiser's website. The 2026 edition ran 4–8 May 2026.
How much does it cost to attend We Are Africa?
Visitor registration for We Are Africa is typically free or low-cost for qualified travel trade professionals, and the organiser publishes the current rates. The larger part of the cost is usually the travel: flights to Cape Town, 3–5 nights near DHL Stadium, transfers and subsistence. Exhibiting is priced separately by the organiser and depends on stand size and position, so ask them for the current rate card and the booking deadline.
When was We Are Africa 2026?
We Are Africa 2026 ran 4–8 May 2026 at DHL Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa. The organiser's website lists 3–7 May 2027 for the 2027 edition.
When is We Are Africa 2027? (2027 dates)
We Are Africa 2027 is listed for 3–7 May 2027 on the organiser's own website, in Cape Town, South Africa. Our weekly date check picked this up from the line “3 - 7 May 2027 — https://www.weareafricatravel.com”; we have not confirmed it with the organiser, so check the official website before booking travel.
Where can I find hotels near DHL Stadium?
Search for accommodation near DHL Stadium. The CTICC is a short walk from the V&A Waterfront hotels. The Radisson Blu Waterfront, Westin and DoubleTree are popular with event delegates.
How do I register for We Are Africa?
Register for We Are Africa via the official website. Visitor registration is typically free or low-cost for qualified travel trade professionals.
What is We Are Africa?
We Are Africa is the innovative travel trade show that has redefined how Africa's tourism industry presents itself to the world. Held in Cape Town, We Are Africa is deliberately boutique — limited attendance, carefully curated buyers and sellers, and a festival-like atmosphere that prioritises authentic connections over volume. For Africa's most forward-thinking lodges, operators and experience providers, We Are Africa is the show of choice.
How do I get to DHL Stadium in Cape Town?
Search flights to Cape Town to compare fares across airlines and booking sites. From the airport, pre-book an airport transfer for a fixed-price service directly to DHL Stadium or your hotel. This avoids taxi queues and surge pricing during busy event periods.
Do I need a travel eSIM for South Africa?
If you are travelling internationally to We Are Africa, an eSIM is the easiest way to stay connected in South Africa without expensive roaming charges. An eSIM gives you local data rates with instant activation — set it up before you fly and you are online the moment you land in Cape Town.
How early should I book hotels for We Are Africa 2027?
Hotels near DHL Stadium typically start filling 6–8 weeks before We Are Africa. The most convenient properties — those within walking distance of the venue — sell out first. We recommend searching as early as possible to secure the best rates and availability. The CTICC is a short walk from the V&A Waterfront hotels. The Radisson Blu Waterfront, Westin and DoubleTree are popular with event delegates.
Who attends We Are Africa?
We Are Africa attracts travel industry professionals from across Africa and beyond — including tour operators, travel agents, destination management companies (DMCs), hotel and lodge sales teams, tourism boards, airline representatives, and travel technology providers. It is a key event for business-to-business networking and trade appointments.
What should I bring to We Are Africa?
Essentials for We Are Africa include business cards (or use RepBud’s digital business card with QR code), a fully charged phone for logging meetings, comfortable shoes for the show floor, and a portable charger. If attending from overseas, set up an eSIM before you travel for local data rates in South Africa.
Is We Are Africa worth attending as a travel sales rep?
For travel sales representatives covering Africa or selling product into the region's source markets, We Are Africa is one of the highest-leverage uses of trade-budget time. The combination of pre-scheduled appointments, ad-hoc floor conversations, and the structured networking outside official hours typically delivers more new business contacts per day than weeks of separate property visits. The economic case depends on how rigorously you capture meeting notes and follow up afterwards — both areas where a structured logging system pays back many times over.
How should travel sales reps prepare for We Are Africa?
The most productive reps walk into We Are Africa with a confirmed meeting schedule, briefing notes on each contact, and specific objectives for each conversation. Preparation typically begins 4–6 weeks ahead: locking in appointments, refreshing relationship history on each contact, identifying portfolio gaps to address, and pre-loading any property or rate news worth sharing. RepBud's Meeting Prep feature generates per-contact briefings from your interaction history, and the trade-show command centre tracks meetings, captures business cards by photo, and logs follow-ups in real time.
What's the best way to follow up after We Are Africa?
The follow-up window after We Are Africa is short — most attendees lose a meaningful share of their warm leads to inbox chaos within ten days of getting home. The reps who convert at the highest rate work from a structured log captured during the show rather than reconstructing from memory afterwards, send personalised follow-ups within 72 hours, and have a clear next-touchpoint plan for each contact. RepBud's smart logging — voice notes between meetings, business-card scans, forwarded emails — keeps the record while it's fresh, so your client reports and your follow-up list are built from what you captured rather than from memory.
How do experienced reps approach We Are Africa differently from first-timers?
First-time attendees often try to meet everyone; experienced reps pre-qualify ruthlessly and target the contacts who match their actual portfolio gaps. They block out floor time for the people who matter most rather than chasing serendipity, use unstructured evening events for deeper conversation rather than business pitches, and keep post-show follow-up effort proportional to long-term contact value. Above all, they work from a system — a reliable way to log everything as it happens, so We Are Africa pays back not just in the weeks afterwards but for years through accurate records of who said what.
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OTHER AFRICA EVENTS
Africa Travel Week / WTM Africa 2026
7–9 Apr 2026
ILTM Africa 2026
10–12 Apr 2026
Equal Africa 2026
13–15 Apr 2026
See the full travel trade events calendar — Africa trade shows, conferences and networking events with dates, venues and hotel guides.