South Africa’s Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille has called for urgent action to improve air connectivity across Africa, saying the continent cannot build an integrated tourism economy if Africans cannot easily travel to one another.
Speaking at the opening of the 2026 Africa Tourism Leadership Forum and Awards in Limpopo, de Lille said limited flight frequencies, high operating costs and inadequate direct connections remained among the biggest obstacles to the growth of intra-African tourism.
“It is still too difficult and often too expensive to travel between African countries,” she said, stressing that governments, airlines, airports and the private sector must work together to open viable routes, increase frequencies, reduce barriers and make intra-African air travel more affordable.
De Lille linked the need for better connectivity to the broader ambition of creating a more integrated African economy, including the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area.
“If we are serious about Africans travelling Africa and realising the promise of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, we must address this connectivity gap,” she said.
Her call came as tourism leaders and stakeholders gathered in Limpopo for the continental forum, which she described as a vote of confidence in South Africa’s tourism sector and its capacity to host major African and international gatherings.
The minister also addressed the increasingly prominent debate over migration, drawing a distinction between managing irregular migration and restricting legitimate movement across the continent.
She said South Africa had both the right and responsibility to manage its borders, uphold the rule of law and enforce its immigration laws, while insisting that migration management should be “lawful, orderly and humane” and grounded in constitutional values and international obligations.
“Managing irregular migration must never be confused with closing South Africa off from Africa,” de Lille said.
She maintained that South Africa needed to pursue secure borders while preserving an open tourism economy that facilitates lawful travel, trade and economic activity. According to the minister, the government is investing in technology, infrastructure and personnel to strengthen border management while facilitating legitimate movement.
Technology and artificial intelligence also featured prominently in her address.
De Lille said technology was no longer merely a support tool for tourism but was fundamentally changing how travellers discover, plan, book and experience destinations. Digital marketing, she noted, has also enabled smaller tourism businesses and emerging destinations to reach international audiences directly.
She said the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day, which South Africa will host in Limpopo — “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism” — was therefore particularly relevant to the continent’s tourism ambitions.
The minister urged African governments to invest in digital infrastructure, skills and innovation, arguing that the competitiveness of destinations would increasingly depend on their ability to be visible, discoverable and bookable in the digital marketplace.
For de Lille, however, digital transformation must be matched by physical connectivity.
She argued that Africa’s tourism ambitions would remain constrained unless travellers could move more easily and affordably across the continent.
Concluding her address, the minister issued a three-part call for a stronger culture of intra-African travel and investment: “Africa must visit Africa. Africa must invest in Africa. And Africa must explore Africa.”
The 2026 Africa Tourism Leadership Forum brings together tourism stakeholders around the continent to discuss the opportunities and challenges shaping Africa’s tourism future, with Limpopo serving as host for this year’s gathering.
