The 2026 edition of Africa Showcase Central Eastern Europe (CEE) gets underway in Bucharest, Romania, tomorrow, as African tourism suppliers look to build on growing demand for long-haul travel across the region.
The three-city trade roadshow will connect African exhibitors with travel professionals in Bucharest on 22 September, Warsaw, Poland, on 23 September, and Prague, Czech Republic, on 24 September.
CEE has emerged as an increasingly important source market for African tourism, with Romania in particular showing strong outbound travel growth. Organisers say buyers across the region are demonstrating growing interest in safari, culture and luxury travel, creating opportunities for African destinations and suppliers to expand their presence in the market.
Jacqui Reynolds, co-owner of Africa Showcase, said the region presents significant potential for African tourism, particularly as consumer interest in long-haul travel continues to build.
“There is real opportunity for Africa across Central Eastern Europe. We’re seeing growing appetite for long-haul travel, but also an opportunity to broaden perceptions of what Africa can offer – particularly in the luxury segment.”
Reynolds added that a key priority is to demonstrate the diversity of the continent beyond established destination perceptions.
“There is still a lot of work to do in showing the market the breadth of experiences Africa offers,” she said.
The roadshow is also designed to strengthen commercial relationships between African suppliers and specialist travel sellers in the region. Reynolds said bringing exhibitors directly to the three markets would help suppliers establish relationships with travel professionals and provide sellers with greater confidence in promoting Africa.
“By bringing our African exhibitors directly into Bucharest, Warsaw and Prague this week, we can build those relationships with the right travel professionals and give them the confidence to sell more of Africa,” she said.
Organised by On Show Solutions and coordinated with event partner Travel Advance, the Africa Showcase CEE programme is expected to facilitate business connections between African destination management companies (DMCs), tourism boards and hospitality providers and travel specialists across Central Eastern Europe.
The three-market programme comes as African tourism suppliers increasingly look to diversify their source markets and capture a greater share of the region’s growing long-haul travel demand.
