South African Travel Sector Gears Up For ASATA 2025 With Focus On Innovation And Partnership

Asata will host its 2025 Travel Conference from August 20-22 at Arabella Hotel, Golf and Spa near Hermanus. The theme will be ‘Connecting Today’s Trends with Tomorrow’s Possibilities’.

“The travel and tourism industry is dynamic and constantly evolving,” said Otto de Vries, Asata CEO. “This conference is about getting everyone in the same room to tackle the real challenges we’re facing and figure out what comes next, together. We’ll address challenges like evolving retail models and cyber risk, but more importantly, we’ll explore future-ready solutions: from next-generation payments and AI adoption to strategies that drive growth and build stronger partnerships across our industry.”

What’s on the schedule

The event kicks off on Wednesday, August 20, with a golf day at Arabella’s championship course. On Thursday and Friday (August 21-22), the agenda will include topics such as: 

• How NDC is changing airline bookings
• The future of payments and how secure digital solutions are creating new possibilities
• Practical steps for scaling your business
• Harnessing behavioural economics for smarter decision-making
• Building better partnerships across the industry value chain

The format will include collaborative break-out sessions designed around real-world scenarios, where attendees will problem-solve and devise actionable ideas, as well as industry-specific forums.

Confirmed speakers include De Vries, along with Timothy O’Neal-Dunne (former Expedia executive and T2Impact Principal), Jason Goldberg (Author: The Art of Scale), Natalia Rosa (CEO of Big Ambitions), Amy Hervey (Intelligent Automation and Scale Expert at Architech), Ann Cedarhall (Travel Strategist) and Sarah Buerger (Travel Law Specialist at Novation Consulting).

The full programme and registration information can be found on the conference website.