Cape Town Tourism Reflects On Global Travel Trends And Uncertainty After ITB Berlin 2026

Source: Supplied | Enver Duminy, CEO, Cape Town Tourism

As Cape Town Tourism, we went to Berlin to engage partners, launch the next iteration of our global campaign, listen carefully, and test our own thinking against what the rest of the world is seeing.

What came through strongly was this:

Tourism is still growing. But it is growing in a more unstable, more digital, and more demanding world.

First, the world reminded us that tourism is never separate from geopolitics.

While ITB was underway, the escalating conflict in the Middle East became a dominant topic in meetings and conversations. You could feel it immediately.

Flights were disrupted. Delegates were delayed. Some people could not get to Berlin. Others were not sure how they were getting home. Airspace closures and rerouting through major hubs reminded everyone just how exposed global tourism remains to geopolitical shocks.

For Cape Town, this matters.

We are strongly connected to the world through Gulf hubs such as Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi. Those routes are critical to our long-haul access.

The immediate impact, from our call-around with members and partners, has been more operational than demand-led. Flights are still operating. Visitors are still coming. But confidence has clearly become more fragile.

That is the real point.

In tourism, uncertainty is expensive.

Second, AI is no longer a conversation for the future.

If geopolitics dominated the current talk, AI dominated the future discussion.

Across ITB, the message was consistent: artificial intelligence is no longer a side tool. It is becoming part of the travel infrastructure.

Travellers are increasingly moving away from typing simple search terms and towards asking AI tools to help them plan entire trips.

That changes the game for destinations.

We are no longer competing only to rank in search results or to drive traffic to a website.We are increasingly competing to be recommended.

And that has major implications for destination marketing, tourism data, digital platforms, reviews, content, and even how our products are described online.

The blunt truth is this: In the AI era, being beautiful is not enough. You also have to be legible to machines #Beauty+Brains

Third, data is fast becoming one of tourism’s most important assets.

One of the clearest signals from ITB was that the best AI strategy in the world means very little if the underlying data is weak, fragmented or inconsistent.

And tourism still has a data problem.

Across destinations, sectors and platforms, product data remains scattered. Attractions, neighbourhood experiences, events, restaurants, accessibility information, transport options, pricing, and traveller signals often live in separate, fragmented systems.

That is both a risk and an opportunity.

The destinations that make data the lifeblood of their strategies will be better placed to show up where future travel decisions are increasingly being made. #Beauty+Brains+Blood

Fourth, the industry is moving from growth to balance.

The official theme of ITB 2026 was "Leading Tourism into Balance".And to be honest, it felt exactly right.

For too long, tourism success was measured mainly by one thing: more.

More arrivals. More room nights. More flights.Now the conversation is broadening.

How do we grow tourism in a way that still works for residents? How do we use technology without losing the human side of travel? How do we stay globally competitive while protecting the very qualities that make destinations worth visiting?

That shift matters for Cape Town.

Because our long-term success will not come from chasing volume at all costs.

It will come from building a destination that remains globally desirable, locally relevant, and operationally resilient.#Beauty+Brains+Blood+Heart

Cape Town did not go to ITB only to observe

We also used the platform to activate real work.

We launched our One Small World II campaign in the German market with Visit Berlin and Skyscanner, a conversion-led campaign supported by TOMSA and TBCSA.

We deepened our engagement with Visit Berlin, including discussions with CEO Burkhard Kieker on the next phase of the partnership, intelligence, and AI.

And we joined a leadership event with Destinations International and leaders from 14 major global destinations, where the same themes kept resurfacing: geopolitics, resilience, AI, and the growing importance of collaboration.

That matters because in this environment, no destination has all the answers on its own.

So what did ITB confirm for Cape Town?

For me, five things stand out.

Cape Town remains strongly positioned. Our brand, our product diversity, and our global appeal still matter.

But the future will increasingly favour destinations that are:

• Well connected• Trusted• Data-ready• Visible in AI ecosystems, and• Balanced in how they grow.

That is the work ahead. Not panic. Not hype. Not standing still either. Just clear-headed preparation for where tourism is actually going.

The world still wants to travel. The question is which destinations will be most ready when that demand increasingly gets shaped by disruption, technology and new traveller expectations.

Cape Town has every reason to be confident. But confidence now needs to be matched by readiness.