The fourth and final edition of the South African Tourism Corporate Think Tank Series 2025-26 in Kolkata brought together corporate decision makers to showcase South Africa’s ease of planning for MICE, its diverse venues and experiences, streamlined visa processes, and ongoing discussions on improving direct connectivity
South African Tourism concluded its Corporate Activation Programme 2025-26 series with its fourth Think Tank edition in Kolkata, marking the final chapter in its India outreach and strengthening engagement with the country’s corporate travel and MICE community. Held at ITC Royal Bengal, a Luxury Collection Hotel, the session assembled senior business leaders and corporate travel decision makers for an evening of targeted discussion, networking, and destination exploration.
The gathering created an opportunity to exchange perspectives on evolving corporate travel priorities and to showcase South Africa’s appeal for meetings, incentives, and high-impact business travel experiences.
High-impact forum for corporate interaction and market insights
The Corporate Activation Programme functions as a targeted engagement platform designed to facilitate direct dialogue between South African Tourism and India’s corporate sector. The Kolkata edition created an opportunity to understand changing expectations around meetings, incentives and international corporate travel, while presenting South Africa as a destination equipped to deliver efficient, experience-driven MICE programmes.
Conversations during the session emphasized South Africa’s strengths as a MICE destination offering scale, diversity and planning efficiency. The destination’s capability to combine contemporary convention infrastructure with immersive leisure experiences was presented as a key advantage for Indian corporates seeking impactful international events.
The forum also addressed facilitation aspects such as visa on arrival and e-visa facilities, ongoing discussions around direct flight connectivity between Kolkata and South Africa, and dedicated MICE support programmes provided by South African Tourism to assist corporate planners and incentive groups.
Kolkata was recognised as a high-potential market due to its robust presence of multinational corporations, technology companies, manufacturing hubs and a growing start-up ecosystem. With a well-established outbound corporate travel culture and increasing demand for incentive and offsite programmes, the city represents a significant opportunity for South Africa’s business and leisure tourism growth.
Market perspectives and facilitation updates
The session was conducted by Deepika Nair, Acting Trade Manager, South African Tourism, who shared insights into ongoing efforts to enhance accessibility and streamline travel planning for Indian corporate groups. She highlighted faster visa processing timelines of approximately five working days and facilitation initiatives such as the Trusted Tour Operators Scheme, designed to provide greater confidence and operational ease for meetings, incentives and conferences.
Commenting on the significance of the initiative, Gcobani Mancotywa, Regional General Manager for Asia, Australia and the Middle East, South African Tourism, said the Corporate Activation Programme platform enables meaningful engagement with India’s corporate leadership and supports long-term partnership building.
He further noted that Kolkata’s commercial depth and outward-looking business outlook make it an important contributor to South Africa’s corporate travel growth from India.
South Africa continues to attract Indian corporate groups with its capability to blend business objectives with distinctive experiences. The destination offers more than 3,000 adventure activities suitable for team building and incentives, iconic wildlife safaris, scenic road journeys across multiple regions, vibrant cities, wine regions and coastal destinations.
Many of these experiences can be curated within compact itineraries of under a week, making South Africa well-suited for time-conscious corporate groups.
Networking and deeper engagement
The Kolkata Think Tank session by South African Tourism concluded with a networking dinner and cocktails, providing delegates with an informal setting to continue conversations, exchange ideas and explore potential collaborations.
With Kolkata concluding the Corporate Activation Programme 2025-26 series, South African Tourism has strengthened its engagement across key Indian markets, reinforcing its commitment to co-creating future-ready MICE and leisure programmes aligned with the evolving needs of India’s corporate sector.
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