What we will be watching at MKTE 2026
More than 350 exhibitors and 5,000 tourism professionals are expected. Our reporting plan goes beyond the headline numbers.
The East Africa issue / 01
Nairobi
is next.
The 16th Magical Kenya Travel Expo arrives at Uhuru Gardens in October. We are following the people, partnerships and ideas shaping how East Africa sells travel to the world.
Oct
06-08
2026
Africa's visa map is changing. Tourism will feel it.
Opening borders can unlock regional trips, while new approval steps can quickly reshape demand and itineraries.
What the 2025 expo put on the table
Three days in Nairobi showed why trade floors still matter in a digital tourism economy.
Cape Town
Connections, not footfall, defined WTM Africa
Our notes from a Cape Town week built around market access, product discovery and face-to-face deals.
Field note 04
"Tourism events are where a destination tests its story in public."
Herons Media reports what changes after the stands come down: routes, investment, community access and the products travellers eventually meet.
How we report02
The route ahead
A working calendar for tourism boards, operators, buyers and journalists. Dates marked confirmed are taken from event organisers.
03 / Our beat
Travel news with its feet on the ground.
Herons Media is an independent media desk covering the people, events and decisions moving tourism across Africa.
We follow the trade floor into the destination: who wins access, which stories travel, and whether new attention creates durable value.
Our coverage begins in Africa and stays curious about the global events, routes and markets connected to it.
The Tuesday briefing