Aquila Collection and Air France-KLM Target New European Markets for Cape Town

Aquila Collection and Air France-KLM target Romania and Slovakia with private-sector investment to grow Cape Town tourism demand.

CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, August 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Aquila Collection and Air France-KLM are investing in the development of new European source markets, targeting Romania and Slovakia through a private-sector destination marketing initiative designed to grow travel demand for Cape Town and South Africa.

Following a recently signed memorandum of understanding on international destination marketing, the partners have taken their Cape Town Safari Roadshow into the two Central and Eastern European markets, where new visa-free access to South Africa has created a timely opportunity for market development.

Together with Travel Advance and destination specialist Paddington Tucker, the campaign introduced travel trade partners to Cape Town, its safari and wine offering and a new generation of Western Cape luxury travel, including Aquila Collection’s Aquila Private Game Reserve & Spa, Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve and Kuganha, its new wellness safari lodge.

The strategy has a deliberate commercial focus: enter promising outbound markets early, build trade relationships and destination awareness, and stimulate demand rather than wait for established travel patterns to develop.

Outbound travel data supports the opportunity. Romanian travellers spent approximately 10 billion euros on international travel in 2025, reaching a new record, while Slovaks undertook 4.6 million private trips abroad during 2025, 5.1% above the previous pre-pandemic high recorded in 2019.

The Slovak organised travel sector is particularly relevant to the strategy. Tour operators and travel agencies served more than 1.2 million clients during 2025, while outbound tourism accounted for more than 94% of organised travel turnover and generated approximately 1 billion euros in outbound travel business.

The opportunity has been strengthened by South Africa’s decision in 2025 to extend visa-free access to both markets. Romanian ordinary passport holders received visa-free short-stay access, while an exemption for Slovak ordinary passport holders was approved Oct. 7, 2025, allowing visits of up to 90 days without a port-of-entry visa.

For South Africa, the opportunity is therefore less about convincing these consumers to travel internationally and more about competing for a greater share of established outbound markets at a time when a significant barrier to travel has been removed.

Visa-free access alone, however, does not create demand. Destination awareness, travel trade confidence, airline connectivity and compelling, bookable experiences remain critical to converting improved access into arrivals.

Aquila Collection and Air France-KLM are therefore committing privately funded marketing resources to developing demand for Cape Town and South Africa. While the commercial return comes through increased airline passengers and tourism bookings, the economic impact extends across the wider visitor economy.

Tourism directly supported approximately 1 million South African jobs in 2024 and contributed R361.7 billion, or 4.9%, to gross domestic product. International visitor spending flows across airlines, accommodation, restaurants, wine estates, attractions, transfers, guides, safari lodges, retailers and small businesses.

“We love destination marketing because when Cape Town wins, all of us win,” said Johan van Schalkwyk, commercial officer of Aquila Collection. “Our commercial objective is to grow Aquila Collection, but one of the most sustainable ways to do that is to grow the destination around us.

“Romania and Slovakia are already travelling and spending internationally, so our job is to put Cape Town into that consideration set. We do not want to wait five years for a market to become established and then arrive. We want to enter early, meet the travel trade, tell the Cape Town story and work with our partners to build the market.

“When Aquila Collection and Air France-KLM invest our own marketing resources into creating international demand, the benefit extends far beyond our two companies because those travellers spend throughout the tourism economy.”

Air France-KLM’s international network, centred on its Amsterdam and Paris hubs, provides connectivity between European markets and South Africa.

“We are proud to work alongside South Africa’s tourism sector to take this destination to new international audiences,” said Wilson Tauro, country manager for Southern Africa at Air France-KLM. “Connectivity is most powerful when it is supported by destination partners prepared to enter markets, educate the travel trade and give travellers compelling reasons to visit.

“Aquila Collection brings tremendous energy to that mission, and successful tourism growth ultimately reaches far beyond aviation and accommodation into restaurants, transport, attractions, communities and the many livelihoods supported by South Africa’s visitor economy.”

The roadshow positions Cape Town as more than a city break, presenting Romanian and Slovak travel sellers with an itinerary combining a globally recognised city with beaches, culture, gastronomy, wine, mountains and Big Five safari within one region.

Aquila Collection adds three distinctive safari products through Aquila Private Game Reserve & Spa, Inverdoorn Private Game Reserve and Kuganha, providing international travel partners with options across established safari, private reserve and ultra-luxury wellness-led travel.

Paddington Tucker, contracted by Aquila Collection to develop opportunities across Central and Eastern Europe and German-speaking Europe, said South Africa has a strong proposition for travellers seeking new long-haul destinations.

“South Africa is an incredibly exciting travel story for Central and Eastern Europe because it brings together so many of the experiences travellers are increasingly looking for in one destination,” Tucker said.

“What makes this moment especially interesting is that access is becoming easier at the same time as travellers in these markets are looking beyond the familiar and becoming more confident about discovering new destinations.

“This first engagement in Romania and Slovakia showed real curiosity and enthusiasm, and there is significant potential to build these markets over time through consistent destination storytelling, strong trade partnerships and focused private-sector investment.”

Strong initial trade interest has reinforced the opportunity, with the Cape Town Safari Roadshow positioned not as a once-off activation but as part of a longer-term market-development strategy.

Aquila Collection and Air France-KLM intend to continue identifying emerging markets where improved access, changing traveller behaviour and international connectivity create opportunities, and to commit commercial resources to converting those opportunities into visitors.

For Romania and Slovakia, where outbound travel demand is already established and access to South Africa has become easier, the opportunity is now to secure a greater share of that travel for Cape Town and South Africa.

Johan van Schalkwyk
Aquila Collection
+27 83 441 2826
johan@aquilacollection.com
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
YouTube