A new project called TRILAND has begun with three southern African countries are joining together to promote tourism. 

The new strategic initiative aims to attract visitors to their countries and foster the sustainable development of the tourism industry.

Mozambique, South Africa (Mpumalanga province) and Eswatini are the three African countries that are combining forces.

TRILAND’s objective is to create a tourism corridor that integrates the natural, cultural and historical destinations of the three countries, promoting cross-border visitation.

The initiative also aims to strengthen regional cooperation and highlight Southern Africa as a go-to place for holidaymakers to visit. 

South Africa has seen the most visitors in recent years, with 2.4 million tourists travelling to the country in the first quarter of 2024. Mozambique attracted the second-largest number of holidaymakers, with just over 1.1 million in 2023. Yet, this is a huge decrease in visitor numbers from 2016 to 2019, which saw an average of 2 million. 

Eswatini has the lowest number of tourists going to the country with just 842,441 people travelling there last year. However, Eswatini is smaller than its TRILAND counterparts, spanning just 17,000 km, whereas South Africa is a whopping 1.22 million square km.

Brits considering adding the southern African countries to their holiday list can hop on direct flights from London, which take nearly 11 hours and 30 minutes. 

Southern Africa is known for its rich natural beauty and cultural diversity. Boasting multiple UNESCO World Heritage Sites and well over 20 National Parks, keen explorers can submerge themselves into a beautiful wildlife haven. 

The 2024-2025 project has just completed phase one out of three excursions, where the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, through the National Tourism Institute (INATUR), participated in a visit to Eswatini. This took place between October 23 to 25. 

INATUR’s Director General, Richard Baulene, explains how TRILAND has strengthened friendly and professional relationships between the three countries, ‘sharing efforts and dreams’.

Following the Eswatini visit, the second phase will occur in Mozambique between December 2 and 4. The final excursion will be to South Africa in 2025.