Skip to content
Luanda’s biggest tourism gathering to date closes with real momentum, and the ripple effects are set to reach far beyond Angola’s borders into the wider region
Cape Town, 25 June 2026 – The Global Tourism Forum (GTF) Angola Investment Summit 2026, held under the theme “Shaping the Future of Tourism in Emerging Destinations,” has concluded in Luanda with nearly 1,500 delegates in attendance and eleven Memorandums of Understanding signed across tourism, investment, infrastructure and human capital development. Heads of state, ministers, global hotel brands and institutional investors spent three days in structured dialogue on how tourism can be positioned as a key driver of economic diversification, moving the conversation beyond destination branding and into investment readiness, project finance, and the training and skills development needed to support it.
Eleven agreements, one investment roadmap
Organised by the World Tourism Forum Institute (WTFI) with Angola’s tourism leadership, the summit drew heads of state, ministers, global hotel brands and institutional investors into one room. President João Lourenço delivered the Presidential Welcoming Address, with Mozambique’s President Daniel Chapo and Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa also in attendance, demonstrating how seriously the region is taking this moment. The eleven MoUs signed cover foreign direct investment, destination development, hospitality expansion, sustainable tourism, project finance and human capital development for Angola’s tourism sector. Together they represent a practical investment roadmap, designed to move discussions beyond the panels and into execution. Global hospitality names including Marriott International, Hilton, Radisson and TUI Hotels & Resorts were in the room, alongside investment institutions like KASADA Capital Management, all weighing up what an early position in Angola could mean for the next decade.
A standout moment came with the official handover of the “Tourism Doing Business – Investing in Angola” guidelines, presented by UN Tourism Secretary-General Shaikha Al Nuwais to President Lourenço himself. The guidelines give international investors a structured framework for understanding Angola’s priority development areas, project pipeline and long-term investment potential. “Angola has demonstrated that tourism can become a serious pillar of economic diversification when political will, investment readiness and international partnerships come together,” said Bulut Bağcı, President of the World Tourism Forum Institute. “The scale of participation and the number of agreements signed in Luanda show that global investors are increasingly looking at Angola not only as an emerging destination, but as a long-term investment opportunity.”
A bilateral relationship gaining momentum
South Africa’s Minister of Tourism, Patricia de Lille, took part in the summit’s Ministerial Dialogue on Tourism, Investment and National Development, alongside senior figures from the African Union and Kenya’s former tourism minister Najib Balala. Her presence reflected the continuation of bilateral engagement, including South Africa and Angola’s removal of flight capacity and frequency restrictions between the two countries in March, along with signed a three-year Action Plan on Tourism Cooperation running through to 2029, covering joint destination marketing, air connectivity and skills development. As part of the bilateral plan, South Africa has committed to capacity building for Angola’s tourism workforce, including Portuguese language training, while Angola continues to grow as a source market for South African tourism. It’s a mutual investment in people as much as in routes and infrastructure.
A strategy paying off
For KLEBER GROUP, the summit’s outcome is the latest chapter in a partnership that began well before Luanda filled with heads of state and hotel executives. Since the beginning of 2025, the agency has held the mandate for global PR, marketing, investor relations, and tour operator representation for Angola’s Ministry of Tourism, working alongside the ministry to build the country’s “Visit Angola, The Rhythm of Life” identity from the ground up. That work has translated into measurable results, as Angola was named the Global Tourism Forum’s Best Tourism Investment Destination in 2025, and the country’s tourism-led infrastructure push, including a $500 million coastal development package announced earlier this year, has been directly linked to the positioning strategy KLEBER GROUP helped build. The agency has since opened a dedicated office in Luanda and expanded its footprint into Cape Town, reflecting just how central this market has become to its work across the continent. Seen against this backdrop, the summit is a visible result of a strategy that’s been quietly building investor confidence in Angola.
“What we’ve built with Angola’s Ministry of Tourism over the past year is finally being seen on the world stage, and what we’ve witnessed in Luanda was proof of that. As I alluded to in my speech, this calibre of impact and results doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because the groundwork, the positioning and the investor confidence building were already in place. This is an exciting and decisive moment, not just for Angola, but for the whole region. Angola is a hidden gem, but it won’t stay hidden for much longer, and as it opens up, accessibility, remarkable product offerings, and industry opportunity will only keep growing for everyone connected to it,” said Julia Kleber, CEO KLEBER GROUP.
A hidden gem coming into its own and what that means for the region
This incredible milestone translates well beyond Angolan borders. New hotel capacity from major international brands, an expanded gateway airport built to handle 15 million passengers a year, and well over half a billion euros in approved infrastructure investment all point to a Southern African neighbour that will generate significant traveller demand, business travel and MICE activity. Angola has long been one of the continent’s best-kept secrets: a 1,600-kilometre Atlantic coastline, the thundering Kalandula Falls, the Namibe Desert, and a culture, music and gastronomy scene most travellers have simply never had the chance to discover. That reality is changing rapidly and deliberately, and it doesn’t stop at the border. More flights, capital, and confidence flowing into Angola signals gain for whole region around it, including aviation links, regional tour operators, and cross-border itineraries that pair with established destinations like South Africa.
About Angola
Angola is one of the world’s last great adventures – a hidden gem in the southwest of Africa, impressing with untouched nature, cultural richness, and astonishing diversity. As the sixth-largest country on the African continent, Angola combines spectacular landscapes – from lush rainforests to endless deserts – with a living tapestry of cultures, traditions, and influences. The capital city, Luanda, the gateway to the Atlantic, is a melting pot of African, Portuguese, and indigenous influences, featuring vibrant urban life and a lively music and dance culture. With its new slogan, “Visit Angola – The Rhythm of Life,” the destination presents itself as an authentic travel destination for explorers, nature lovers, and cultural enthusiasts. Anyone wishing to experience Africa off the beaten path will find true new territory here – full of emotion, rhythm, and authenticity.
For more information, visit www.angolatourism.com
About KLEBER GROUP
KLEBER GROUP is an internationally positioned, integrated marketing and communications consultancy with more than three decades of experience, specialising in tourism, luxury and lifestyle. With its 360-degree approach, the agency creates compelling storytelling that strengthens brands along the entire customer journey, through impactful, data-driven strategies that directly contribute to clients’ business objectives. KLEBER GROUP offers a comprehensive range of services to create consistent and unique brand experiences. These include strategy and consulting, PR and communications, representation and trade marketing, social media, influencer marketing and investor relations. The portfolio is further complemented by CRM, digital and affiliate marketing, advertising and media planning, MICE and corporate travel, cross-marketing and broadcast, as well as sustainability and ESG. With offices in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Spain, Poland, UK, UAE, South Africa and Angola as well as partners covering all five continents, KLEBER GROUP collaborates with key players across public and private sectors in emerging, mature and the luxury market. In addition, KLEBER GROUP expands its offering with innovative services such as AI Video and S-Buyer – a strategic tool that uncovers the emotional, behavioural and symbolic motives of target groups.
For more information, visit www.klebergroup.com
Media contact:
Sunny Tembani, Senior PR Consultant
Email: sunny.tembani@klebergroup.com
Tel: +27 61 079 4991
Picture rights: ©Mintur
