Tourism leaders and government officials are calling for artificial intelligence and digital technology to be embraced to help the Eastern Cape compete for a greater share of the global tourism market.
The province stands on the brink of a digital revolution that could fundamentally reshape its tourism landscape, with industry leaders warning that it must harness AI or risk being overlooked by increasingly digital travellers.
The call was made at the official Eastern Cape launch of Tourism Month 2026 at Asante Estate outside KuGompo City on Tuesday, where tourism stakeholders outlined a vision to turn the province’s extraordinary natural and cultural assets into increased visitor numbers, longer stays, jobs and investment.
Despite boasting seven of SA’s nine biomes, converging around Port Alfred in one of the continent’s most biodiverse zones, the province currently attracts only about 3% to 4% of inbound international travellers.
This is despite the Eastern Cape having grown from having no conservation land a century ago to more than 450,000ha today.
By comparison, about 76% of international visitors head directly to Cape Town and the Kruger National Park.
Chris Roberts, who runs five-star properties Oceana and Prana Lodge and heads the Wild Eastern Cape initiative, said technology could help close the gap by ensuring the province’s tourism story reached travellers before they made their destination choices.
“From a tourism point of view, I’d put the impact of AI in these simple terms: the travel agent used to be a person, then it was Google and the OTAs, now increasingly, it is a machine that reads your websites and decides whether it wants to mention you at all,” Roberts said.
“And this is where we need to leverage as a province. It’s the easiest way for us to get our story out to the world, to grow visitor numbers, and in turn to grow jobs and investment.”
Roberts said his own businesses had seen a significant change after optimising their websites for AI readers.
Within six months, AI accounted for more than 10% of their monthly website visitors — roughly 1,000 potential guests per property, while these visitors also delivered the highest conversion rate.
He warned that tourism businesses needed to ensure their online information was structured in a way that AI systems could understand.
Without this, businesses and destinations risked being overlooked or having inaccurate information generated about them.
Roberts also called for greater collaboration between tourism businesses, suggesting that Eastern Cape establishments develop cross-referenced itineraries that encourage visitors to explore several parts of the province.
The objective, he said, should be to turn two- or three-night visits into week-long experiences.
While acknowledging concerns that AI could lead to job losses, Roberts argued that technology could instead allow tourism workers to focus on the human side of the industry.
“A reservationist who spends most of her day typing the same email over and over is not doing the thing she is actually good at,” Roberts said.
“Take that work away, and you don’t have a redundancy, you have someone who can spend her day selling the province, building itineraries, and turning a three-night booking into a seven-night one.”
MEC for economic development, environmental affairs & tourism Nonkqubela Pieters echoed the need for digital transformation while stressing that technology must ultimately benefit communities.
“For many travellers, the first entrance to a destination is no longer a physical gate or a tourism office. It is a mobile phone,” Pieters said.
She said tourism’s economic benefits should extend beyond established businesses and reach people working throughout the value chain.
“When a visitor enters a tourism establishment, the economic value should travel further than the reception desk.
“It should reach the people who prepare meals, maintain rooms, transport guests, guide experiences and supply goods.”
Pieters said government had a responsibility to help SMMEs overcome barriers including limited connectivity, access to hardware and a shortage of digital skills.
She also stressed that AI should complement rather than replace the people who make tourism experiences special.
“Artificial intelligence cannot replace the knowledge of a local guide, the creativity of an artist or the warmth of genuine hospitality.
“It should strengthen what people offer rather than remove people from the experience.”
The launch also highlighted local SMMEs demonstrating how unique Eastern Cape products and skills can contribute to the tourism economy.
