Ms. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – MEISEA, South African Tourism is currently at the helm of affairs, spearheading initiatives of the national tourism board in the Middle East, India and South East Asia.
Neliswa Nkani, a South African national, comes with holistic tourism experience that includes marketing, strategic government relations, negotiating, tourism, sales and investment facilitation. She exudes passion, drive & commitment and a never-ending quest for learning.
An industry veteran of 20 plus years in the global tourism & hospitality arena with overfour years of dedicated experience with South African Tourism, Neliswa has in-depth expertise of national government and local government positioning as well as familiarity with legislations, strategies and policies pertaining to the travel &tourism sectors. Her exhaustive knowledge of South Africa’s beautiful landscape coupled with befitting destination packaging resulted in Dutch arrivals to South Africa exceeding targets for three consecutive years from 2003 to 2006.
Neliswa can fluently converse in 7 languages and prior to being Country Manager – Netherlands, South African Tourism,she was the Chief Marketing Officer for a Government Investment Agency focusing on Europe, Middle East and Africa. In 2006, she started a company which specialized in Marketing activation in Tourism, Tourism hosting. Through her tenure there, she has also been involved in projectsfor Ajax Cape Town and, was instrumental in Hosting Ajax Amsterdam in 2007. She has also previously coordinated the marketing of Cape Winelands for World Cup 2010, successfully lobbying for international teams, media, sponsor and fans.
Over the years, she developed a strong network of contacts within the travel & tourism sector – particularly in key economic regions including Brazil, Africa, Netherlands, Argentina, USA, and Europe as well as across the African continent including, South Africa. Neliswa is now dedicated towards taking the Indian market forward by leaps and bounds for South Africa as the Regional General Manager for Asia, Australia & Middle East and fostering long-standing relationships in the region.
