The Glamping Expo 2025, held from June 20 to 21 at the Johannesburg Expo Centre, brought together over 20 exhibitors from across South Africa’s outdoor hospitality and sustainable tourism sectors.
Organized in partnership with the Gauteng Tourism Authority and the Southern African Tourism Services Association, the event was designed to foster collaboration and innovation within the glamping industry, with a focus on inclusivity, environmental stewardship, and economic opportunity.
At the Glamping Expo 2025, participants showcased various low-impact accommodations, including glass domes, eco-cabins, pyramid lodges, and transparent pop-up picnic domes.
Exhibitors included Impi Canvas Tents, Canvas Republic, Picnic in a Bubble, and Tlhari Travel. Educational panels, workshops by finance professionals, and a youth innovation pitch competition rounded out the programming.
The event positioned itself as a unique platform within the outdoor hospitality sector, offering businesses the opportunity to generate direct sales, connect with travel innovators, and access the full glamping value chain.
Attendees were also presented with current market trends and empirical research designed to help future-proof their businesses in an evolving tourism landscape.
By bridging industry insight with commercial opportunity, the Expo aimed to serve as a strategic hub for sustainable growth and innovation in glamping.
Sithole sees the Expo as a starting point for broader industry coordination.
“Once we are coordinated and a cohesive unit, then we’re able to influence government in terms of helping us with making it easy for infrastructure development, for roads leading to the glamp stays,” she told Eyewitness News.
Gugu Sithole, founder of Glamping Adventures and host of the event, launched her company in 2019 to address gaps in South Africa’s domestic tourism landscape.
Citing the fact that fewer than 5% of South Africans engage in local tourism due to cost, accessibility, and lack of rural inclusion, Sithole created a mobile glamping business that offers curated travel experiences in underrepresented areas.
“I wanted to create a company that would get as many South Africans travelling their own backyard,” she said.
Sithole’s business model is built around partnerships with rural communities, engaging locals as guides, artisans, and hosts. “Most people in these communities are spectators in tourism. I wanted them to be at the centre,” she said.
For professionals in the outdoor hospitality sector, the Glamping Expo 2025 illustrated growing momentum behind glamping as both a business opportunity and a model for sustainable, inclusive tourism.
It also highlighted the potential for collaboration between local entrepreneurs, policymakers, and investors to improve infrastructure, develop eco-conscious accommodations, and expand access to tourism.
The event underscored how the glamping industry in South Africa is evolving not just around luxury, but also sustainability, community involvement, and rural economic development—key considerations for any business owner in the sector looking to align with emerging consumer values and government priorities.