Liberty Two Degrees recognises its role in the development of the Tourism industry

The Department of Tourism aims to achieve over 200% growth in direct contribution to the 2015 GDP figure of R118 billion to R302 billion in 2026. In 2016, South Africa recorded a 13% growth in international tourist arrivals. While it plays a significant role in economic development, tourism is also the epitome of intercultural dialogue.

L2D commemorates World Tourism Day, highlighting the vital contribution that shopping malls play in tourism shopping as an important motive for travelling.? According to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), “shopping is transitioning from being a complementary factor to establishing itself as a major determinant in the tourists' decisions about their preferred destinations”.

This World Tourism Day, we recognise the significant contributions that our portfolio makes in our malls appeal to a diverse range of people and communities both locally and globally and ultimately to tourism. Showcasing the diversity in our mall shoppers, our malls feature in the Tripadvisor lists of ‘places sought by traveller favourites’ as well as the ’10 best things to do in Sandton’. Furthermore, Sandton City consistently remains at the top end of the Urban Studies Shopper Index, showcasing an ability to maintain high customer satisfaction. The offering across our retail portfolio sets a benchmark for the industry, with our portfolio consistently delivering market leading trading performance. Our malls are award winning, with Sandton City recently winning gold and honoured at the International Council of Shopping Centres (ICSC) Global Marketing Awards in the U.S. for professional marketing excellence. Our festive season activations LEGO, Your Dream Car Generation and Momo’s Magical Adventure won a gold Global Visual Victory award and silver MAXI Marketing award, respectively.

Our in-mall international luxury brand offering is the best on the African continent, drawing diverse shoppers to our malls. The Diamond Walk in Sandton City offers world class luxury brands, deemed arguably the glitziest shopping experience in Johannesburg according to https://www.sa-venues.com/things-to-do/gauteng/diamond-walk/.

Tourism shopping requires the continuous enhancement of the shopping experience. In line with our purpose, we aim to continue to create experiential spaces to benefit generations, making our malls a firm favourite in their respective nodes and capturing the footcount in most of their respective catchment areas. To cater to the dynamic landscape, our malls are always ever evolving and bringing in new and exciting brands to enhance the shopper experience. Sandton City had some recent store openings which include Bally, Maxhosa, Burnt, Yokico, and Uniq Clothing among others. This festive season, our malls will host exciting and well-loved initiatives across their respective nodes. At Sandton City, among many other activations, shoppers can be swept away through a live whimsical song and dance, with the international award-winning Momo's Magical Adventure, an initiative sponsored by Standard Bank.

Recognising the role of tour operators in the travel and tourism industry, some of our tenants include tour operators which facilitate tourism activities within our centres.

The development of tourism is due primarily to the expansion of the hotel industry, provided through comprehensive offerings. Hotels also contribute to employment and revenue generation. L2D owns some of the best five-star hotels in the country such as the Sandton Sun, which sees the highest visits by international individuals in our portfolio, the Garden Court Sandton and the Sandton Towers, which all continue to see good occupancies and are in walking distance of Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square. The hotel visitor base stems from Europe, South America, Far East, Germany, Italy and America feeding into our malls and promoting them as the preferred shopping destinations to both local and international visitors.

Our malls and hotels are walking distance of the Sandton Convention Centre , which is the premier exhibition, conference and events destination in Africa, hosting numerous local and global events across the year, including high end international relations conferences such the BRICS Summit in 2023. The Sandton Convention Centre will also host the exciting Standard Bank Joy of Jazz this September.? L2D recognises that the country’s rich tourism heritage will continue to shape the retail landscape – and we welcome it and continue to play our part in enhancing our offering to benefit the industry.