Overcoming the perception of South Africa as a long-haul destination for many is the main challenge to developing business tourism.
That’s according to minister of tourism Derek Hanekom.
He said the current tourist numbers “speak volumes” and that there was a growing link between the strong leisure tourism product and business tourism.
The minister was speaking to CMW at ibtm world in Barcelona, 18 November, and outlined how South Africa would respond to the next decade in the face of rising interest in the African continent.
The country, he said, had hosted 124 international association conferences in 2014 which attracted just under 70,000 industry professionals. Of these 124 conferences, 81% were international rotating events.
The South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) has been in existence for three years and is ramping up efforts, having secured 163 bids for South Africa between 2016 and 2020, from industry sectors as diverse as mining, health and agriculture.
Collectively they are expected to bring over 150,000 delegates to South Africa and contribute approximately R3.1bn to the economy.
“The potential of Africa for the MICE industry is exponential.The tide has turned, we can see that our growth opportunities are now also within the African market,” the minister said.“There are 770 registered African associations on the ICCA database. 178 of these are based in South Africa and 592 on the rest of the continent and 218 regional conferences were registered on the continent in 2014 resulting in 610 events over the last five years.South Africa only hosted 63 of these events in the past five years,” he added.
The first African Association Society of Executives, which was formed this year, will hold its first AGM at Meetings Africa 2016, SANCB’s signature business events trade shows held annually in February at the Sandton convention Centre in Johannesburg. The minister told CMW that the SA Tourism run event might be put out to management tender like the Indaba trade show. Reed is rumoured to be among the bidders for the Indaba contract.
The minister also announced the SANCB is most excited that the European Cities Marketing (ECM) programme is coming to South Africa. This will be the first time that this initiative takes place in South Africa just ahead of the 2016 edition of Meetings Africa.
ECM president Ignasi de Delàs, speaking at ibtm world, said: “We are really thrilled to have our first ECM Academy organised in South Africa. It’s a new landmark in ECM development to host the derived version of our successful ECM Summer School. The ECM Academy is a tailor-made course for partner organisations outside Europe. We will do our maximum to guarantee the success of the ECM Academy in Johannesburg by maintaining the highest standard of course content, recruiting the best speakers, and giving the latest examples showcasing the most up-to-date trends in the meetings industry.”
Hanekom also outlined how the South African government was helping small businesses in the tourism sector by including them in shows like ibtm world.
“We have invited four of these enterprises with us here to exhibit at ibtm world this year – it’s an important trade show and gives them access to an international business platform,” the minister said.
“South Africa offers the business events industry excellent value for money, deliver authentic, memorable and enriching experiences in one of the most captivating, safest and beautiful countries that I am proud to call my home,” he added.
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