“South Africa is Africa’s number one host of international association meetings.” This is according to Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk.
Delivering the keynote address at the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry’s (SAACI) annual congress in Port Elizabeth today, Van Schalkwyk said according to the latest International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) survey the 97 international association meetings that South Africa hosted last year amounted to a third of all the meetings hosted on the entire continent.
A total of 302 meetings were hosted on the African continent – Kenya is ranked second with 29 meetings and Morocco number three with 23 meetings.
“Africa hosted 2,7 percent of the 11 000 international meetings held globally in 2012. It is only through hosting conferences that can rotate on the African continent that we can become more competitive in the ICCA ranking.
“South Africa’s track record shows we mean business. We are the undisputed leader in business events on the African continent, but we have to work hard to attract and host more regional association conferences.
“South Africa’s National Convention Bureau has secured 88 major bids for the next four years. Jointly, these bids will attract no less than R2,6 billion to the tourism economy. These meetings will bring an estimated 200 000 delegates to the country. One of the biggest will be the 21st International Aids Conference, which is to be held in 2016 in Durban.
“Tourism is a leading sector of the South African economy. Last year, international tourist arrivals grew by 10,2 percent which is more than two and a half times the global average of four percent. The business events industry has been an important contributor to this success.”
The minister said Africa is the continent at the forefront of global growth.
“Even in world regions characterised by low or no economic growth, we can still look forward to another period of moderate expansion in meetings, events and business travel. That applies equally to volume and spends in 2013. Most indicators point to at least a modest increase in demand and prices in 2013, while in those world regions with fast-expanding economies, such as ours, much greater growth can be expected,” said Van Schalkwyk.
SAACI’s National Chairperson Nina Freysen-Pretorius said ICCA’s ranking of association meetings held in each city and country, ranks South Africa as the 37th country in the world with 97 meetings.
“The top five countries are the USA with 833 meetings, Germany with 649 meetings, Spain with 550 meetings, the UK with 477 meetings and France with 469 meetings.
“The top five city rankings, according to the number of meetings per city, are Vienna with 195 meetings, Paris with 181 meetings, Berlin with 172 meetings, Madrid with 164 meetings and Barcelona with 154 meetings. In terms of South Africa, Cape Town ranks as number 60 in the world with 38 meetings, Johannesburg number 142 with 16 meetings and Durban number 157 with 15 meetings.”
“Our customers – the national and international associations, corporate clients and not for profit organisations – have also had to adapt to the new economic environment. With international grants, funding and sponsorship being cut to the bone, they have to be creative and more careful with their expenditure. Therefore, when looking for a conference destination and services, they are much more selective and demanding.”
“We need to ensure that South Africa is a value for money destination. It is expensive for a delegate to reach South Africa and therefore it is imperative that all of us raise the bar in our service delivery – such that the delegate will want to return to South Africa for a vacation,” said Freysen-Pretorius.
