There are well over 3500 MICE venues in South Africa – with and without accommodation. Some are straight out of the top drawer to meet the needs of the various MICE markets. Others are questionable yet purposed to cater for the meetings fraternity. The majority of MICE venues are in Gauteng with over 1500 facilities.
The MICE Academy undertook a snap survey of the booking schedules in the smallest yet most economically active South African province. The survey was based on a variety of telephone contacts with professional colleagues, MICE announcements as well as end-user/buyer enquiries.
The snap survey revealed the confirmed booking schedules for June through to September 2015:
- Venue capacity 100 or less: 20% good / 45% fair/ / 35% poor
- Venue capacity 100 or more: 60% good / 30% fair / 10% poor
Although most venues confessed to more astute regard for bottom-line costs, commission payments to service providers had also decreased.
A resounding 83% of Gauteng MICE venue bookings were for more than one day and less than 4 days including required set-up and break-down times.
If the Gauteng snap survey is anything to go by, it appears meeting facilities are doing well at this time – despite winter temperatures and economic woes.
