Rituparna Chatterjee – Johannesburg
South Africa’s business events sector, one of the major economic contributors to the country’s tourism industry, is expected to further strengthen the country’s potential as an international business destination. By hosting around 177 major international events in the next five years, the country expects to attract a quarter of a million delegates with an estimated economic impact of R3.5 billion. This was announced during the Meetings Africa 2015 event being held at Sandton Convention Centre from February 23- 25, 2015 in Johannesburg. Meetings Africa is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Inaugurating the event was Derek Hanekom, South African Minister of Tourism, who spoke on the future potential of the business events sector in South Africa. “The African business events sector has grown from obscurity to becoming a promising sub-sector hosting global business events which have contributed to job creation and to the country’s tourism growth. We will be hosting 177 major international association meetings for the next five years thereby attracting a quarter of a million delegates with an estimated economic impact of R 3.5 billion. The 184 hosted buyers at Meetings Africa 2015 is expected to bring around 54,000 convention delegates generating an expected revenue of R one billion in the next two years. Moreover, 40 per cent of conference delegates to South Africa return in the next five years as tourists,” stated Hanekom adding that 60 per cent of the qualified buyers at this year’s event are from India, USA and Canada, and China, which are also South Africa’s major source markets.
Rapidly improving infrastructure and accessibility are some of the major reasons for the growth of the business events sector in South Africa. Speaking on the list of international events lined up this year, Ruby Mathang, economic development, member of the Mayoral Committee, Johannesburg opined, “Meetings Africa is a great platform to unlock the economic potential of the entire continent. Johannesburg is a world-class event destination. We have a calendar full of international events lined up like a summit on health and ageing, while another event is expected to host around 5000 delegates, these are just to name a few. South Africa is focused on increasing visitor arrivals and spend.”
Meetings Africa showcases Africa’s diverse offering of services and products and provides a platform for African associations and meetings industry professionals to partner and network.