South Africa has, along with Egypt way to the north, long been considered the premier African destination for both business and pleasure-based tourism, and it’s an opinion that continues to grow worldwide.
Though we have already proven our worth as a destination able to cater to the needs of any tourist, be it for business or pleasure, South Africa’s desire to be the best in the world continues to reap rewards - as seen in the latest list of rankings released by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) and the Union of International Associations (UIA).
Add to that a marked increase in the number of conference and convention bids won by the country’s 3 main convention centres in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg, and South Africa’s reputation as a business tourist destination par excellence cannot be disputed.
Africa’s Leading Business Tourism Destination
In the current scheme of things, South Africa enjoys just over 1% market share of the global business tourism industry. However, in the African context South Africa is far ahead, hosting 23% of the continent’s business tourism meetings. In addition, Cape Town continues to lead the pack as the most popular city meeting destination in Africa, hosting approximately 10% of all meetingsin Africa.
The ICCA currently ranks South Africa in 31st place worldwide as a meeting destination, up from position 32 in 2005. The UIA, meanwhile, has South Africa in 28th position as a top meetings destination.
SA Convention Centres Dominate
Even more important is the confidence in the country shown by conference and convention organisers, with the 3 main convention centres in Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg continually winning important bids and successfully hosting a wide variety of gatherings.
Since 2001 the World Travel Awards have annually named either the Cape Town International Convention Centre, the International Convention Centre in Durban or the Sandton International Convention Centre as the best conferencing venue in Africa.
The ICC in Durban leads the pack with a total of 6 wins, but Sandton and Cape Town always give stiff competition and make the judging of this award difficult.
The past successes of these convention centres cover everything from relatively small conferences (of no more than 500 delegates) to massive, complex, multi-layered conventions with thousands of visitors and delegates streaming in and out daily.
Included among the successful meetings held at one of the 3 ICCs recently are the World Aids Conference, the World Association of Newspapers, the International Waters Conference and the International Diabetics Federation. The latter was arguably the largest convention ever in South Africa, with upwards of 12 000 people attending.
Continued success in the future
And the future is looking even brighter, with all 3 ICCs reporting some very important bid wins for the near future.
Cape Town’s ICC has already laid claim to the World Critical Care Conference in 2013, the World Social Security Forum in 2010 and the International Federation of Dental Hygiene in 2013.
While the Sandton and Durban ICCs are not yet able to confirm any successful bids beyond 2009, their forthcoming events list is filled with both local and international events.
This year the Sandton ICC will be hosting, among others, the International Scrapbook Convention, the World Conference on Science and Technology Parks, and the Africa Rail Exhibition and Conference.
Durban, meanwhile, will host the likes of the International Society of Radiographers, the International Congress of Entomology, the International Veterinary Society and the International Association of Schools of Social Work.
To add to this, 3 additional major international convention centres – in Tshwane, Bloemfontein and Port Elizabeth – are currently under construction.
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