According to an infographic shared by SA Tourism’s Global Manager: Digital, William Price, on Twitter on March 18, total confirmed exhibitors (main and sharing) for Indaba 2014 were 635, compared with 1 386 who exhibited at Indaba 2013.
Total confirmed buyers (local and international) were 1 109 for Indaba 2014, compared with 3 379 hosted buyers who attended Indaba 2013.
But with a month and a half to go until Indaba 2014 kicks off, SA Tourism says it considers these numbers to be “tracking very favourably”. Jan Hutton, CMO of SAT, says: “This year SA Tourism has concentrated more than ever on sourcing the best quality exhibitors over quantity.” She says SAT plans to host over 400 international buyers this year. “With just over one month left to go, we are comfortably approaching this target. We have filtered 18% more approved hosted buyers than the same time last year,” she says.
SA Tourism is also confident that exhibitor numbers are on track. “We have received 391 applications compared with 380 received this time last year,” says Hutton. Applications for exhibitors will remain open until April 30.
In the meantime, the Tourism MINMEC, an inter-governmental co-ordination body comprising the Minister of Tourism, all provincial MECs and the South African Local Government Association, has issued a media statement reiterating its “unwavering and unanimous support” for growing Indaba and consolidating its position as the “premier tourism trade show on the continent”.
The statement also made clear MINMEC’s stance on rival trade shows, stating: “There is realistically at this time room for only one such Pan-African trade show, and that is Indaba.”
“In this context, MINMEC noted a recently launched initiative that may compete with Indaba. It is not the place of government to prescribe to the private sector where they should invest their energy and resources when it comes to staging such competing initiatives. However, MINMEC is sending a very clear signal that it is committed to continue hosting, resourcing and positioning Indaba as the premier trade show in South Africa and the continent,” said the statement.
MINMEC also noted that the new bidding process for the next hosting cycle would commence just after Indaba 2014. “Various strategic options for further enhancing Indaba will be considered as part of this process,” said MINMEC.
SA Tourism has said that while Indaba is now a Pan-African show, its home will always remain in South Africa. “Currently, Indaba is proudly in Durban until 2015, within the framework of our current bid-parties contract,” says Hutton. “The evolving strategic blueprint for the next five years of Indaba will inform any changes from 2016 onwards.”
