The Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (Saaci) fears that it may lose international bids to host major congresses to other bidding countries as a result of the new visa regulations.
Adriaan Liebetrau, ceo of Saaci, said delegate numbers had already dropped since the introduction of the regulations, because prospective conference delegates now had to travel to and within their country of origin to apply for a visa that would allow them to travel to South Africa. For instance, a Chinese academic who currently resides in the United Kingdom and wishes to attend a conference in South Africa, must now travel back to China to apply for a visa.
“The last two congresses hosted in South Africa dropped 45% and 71% respectively in delegate numbers,” he admitted. Another concern is that South Africa will be perceived as an unfavourable conferencing destination.
According to Liebetrau, these statistics are concerning because South Africa is hosting the AIDS conference in July next year. “We are the only country in the world, second to Washington DC, that is hosting this conference for the second time,” he said.
In a report detailing its analysis of the impact of the new visa regulations, the Western Cape Red Tape Reduction Unit said the conferencing industry contributed significantly to the South African economy. “A major player in the market noted that, since its inception, it had contributed in excess of R22 billion and R8 billion to the South African and Western Cape economies respectively through its operations,” the report said.
According to Liebetrau, next year’s AIDS conference was expected to attract 20 000 delegates. This number is now at risk.
“Now that the word is getting out that our delegate numbers are dropping, we fear that when we put our bids up against the rest of the world to host international conferences, we have a weaker bid,” Liebetrau said. “Moreover, because the bidding process occurs four to eight years in advance, the effect we are currently sitting with is not just hurting us now but it is going to affect us for many years to come.”
Liebetrau said delegates conferencing in South Africa spent on average R3 200 per day during pre-tours and post-tours and a further 60% of those delegates would return to the country on holiday with their families. This facet is now also at risk because of the requirement calling for children under the age of 18 to carry an unabridged birth certificate in addition to their normal travelling documentation.
