Jo’burg takes its place as global business hub

JOHANNESBURG could become one the world’s magnets for international business conventions and exhibitions. World class venues, a good infrastructure and seamless organisation have already seen the city host big league Pan-African and other international events. Now, there’s yet another attraction for events organisers and delegates: business travel costs for Johannesburg have been rated the lowest among 20 prime international destinations. A business traveller can expect to spend US$35,45 (around R262) a day in Johannesburg, or $141,9 (R1 050) including hotel accommodation. That’s twice to three times lower than per day spending in cities such as London, New York, Paris and Rome. The figures form part of a research project surveying 250 cities conducted earlier this year by Mercer Human Resource Consulting. Johannesburg was the only African city represented among the top 20 destinations. The survey says that daily expenses in Europe and the United States outstrip costs in the rest of the world, regardless of local cost-of-living rankings. New York tops the worldwide list at $440,5 (R3 259) a day, followed by London at $399,2 (R2 954) a day. Of particular significance for Johannesburg is that business visits to Johannesburg for European and American based travellers are lower than in other major long-haul destinations. The $141,9 including hotel accommodation, daily business travel costs in Johannesburg compare with $216,8 (R1 604) in Sydney, $ 224,2 (R1 659) in Singapore, $324,7 (R2 402) in Hong Kong and $331,7 (R2 499) in Tokyo. Business travellers perceive the value derived from visiting Johannesburg as excellent and compares favourably with the rest of the world. "Indeed many travellers believe standards are more superior than those of many other destinations – especially the unparalleled hospitality and service received from our accommodation hosts," says Deon Viljoen, ceo of The Johannesburg Tourism Company. "The World Summit on Sustainable Development and the ICC Cricket World Cup entrenched South Africa’s rising popularity as a preferred business destination," he says. "The success with which we handled the massive organisation involved in these two events put the seal on an organisational track record we established at many other conventions, exhibitions and special events in recent years." Viljoen says that the Johannesburg Tourism Company is to build on these achievements with a major pr and marketing campaign abroad. "We will be targeting the UK and European business markets, kicking off with a special feature highlighting Johannesburg’s successful hosting of the World Summit and the positive legacy that we have one year after that mammoth undertaking. This special feature will be carried in the leading conference and exhibition industry magazines in Europe,” he added. (Miguel de Sousa)