The South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) has secured 163 bids for South Africa between 2016 and 2020, Minister of Tourism, Derek Hanekom, announced at ibtm world in Barcelona this week.
The bids come from industry sectors as diverse as mining, health and agriculture and collectively they are expected to bring over 150 000 delegates to South Africa and contribute approximately R3.1billion (€205m) to the economy.
“The potential of Africa for the MICE industry is exponential,” said Hanekom, adding that African markets also offered growth opportunities. “There are 770 registered African Associations on the ICCA database. Of these, 178 are based in South Africa and 592 on the rest of the continent; 218 regional conferences were registered on the continent in 2014 resulting in 610 events over the last five years. South Africa only hosted 63 of these events in the past five years,” the Minister said.
The first African Association Society of Executives, which was formed this year, will hold its first AGM at Meetings Africa 2016.
The Minister also announced that the European Cities Marketing (ECM) programme was coming to South Africa – the first time that this initiative takes place in South Africa just ahead of the 2016 edition of Meetings Africa.
“South Africa offers the business events industry excellent value for money, delivers authentic, memorable and enriching experiences in one of the most captivating, safest and beautiful countries that I am proud to call my home,” Hanekom concluded.
