South Africa currently has around a 1.3 per cent market share of the global business tourism industry. It’s seen a 12.8 per cent increase in long-haul business tourism arrivals (between 2002 and 2005), and business tourism comprises five per cent of the country’s total tourism contribution of R46 billion (AU$7.7 billion) to the economy.
But this beautiful country of canyons, culture, coasts and creatures wants more. In fact, it has set itself a clear goal – to be among the top 10 global meetings destinations by 2010. Sure, that’s only a few years away, but South African Tourism (SAT) is keeping an eye on the industry’s progress to ensure this goal is met. And they’re looking to one country in particular to draw more conferences and incentives business from to boost their brand.
“Tourism from Australia has grown substantially over the past year with Australia now ranking number six in terms of SAT growth,” says SAT Australasia general manager, Bangu Masisi.
She says that in 2007 and beyond, South Africa is offering a different sense of business tourism, drawing on its unique history and cultural traditions which can’t be duplicated.
“Australians are looking to South Africa as a destination for meetings, conferences and incentives because it is unique. Where else in the world can you emerge from a game drive after viewing the most spectacular animals in their natural habitat to be greeted by warm and friendly Zulus cooking a sumptuous dinner amongst the trees, with each branch lit by its own tiny light.”
South Africa aims to offer business groups the experience of learning from the true spirit of African leadership – an opportunity which is encapsulated by South Africa’s recent business tourism strategy, BusinessUnusual. In practice, BusinessUnusual offers meeting and event planners the option of including single or multiple elements of unusual, indigenous, management concepts and methodologies that have universal appeal but are intrinsic to South African ways of thinking and learning. These include unusual ways of doing business in unusual locations with unusual experiences, often taking executives from the boardroom into the bush.
Examples could include using drumming as a team-building force, pairing international captains of industry with their South African counterparts using indigenous cultural concepts like ubuntu (respect for the dignity of all and an emphasis on partnerships), or hosting an imbizo (meeting of leaders for issues to be resolved) in a locally constructed environment such as the Ubuntu Village in Soweto, Johannesburg.
With this offering, South Africa hopes to provide conferences and incentive groups with experiences that are not available anywhere else in the world.
“We’re becoming an offering that international buyers and decision-makers are finding difficult to ignore, based on an exciting combination of the country’s BusinessUnusual proposition with our world-class infrastructure and fantastic leisure attractions – from scenic beauty to amazing safari experiences,” says Angeline Lue, general manager of South African Business Tourism.
“It’s our goal as the destination marketing organisation for South Africa to attract one million business tourists to the country every year,” she says. “And the bumper crop of quality meetings being staged in the country is a positive indication of our ability to reach our goal to become a top 10 meetings destination by 2010.”
South Africa is currently ranked 23rd by the Union of International Associations (UIA 2005) and 31st by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA 2006), up one place on the previous year thanks to the 64 international congresses hosted there in 2006. Cape Town shot up seven places to 29th place in the ICCA city rankings, in keeping with its rise every year since the opening of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in 2003.
The South African Government and the private sector continue to invest in the country’s world-class infrastructure in order to enhance the country’s position as a major competitor in the global meetings industry. Recent developments and future initiatives include:
• The new R460 million (AU$77 million) arena at the ICC Durban with a capacity for 10,000 delegates and 4000 square metres of exhibition space opened in March this year.
• A project to add 1200 square metres of exhibition space to the existing 10,000-square-metre exhibitions hall at the CTICC is nearing completion.
• New convention centres are planned for three of South Africa’s cities: a centre with a capacity for 2000 delegates, including a three-star and a five-star hotel outside Pretoria (Tshwane) is expected to be completed by 2008; plans have also been proposed to build a conference centre for up to 1200 delegates in Port Elizabeth and another in Bloemfontein on the campus of Free State University.
• Work started last year on the Gautrain, a rapid rail commuter link between Johannesburg, Pretoria and the O.R Tambo International Airport. It’s scheduled for completion in 2010.
• More than R7 billion (AU$1.17 billion) is to be spent on expansion and improvements to Cape Town’s famous Victoria & Alfred Waterfront over the next four years. The plan includes landscaping measures, commercial facilities, a new hotel and entertainment.
June was a very busy month for South Africa this year, with 11 major global congresses and conferences being staged in the country throughout the 30-day period.
Among the prestigious meetings were The 60th Annual World Newspaper Congress (WAN), the 14th World Editors Forum (WEF), Mediatech Africa 2007, the World Economic Forum and the 3rd South African Aids Conference. These five congresses and conferences alone were estimated to bring 12,000 business tourists to South Africa, including influential political, business and industry leaders from a range of different countries intent on meeting, learning and discussing their views, challenges, and goals.
The other six events included: The Markex World of Sport; Securex; The Cape Town Book Fair; the International Home Textile Exhibition; the Thailand Exhibition; and the International Symposium on Wood and Pulping Chemistry.
All 11 events were hosted by South Africa’s internationally-acclaimed convention centres, the ICC Durban, the Sandton Convention Centre, and the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC).
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