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).
 South African destination management company, Dragonfly Africa was recently awarded a SITE Crystal Award at an industry ceremony that took place in Barcelona, Spain. The award was presented to the company in recognition for a gala dinner for 240 guests they hosted in the middle of the African safari bush on behalf of BMW North America.
The gala dinner followed an exciting three-hour game drive through one of the world’s most prolific game viewing areas. Some 32 Land Rovers, armed rangers and trackers were involved. Approaching the end of the game drive, which was filled with wildlife viewing experiences, the unsuspecting participants arrived at their dinner venue. A banquet was held in a clearing under the African skies at Londolozi in the middle of the Kruger National Park – the world’s largest game reserve – which boasts the “Big Five” – lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and buffalo.
The objective of the bush dinner was to surprise the participants as they would not have dreamt that it would be possible to execute a catered event of this magnitude for 240 people in such a remote and challenging location with wild animals all around.
As part of the preparation for the event, a large Bedouin tent was flown in from Cape Town and a very sophisticated set-up put in place. Special table linens, silver cutlery and crystal glassware were brought in, as were generators and luxurious portable bathrooms. Special equipment was imported to ensure that the plated food arrived at the tables in perfect condition – hot as it should have been.
While the participants took in the magnificent spectacle of the gala dinner setup, they were able to marvel at the stars overhead and listen to the incredible orchestra of sound from animals, both small and large, that make up a typical African night in the bush. An authentic African band also played through the night. It was indeed a night to remember!
The success of winning the SITE Crystal Award follows on from Dragonfly Africa’s recently-won accolade at the Meetings Africa tradeshow held in February 2007 for the Best Incentive Travel Programme in 2006. These are not the only times that Dragonfly Africa has been singled out for recognition for outstanding creativity. The company has previously been awarded: AlliedSignal, USA - SITE Crystal Award for first place in Most Creative use of Incentive Travel; Jeep, UK - ITMA Platinum Award for Best Overall Incentive Programme; Motorola Orange UK - ITMA Gold Award for Best Long Haul Incentive; and Thermo King USA – SITE Crystal Award for first place in Trip Delivery (five nights or more).
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