Meetings Africa 2015 promotes continent as MICE destination

The just-concluded Meet­ings Africa in Johannes­burg, South Africa, cel­ebrates a decade of success through the promotion of Africa and South Africa, in particular, as the preferred Meetings, In­centives, Conferences and Exhi­bition destination. In its decade of continuous promotion of Af­rica as the destination of choice for conferences, Meetings Africa – leading business event on the continent of Africa – has in at­tendance over a hundred exhibi­tors and 184 hosted buyers from across the world.

From Southern African coun­tries to Nigeria in the West, there were series of exhibitors, who afforded the space at the Sandton Convention Centre, venue of Meetings Africa 2015, to showcase their products and services to the quality business travel visitors thronging the isles throughout the 48 hours of the exhibition period. The prod­ucts and services on display rep­resented the latest trends in the business travel industry and it is comparable to the optimal stan­dards across the globe.

While declaring the event open, Derek Hanekom, South Af­rica’s minister of Tourism, high­lighted the importance of Meet­ings Africa and its contribution to the South African economy. According to Hanekom: “It is estimated that the business generated by the 184 qualified buyers at Meetings Africa 2015 could bring 54,000 convention delegates worth nearly $100mil­lion in revenue to our shores in the next two years.” He men­tioned that the three top source markets for qualified buyers at Meetings Africa 2015 were India, the USA, Canada, and China, with a total of 66 percent of the qualified buyers being new to the market, which testi­fies to the major pull of what is on offer at Meetings Africa. The minister added that: “According to research conducted by the South Africa National Conven­tion Bureau, 40 percent of all convention delegates attending meetings in South Africa return in the next five years as tourists, boosting tourism growth and job creation years into the future. We have already secured 177 major international association meetings for the next five years – thereby attracting a quarter of a million delegates, with an estimated economic impact of $350million.

“Besides hosting globally stra­tegic events of the magnitude of the COP17 Climate Change Conference and the 2013 BRICS summit, we have excelled in pro­viding a homes to literally thou­sands of other business events. This has contributed positively to tourism growth and job cre­ation. Business events and ma­jor conventions have become important components of the economy and plans to achieve the ambitions outlined in the country’s national development plan,” Hanekom said.

From the Nigerian perspec­tive, Meetings Africa 2015 pro­vides a platform for the govern­ment of Cross River State to launch the $90million invest­ment in the business travel in­dustry in the form of a Gigantic Calabar International Conven­tion Centre (Calabar ICC), which is set to open in the second quar­ter of this year. The Calabar ICC, an iconic architectural master­piece, is set to host a wide array of events for national and global audiences comprising busi­nesses, government and associa­tions. The centre will accommo­date up to 5,000 delegates in 18 different venues, with as many as 2,200 for plenary sessions and as few as two in small meeting rooms. Practically all meeting rooms can be used individually or in combination – separated by soundproof partitioning walls.

Minister Hanekom com­mended Nigerian government’s investment in the development during his visit to the Calabar Stand. “This investment demon­strates a significant level of con­fidence in Africa’s business tour­ism industry,” said Hanekom.

The government of Cross River State has invested over $90 million in development and has appointed Alliance Venue and Facility Management [AVFM] of South Africa as operating com­pany of the Calabar ICC.

“Nigeria’s entrance, with the Calabar ICC, into the interna­tional meetings industry is sig­nificant, not only because of the country’s large population, but also for its projected continuous economic growth,” said Paul D’Arcy, CEO of Calabar ICC.