What can be done to draw more meetings to Africa? This was a central point of focus at Meetings Africa 2015. Celebrating its tenth consecutive year, the event took place at the Sandton Convention Centre from March 23-25.

Meetings Africa itself is evidence of the continuing growth of the African meetings industry, says SANCB Chief Convention Bureau Officer, Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo. The event has experienced year-on-year growth of 10% since its inception. Not surprising, since Africa currently boasts some of the fastest growing economies in the world, creating considerable opportunity to drive business tourism off the back of trade deals. The average spend generated per delegate travelling for business event purposes is far greater than the average spend generated per tourist.

However, industry heads believe a great deal more can be done to capitalise on these opportunities.

Speaking at the event’s media briefing, SA Tourism CEO, Thulani Nzima, said while South Africa had done well to invest in business tourism development, for many other African countries allocating budget towards this was not enough of a priority. There was a need for African countries to work together in providing business tourists with a more regional experience, rather than individual countries competing with one another for travellers’ full spend, he said.

A key issue raised by International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) President, Nina Freysen-Pretorius, was that African countries wanting to attract large-scale association events needed to have a number of critical elements in place first, including the right infrastructure, political will and ambassadors.

Visa regulations were also a point of concern, for South Africa in particular. Delegates from different African countries complained that it was taking up to 45 days to acquire a visa, when the advertised wait time was significantly shorter. Nzima responded, saying that during the immigration regulation review, the South African government would look to try and balance the country’s security and tourism interests. “We don’t want to put money into processes that don’t work,” he said. “We don’t want a leaking bucket.”   

Arguable the country’s most popular business destination, Gauteng, has a major role to play in driving business event growth. It currently hosts more corporate meetings than any other province in South Africa, says Nonnie Kubeka, head of the Gauteng Convention and Event Bureau (GCEB).

Kubeka believes that the destination is most popular for its accessibility, infrastructure, facilities and service. What’s more, she says that people are travelling less, which adds to the destination’s appeal. “Although companies are travelling less they are definitely still acknowledging the importance of face-to-face meetings, in spite of their ability to conduct meetings digitally. We have seen growth in the number of networking functions being held.”

Kubeka says that events such as Meetings Africa act as important platforms for generating business leads for the bidding and hosting of events. Last year, the GCEB won business for 52 different events off the back of Meetings Africa, she says.

Large-scale international events are important contributors toward economic growth. Kubeka says the indirect employment generated by the business events industry continues to grow. “We are creating a significant value chain extending through to hoteliers, caterers and the like. The economic spin-off is considerable.”

To encourage international delegates to spend more time in Gauteng, the province offers pre- and post-tours, which can be linked to conferences and feature negotiated prices. “Hoteliers offer specials, which are linked to a particular conference, and we invite delegates to take advantage of those specials before and after the conference,” Kubeka says. “As part of our ‘Accompanied Persons Programme’, delegates can also bring their family along to join them for dinners and breakfasts on conference, and then to tour the province with them thereafter.”