The 17th annual Meetings Africa 2023 trade show – to be held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg from February 27 to March 1 – will set the stage to build and grow Africa’s business events sector to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.
So said South African Tourism Acting Chief Executive Officer, Themba Khumalo, addressing media at the official launch yesterday (Thursday, January 26) of the new corporate identity for Meetings Africa.
“The entire global tourism sector has been through a really rough time in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but we are back with a renewed energy and new look.
“Meetings Africa aims to contribute to helping African business events players restart and grow. We want to create opportunities for Africa’s business events sector so that we can all grow back more vital than ever before. Our new look represents this new injection of energy and is an emphasis on the importance that we place on connections.”
Stressing that Meetings Africa’s single objective is to contribute to Africa’s economic success and be part of the continent’s growth story, Khumalo said South Africa sought to use Meetings Africa as a tool to forge even more partnerships by offering various opportunities to meet face-to-face with the most influential buyers in the world.
Increase in hosted buyers
With less than a month to go, 275 buyers representing 45 countries have been approved to participate at Meetings Africa 2023, with almost 450 applications being vetted. A total of 305 exhibitors representing 15 African countries are currently registered to showcase their wares this year.
The target for hosted buyers attending this year’s Meeting Africa is 350. A total of 160 hosted buyers attended the 2022 event.
SANCB Acting Chief Convention Bureau (SANCB) Officer, Zinhle Nzama, told Tourism Update recently that leading countries with the most buyers represented include India, the US, Nigeria, Russia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Poland, the UK, France and South Africa.
The Meetings Africa 2023 Hosted Buyer Programme, is one of several new improvements to the show which has been globally benchmarked. The SANCB team has partnered with a vetting agency who will assist in ensuring that all hosted buyers are vetted in accordance with a set of criteria.
“For the first time at Meetings Africa 2023, exhibitors were given the opportunity to nominate and recommend potential buyers upon application, which may form part of the hosted buyer programme, subject to evaluation,” highlighted Nzama.
Pre- and post-show tours
Nzama further pointed out that, for 2023, Meetings Africa’s approach would consist of inclusive engagement with industry and the private sector to collaborate in developing pre- and post-show tour packages.
“This will enable exposure for new experience offerings for hosted buyers. We further encourage exhibitors to package special hot deals for the broader audience of Meetings Africa 2023 specifically,” she said.
South African Tourism has partnered with all nine provinces to host Meetings Africa familiarisation pre- and post-tours for hosted buyers and media to experience South Africa’s business events facilities and establishments.
‘Critical’ Convention Centres Summit
In another first, Meetings Africa will host the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) Summit. This Africa chapter of the AIPC Summit was born out of a partnership between the South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB), a business unit of South African Tourism and the AIPC.
Khumalo said the Summit is critical for the continent, to ensure that Africa’s conferencing facilities are on par with those from the rest of the world.
“This Summit will help African venues to benchmark themselves against the global standards, to brand and position themselves based on what people are looking for in an internationally recognized venue,” added Khumalo.
Old favourites
Some favourite events that have, over the years, built the signature of this Pan African business events trade show will return this year, said Khumalo.
Meetings Africa will be preceded by the Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDAy) on February 27, with the official opening of the trade show taking place on February 28.
“There will also be a variety of business-driven talks and discussions. This year’s Meetings Africa will also convey the African spirit through music, arts and crafts stalls; a variety of culinary offerings and will be a showcase of various cultures from all the African countries exhibiting at the trade show,” highlighted Khumalo.
Various small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) will also be hosted at the development zone.
“Transformation, inclusive economic growth and accelerating job creation are all central to all the work we do at South African Tourism. Providing our small businesses and entrepreneurs an opportunity to also interact and engage with hosted buyers is very important because we are serious about harnessing business opportunities both within the African continent and globally,” emphasised Khumalo.
