South Africa’s MICE sector is expected to grow from the U$6.9 billion in revenue recorded in 2019 to an estimated US$10.2 billion in 2028.

This was highlighted by Acting CEO of South African Tourism, Nomasonto Ndlovu, speaking at Africa Tourism Partners (ATP) MICE Masterclass held in Johannesburg last week.

She added that the sector’s revenue slumped to US$1.6bn in 2020 and climbed to US$2.6bn by 2021.

“Projections show considerable uptake with figures set to surpass 2019 figures to reach an impressive value of US$7.4 million by 2024,” said Ndlovu, adding that by 2028, the global value of the MICE sector would reach an estimated US$1.3 trillion.

Ndlovu said, of the four MICE segments – meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions – meetings remained the key growth area.

This was confirmed by Senthil Gopinath, Chief Executive of the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), who pointed out that there had been a major upsurge of in-person meetings post-COVID. “ICCA figures show that 74% of organised meetings currently take place in person.”

Ndlovu noted that while there was growth for all the MICE segments, they grew at a different rate. She confirmed ATP’s assertion that incentives were on the rise, with ATP CEO, Kwakye Donkor, noting that the rise in demand for unconventional travel experiences among millennials was driving the demand for incentive travel in the market.

Another trend, said Ndlovu, was that technology played a significant role in driving business events growth. “For example eVisas make it simpler to enter a destination and host an event there.”

Donkor added: “The digitalisation of the MICE industry, owing to the pandemic and the advancement of technology, is also attracting the younger populace to explore MICE events. An increase in the number of Internet portals that provide direct booking is also boosting the MICE industry.

Editor’s note

In 2018 ATP created the annual Africa Business and MICE Masterclass as a professional development and refresher programme for African industry stakeholders.

The event is supported by BDO, South African Tourism, UNWTO, SITE Africa and many more. The Masterclass is the only one of its kind in Africa.