South Africa is sure to break into the top 10 international conference destinations by 2010, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.
Speaking at the national conference of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry, he said conferencing and its allied products continue to thrive.
This despite the ”looming threat inherent in the many economic, political and social curved balls presently in play in our troubled world, all of which have the potential to seriously impact global travel”, he said.
Conferences and meetings, a vital component of business tourism, are one of the fastest-growing, most-complex and little understood sectors of the wider tourism economy.
They have their own special demands. Only those who can guarantee to meet and exceed expectations with a committed professionalism will excel.
This year, the global conference-and-meetings sector was forecast to make up 10% of the estimated $672-billion generated from travel and tourism, and this overall total was expected to double by 2013 at the rate of 3,7% every year.
In the United States, direct spend in the business-tourism sector during 2005 was $122-billion, 94% of which came from conferences, exhibitions and meetings.
Many delegates were ”high spenders” and usually accompanied, and spent time travelling around on, pre- and post-conference tours.
Van Schalkwyk said South Africa’s own conference industry, small though it was at present in comparison with some of the longer-established destinations, was holding its own on the world platform.
”In recent years, it has successfully hosted some of the largest, highest-profile international conferences on the worldwide circuit, [and] I may add, without serious incident and to much acclaim.
”It has established an enviable reputation, consistently verified by being listed amongst the International Congress and Convention Association’s top 40 leading conference destinations in the world (32nd), and we have declared our intention of breaking into the top 10 by 2010,” he said.
South Africa attracts 63% of all conferences in Africa, supports 12 000 jobs and contributes R2,6-billion a year to GDP.
International conferences alone generate R951-million and are worth R42-million in foreign exchange alone.
While many places around the globe are constructing dedicated state-of-the-art conference centres and opening convention bureaux to aggressively market their destinations, ultimately success or failure will be determined by the professionalism exhibited by the industry itself.
”There is no doubt that the differentiator between success and mediocrity will, in the future, be centred around those who adapt fastest and embrace the professional levels of service excellence demanded by our fast-paced world.”
South Africa is renowned for breaking new ground and for succeeding against all odds.
”I have no doubt whatsoever that the goals we have set ourselves in securing a meaningful share of the world’s conferencing market will be realised within record time,” Van Schalkwyk said. — Sapa