I would like to start with extreme gratitude and pleasure that I felt being at ‘Meetings Africa’ as the Indian Media Partner. I have travelled across the globe, but the country that seems like home with the same warmth and humbleness as we Indians have is South Africa. Not only I have been mesmerized by its scenic beauty, the fresh air, lush green drives, cultural diversity but I have felt absolute at home all these 10 days I have spent there.
The city of Johannesburg, Gauteng province eagerly embrace the honor of hosting Meetings Africa 2024, for it is not only testament to the city’s and the province’s vibrant spirit but also the humble residents that shared this region with us.
This year is very special for South Africans as they commemorate and celebrate a significant milestone – 30 years of freedom in South Africa.
The Minister of Tourism, Ms. Patrici De Lille warmly welcomes everyone on the floor with her great remarks,
“It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I extend a warm welcome to all of you to the 2024 edition of Meetings Africa. This annual event has become a hallmark in showcasing the best of the African business events industry sector… In these three decades, the tourism industry has played a pivotal role in showcasing the beauty, diversity, and warmth of South Africa to the world. It has became a beacon of unity, providing opportunities, fostering, understanding, contributing to the economic prosperity of this nation. Equally, their business events industry has done a tremendous job in positioning South Africa as a capable host of events of various sizes and we have numbers to prove it.”
BONDay
The three days event (26th February- 28th February), held at the Sandton
Convention Centre in Johannesburg, kicked off in style with the vibrant Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDay) and was officially inaugurated by the South Africa Tourism Deputy Minister, Fish Mahlalela with his youth focused inspirational words,
“The future of our industry resides with our youth. This is why it warms my heart so much that at BONDay we hosted the Future Leaders Forum, a collaborative effort by South African Tourism’s South African National
Convention Bureau (SANCB), and the Southern African Tourism Educators of South Africa (TESA). This innovative program, tailored to engage and inspire young enthusiasts in the business events sector, provided a transformative experience… Today, I look forward to delivering the keynote address, officially declaring the trade floor open and am also excited for the walkabout that will enable me to engage with exhibitors, including new entrants from markets such as Egypt, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania, and Zambia. I look forward to the positive impact that will undoubtedly emerge from our engagements together.”
Mahlalela delivered a stirring address at the plenary session on the pivotal role of the event in facilitating knowledge exchange and fostering innovation within the tourism sector. He highlighted the evolution of Meetings Africa into a premier business events trade show in Africa, emphasising its significance in creating vital connections between buyers and exhibitors.
He delved into the essence of knowledge exchange. He Highlighted its role in fostering innovation, collaboration, and skills development.
“The time has come for us to rewrite the narrative on Africa,” added the Deputy Minister, advocating for a vision that portrays the continent not as a land mired in stereotypes but as a vibrant and dynamic player on the Global stage.
Furthering his emphasis on ‘Youth empowerment’, he talked a lot about education and skill impartment as crucial factors for the youth of our country in an exclusive interview with our Executive Editor, Suhani Nagpal. When asked about an exchange program with India for Skill Education, he said,
“Yes. What we’ll really appreciate is to have exchange programs around the critical skills that the economy of South Africa requires, which currently have got a huge problem within the tourism sector. There’s a huge skills gap. That’s why the tourism sector, in terms of workers, is dominated by migrants. The majority of South Africans are not employable because of the challenges and skills. So we love a situation where within the tourism sector, we have exchange programs of skilling of young people so that they’re able to build the necessary human resource capacity within the tourism space. Because the majority of young people in South Africa are not absorbed by the tourism because of the lack of skills in various sectors, be it hospitality, be it leisure, be it mice, businesses and all of that, we’ll need those skills to be made available. So we’ll really appreciate if we can create an opportunity, an environment where we either send students to India for skilling or practical possible. Then India sent some people here.”
Suhani: And I think that is better because then you can teach multiple layers of the youth. Apart from tourism, which all sectors you would like the youth to build skill?
Deputy Minister, Mr. Fish Mahlalela,
“Well, the other sectors that we will prefer is skilling are education, especially around math and science, which were really lacking around and also finance. As you know, historically, the majority South Africans were black, were not given an opportunity to study Maths and Science. And therefore, we’re still backward in relation to that particular area. Even our own teachers are not good in Maths and Science. So Exchange Programs between Indian University and our Universities will really help in this regard.”
The BONDay has become a focal point for the business events industry, hosting insightful panel discussions and eminent speakers. It focused on educational sessions to facilitate knowledge exchange during the event. The BONDay precedes the two-day trade show event at the same venue.
Exhibition
South Africa’s Tourism Minister, Patricia de Lille, opened the two days Exhibition, expressing her sentiments of pride as she hints at Africa’s readiness to host events of any scale.
“I have no doubt that even here at Meetings Africa, it will be clear for all to see that the African continent is the best place to bring all meetings, events, expos and indeed incentive trips,” De Lille said.
Highlighting the significance of the business events sector and its contribution to the economy, De Lille commended the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB) and its partners for their exceptional efforts in securing international and local bids for events to be held in South Africa. She noted that since the beginning of the current financial year (2023/24), the SANCB has sourced and submitted 95 bids for international business events to be hosted in South Africa between 2024 and 2032. These bid submissions are estimated to have a combined economic value of R1.5 billion and potentially attract 60,040 international and regional delegates to South Africa. So far, South Africa has won 19 of the bids submitted for the 2023/24 financial year. These secured business pieces will contribute R85m to South Africa’s economy between 2024 and 2025 and attract 2995 international and regional delegates.
While acknowledging these accomplishments, De Lille emphasised that there is still room for further efforts to promote and position South Africa as a leading destination for business events.
According to global economic research, the global business events industry was valued at 345.8 billion US Dollars in 2021 and is projected to reach 2.1 trillion US Dollars by 2031. Meanwhile Africa’s business events industry for 2023 was estimated at 12,7 billion US dollars while South Africa’s Business Events for 2023 was estimated at 6,4 billion US Dollars.
De Lille said the country’s positioning should transcend its socio-economic challenges. “It is imperative that we take control of our narrative and boldly showcase ourselves to the world. Our challenges do not define our potential, our ability to lead in key business sectors, or our capacity to innovate and host global MICE events. South Africa is home to exceptional individuals achieving remarkable feats, and it’s time to share that story.”
In an exclusive round table interview with global media representatives, The Minister of Tourism, Patri De Lille, spoke to our Editorial Team, Deepak Vyas and Suhani Nagpal. Here are the excepts:
Deepak Vyas: How would you describe your success story post Covid?
Patri De Lille: Well, I can tell you the two things that I can identify that have led to our success. Success is that if you want to grow the numbers, people have to get to your country in some way or the other. So we put a lot of effort into engaging directly with airlines to fly to our country. And when you engage with the airlines to fly to your country, you cannot just give them a plan, just leisure tourism. It has to be what investment opportunities are in your country. And so it’s a combination, because the airlines also depend on the business class seats that they sell to make their profits. So we have approached a number of world airlines directly and our own local airlines. South African Airways has been out of commission for a couple of years and they slowly getting back into the market. So we work with South African airlines and Brazil, just to give you one example… Before COVID-19 we were sort of very static. And the way we were marketing our country was all about safaris, Kruger National Park, Table Mountain. Yes, those sites will be there forever, but you need to diversify your offerings so that you attract different groups of people. So we then started introducing in 2023, an offering that was never yet put to tourists coming from outside. We show them what we have got in our townships… We’re now going to put all our villages and the culture and the history and the cuisine and, you know, the dancing, all of that and then we have got what I call hidden gems. Hidden gems are tourist attractions that we as the department of tourists can develop to bring more tourists… We have signed agreements with Gooogle Maps, Trip Advisor and Airbnb… So we were really trying to, after COVID-19, overlay all our tourism marketing decisions with digital technology… What we can even do better if we improve air access within Africa. Intercontinental. The African Union signed an agreement in 2012 where they wanted to have a single airline strategy to improve flying within the continent. It was finally launched in 2018. And then in 2018, out of the 53 countries that signed in 2012, only, I think 35 are now part of that agreement… And I want to start by connecting first all the cities within the continent… So in the month of April, I’m putting that plan before cabinet. And then you will start going out to the airlines.
Deepak Vyas: There are a lot of safety concerns that arise while someone plans to visit South Africa and its all over the news. How are you working in this respect to assure safe travel for tourists and MICE groups?
Patri De Lille: So let me just say, on the safety concerns, yes, we regret, of course, any visits they get attacked in our country. We regret. We don’t want to see that. And the mandate to protect all South Africans, including our visitors, is with our police services. So what we’ve done in the past eight months, is a partnership with the private sector. From government side, we have put in 174 million rand. We have recruited 2300 young people and train them to be tourism monitors. We identified all frequently visited tourist sites. That’s normally a hotspot because everybody goes there, and we deployed them all there. The private sector came with a technology site. They have developed an application called Secura app. So when you arrive in South Africa, you can download the app and if there’s an unlikely incident where you get attacked, the place of a button, you can get the police and 300 private security companies help. You will also et immediate medical help if require as there are 200 medical institutions and organizations on that app. We then launched an operational system center in August last year where they can monitor this app 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. In November last year, I called all the embassies based in South Africa, all the high commissioners, all the consul generals, and I advised them to say, this is our safety plan so they can inform their citizens when they want to visit us here. We also, through our own international relations department, have send that safety plan to all our missions abroad, so that when prospective travelers come to our country, they will get that information from our embassies when they land here. We also working with the airports company, and we’ve also given some of the tourism monitors to the airports company, and they’ve been deployed all over. We had far less incidents this summer season. We have deployed 40 tourist monitors to patrol an alpha table Mountain. So, yes, tourists are safe there now.
Suhani Nagpal: I would first like to congratulate you for conducting a series of successful road shows in India that we covered in our last magazine issue as well. Even Tire 2 cities are looking forward to be part of South Africa now and all our corporates are ready to come here. So I would like to ask you a few questions on that. First of all, Visa is an issue. And also the flights, I mean, they are taking a lot of time and are expensive. So are you doing something on that? And the second question is what are your plans for, since we are the most populated country now, and last year the numbers were 79,000, so we at least want to cross 1 million for South Africa. So what are your plans for India and anything you are looking from Indian government to support you in anyway?
Patri De Lille: Now, India is definitely one of our key source markets, and therefore, we sponsored those companies to travel to the five cities in India. While on the other side, we’re dealing with the visa issue and the air access. South African Airways used to fly from Johannesburg to Mumbai. And I engaged with South African Airways to find out when are you going to reinstate the flight in order of priority. The next flight that they are reinstating after Brazil is the London one. As we can’t wait until SAA finally going to fly from Mumbai, so we’ve engaged with Air India. Air India is prepared to fly directly… There are a lot of family connections between Indian families in South Africa. A lot. So even the Indian population from South Africa is also looking forward to that. I’m hoping that in April, we will at least have a date where all of the regulatory things will have been sorted out that will allow Air India to fly to South Africa. On the visa issue, I really have put India and China together as part of the BRICS community because Russia and Brazil has got a 90 day visa waiver… I’m winning the argument slowly, I’ve gone even as far as the office of the president, and the president has put a special group to work together with me on the visa issue for India and for China. And there’s some movement there because we summons the security people of India and China to come and meet with our security people here and then find a way of how they can deal with the security issues. But on the tourism side, we are ready to roll and we are hopeful to sort Visa and Air connectivity issues this year.
Suhani Nagpal: That is indeed very good news. South Africa is a very beautiful country and Indians would love to explore it. Thank you.
The Minister later explored the show venue, engaging with exhibitors. She expressed delight at the truly pan-African nature of the show, evident in the diverse range of exhibitors.
With 380 exhibiting companies from 21 African countries in attendance, including new Products from Egypt, Ivory Coast, Tanzania and Cape
Verde, Meetings Africa 2024 is solidifying its status as the continent’s premier business events trade show.
THE FABULOUS HOST: GAUTANG PROVINCE
Gauteng Province, being the economic epicentre of South Africa, contributes to over a third of the country’s GDP. Its name in Sotho-Tswana even means “place of gold.” This is because gold was discovered in the region in 1866, leading it to become the single largest gold producer in the world. It is characterised by a cosmopolitan mix of people from all walks of life. The province’s unique cultural and social legacy is evident from the many excellent museums, theatres, cultural precincts and craft markets.
In an exclusive Interview with Suhani, Sthembiso Dlamini, CEO, GAUTENG TOURISM and Nonnie Kubeka, Head of Gauteng Convention and Events Bureau expressed their joyfulness for hosting Meetings Africa 2024
Here are the excerpts:
Suhani: Thank you for hosting Meeting Africa. I just love being here. And whatever time I will get I will explore the city myself. But how would you like to explain Johannesburg, since this is the heart?
Sthembiso Dlamini: Indeed, Johannesburg is the heart of South Africa, understandably so, because if you’re coming from India, especially in Mumbai, it’s got a lot of similarities. It’s busy. People here actually do different types of businesses. There’s the nightlife, there’s the food element, there’s the culture. We’ve got a lot of infrastructure that can host events. So hence, I felt it was important for me to bring in our head of convention bureau so that at least she takes you through the value proposition for Johannesburg, particularly when it comes to business events and attracting meetings into our destination. But if you want to do leisure, she also has put together, a nice itinerary asleisure goes in hand with the business. And at the end of the day, we want leisure also for people to relax. We want the combination of everything. And whenever we plan for MICE from India, first destination was Johannesburg in South Africa.
Suhani: I want to congratulate you for putting up meetings Africa, so successfully. So what was your hard work behind this success story?
Nonnie Kubeka: Yeah, I think what we do is to identify the buyers that is the first thing, besides buildings and everything, that are going to be part of the show. We started, like, in 2019, disturbed by COVID. So when you identify a buyer, you check what the destination needs, because the needs of the destination changes. And then you identify by saying, what is there? What are the sectors that are there that you want to promote and what associations are there that we can link to these sectors? So there’s a lot of research behind that, and there are a lot of people that contribute to the buyers. But usually in Meetings Africa, we invite new buyers so that we get new leads. And at that particular time they become potential. And then we, afterwards work with the buyer in order to make it elite. And from there it becomes confirmed meeting or a confirmed business. So that whole process takes relationship building with the association, with the media around there and with other people in terms of products around there, so that it can become successful. But we’ve got exhibitors also that we have to work with them and negotiate. That they can exhibit, by sending their senior executive, so that they can meet the CEO’s of companies. Because most hosted buyers, you find are the CEO’s or decision makers. And they can conclude if they need to conclude. So also the type of exhibitors that are here, they needed to be quality exhibitors coming out with the right marketing strategies keeping in view the hosted buyers.
SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM AIRLINE PAVILION TAKES FLIGHT
Collaboration is key in Africa’s airline industry, which is why the Airline Pavilion at Meetings Africa 2024 is incredibly significant. With eight airlines represented, the pavilion has allowed airlines to showcase access to Africa.
“This is the second time we are doing the Airline Pavilion at Meetings Africa. Last year was such a success we brought it back,” says Bronwen Auret, South African Tourism’s Chief Quality Assurance Officer.
“The pavilion is really important because from a business positioning point you can’t get people to a country, to a meeting, a conference or the event without the airline so it’s really critical that we have that route development conversation with business events.”
The airlines housed in the pavilion are: Airlink, Eswatini Air, CemAir, Linhas Aereas de Mocambique, ASky, Ethiopian Airlines, and Air Côte d’Ivoire and
Kenya Airlines.
Sandton Hotel: The luxury par excellence
Step into a world where luxury isn’t just a concept – it’s a lifestyle. Nestled in the vibrant heart of Sandton, Sandton Hotel and Sandton Apartments redefine the hotel experience, offering an unparalleled blend of sophistication and convenience.
Located on the Northern edge of the Sandton CBD, it is at a walking distance from the Sandton Gautrain Station, Benmore shopping centre, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton City and many corporate offices that make this the economic heart of Johannesburg.
With 561 opulent rooms including penthouses and suites, Sandton Hotel sets a new standard for luxury.
Two years ago, Sandton emerged as a beacon of luxury and since then, it has firmly established itself as a premier destination hotel and conference venue. From world-class conferencing facilities and co-working spaces to a fully equipped gym and a variety of dining options, Sandton offers an all-encompassing lifestyle experience.
Sandton Hotel offers a relaxing respite from the bustling streets outside, with a grand reception foyer welcoming guests inside and all the amenities you could need under one roof. On the deck you’ll find our sparkling blue swimming pool, with a smaller child-friendly pool attached and a fully-equipped children’s play area nearby. Here you’ll also find the Clubhouse, which offers enticing views and a place to relax, unwind, and enjoy a refreshing cocktail or ice-cold beer. Sandton-Spa boasts a unisex sauna and steam room, which is available to all guests making use of the spa facilities.
Experience the epitome of luxury living at Sandton – where every moment is
crafted to exceed your expectations.
For more information on our current special offers, call
+27 11 440 1444 (Apartments) and +27 11 395 4777 (Hotel).
Exploring Mpumalanga: The Hidden Gem
Mpumalanga means ‘Place of the Rising Sun’. The Mpumalanga Province in South Africa boasts magnificent wild-life, magical mountain ranges, panoramic passes, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, lush forests and starry skies. This is also Big Game Country, the setting for dozens of sanctuaries teeming with wildlife and birds. Among them, the Kruger National Park is world renowned, as are several of the luxurious private reserves on its western boundary.
The entire Mpumalanga area offers exceptional opportunities for bird-watching, hiking, horse-riding and fishing. Few beautiful places to explore are BLYDE RIVER CANYON, BOURKE’S LUCK POTHOLES, GOD’S WINDOW, GOLIATH’S FOOTPRINT, SUDWALA CAVES, THE PINNACLE ROCK among others.
In an incredible Bush Barbeque Dinner at Kruger National Park, hosted by Mpumalanga Tourism, the CEO of Mpumalanga Tourism, Mr. Mduduzi Herman Vilakazi spoke to our Editorial team about his participation and expectations from Meetings Africa. He said,
“We come from an environment that tells us South Africa is the most beautiful country. But what we do not have are people interested in South Africa. And we feel that the other parts of South Africa, which is away from Cape Town, are ignored by the tourists. And that is why we have invited you here, so that you see the other part of South Africa that has the ambience that you cannot get anywhere else. This was a bush pride. We can have a bush conference. We can mingle with the animals. So I’m expecting big groups coming in for meetings, conferences and incentive tours to assure that Mpumalanga grows with India. Thank you.”
Mbombela Experience – A One Stop Solution
Mbombela Experience is a registered and accredited Tour operator, established in 2014 by Mr Netto Maluka. The company was birthed out of a passion for wildlife and hospitality, which seamlessly integrated into our work ethic and service excellence. It is based in White- River, Mpumalanga, which is a stone throw away to the World-renowned Kruger National Park and the Blyde River Canyon.
Our qualified and experienced team prioritizes safety and creating great memorable experiences to our guests and building a lasting relationship. Travelers love our comprehensive and cost-effective tours and that’s what motivate Mbombela Experience Tours and Safaris to offer tours and safaris that suit everyone’s pocket and travel schedules.
They offer Day and Overnight packages to the Kruger National Park, Blyde River Canyon, Johannesburg and a number of customized tours in South Africa. Their tours are a combination of culture, heritage, adventure and wildlife experiences.
For Package bookings and other details contact:
Contact No – +27 732648955
Email Id – info@mbombelatours.com
Website – http://www.mbombelatours.com
BUSH BABY VALLEY LODGE – An Explicit Nature Experience
Bushbaby Valley Lodge is nestled in the eastern part of South Africa. It is only a 5 hours drive from the O.R. International airport and 45minutes from the Kruger Mpumalanga International airport.
The lodge will offer you with total exclusivity, with only 13 units on an 8-hectare piece of land. The rest of the land is rested with natural catchments, ponds, lush gardens and not forgetting the beautiful river bounding the property. Bushbaby is a true Eden in the Sabie Valley of Hazyview.
They offer self-catering rooms and luxury rooms (villas) which are non-self-catering. You get to choose your room with a private splash pool or balcony with a river view. The best part is their on-site restaurant caters for almost all guest’s dietary requirements including all types of vegetarians.
They can help you plan your vacation with a full itinerary to Africa; from the third largest canyon in the world, the Blyde River Canyon on the panorama route to the game drive into the renowned Kruger National Park for an African safari experience. If you wish to stay indoors, you will be spoiled with aromatic spas and facial treatments. Romantic picnics with a loved one can be arranged and enjoyed under the African Sun.
The packages starts from $200.00 dollars per night.
For bookings, contact:
Phone number: +27 825911 692
Email: sibonisile@bushbabyvalleylodge.co.za
Website: https://bushbabyvalleylodge.co.za
NEW AFRICAN EXHIBITORS INJECT DIVERSITY AND EXCITEMENT
Amongst the exhibitors for Meetings Africa 2024 are new entrants Egypt, Cote D’Ivoire, Tanzania and Zambia. These additions promise to enrich the
diverse array of proudly African products and services showcased during the event.
Galaxia Group is from Egypt with offices across the Middle East; the Mangalis Hotel Group are from Cote D’lvoire; MICE Solutions DMC from Tanzania, and Willch Travel and Tours from Zambia.
Their participation will further enrich the Meetings Africa line-up with a total of 22 exhibiting African countries, including Nigeria, Uganda, Togo, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Swaziland and Senegal to name a few.
SHOWCASING UGANDA
Uganda is maximizing its presence at Meetings Africa 2024 and other platforms to showcase the country’s distinctive tourism and investment prospects to a broader international audience. Uganda’s chairmanship of two major international summits recently, the 19th Summit of Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) Heads of State and Government, as well as the third South Summit organised under the framework of the Group of 77 and China in January 2024, provided a powerful showcase of the country. During the events, Uganda took over the NAM chairpersonship for three years, as well as the leadership of the G77 and China for a year.
Upcoming events include the Pearl of Africa Tourism Expo (POATE), an annual tourism and travel trade show that is organised by the Uganda Tourism Board and will be held at the brand-new venue in Munyonyo, Kampala from 23-25 May 2024. The theme will be Responsible Tourism.
Uganda Tourism Board CEO Lilly Ajarova said,
“The one thing that I advocate for is that Uganda is one of the best destinations for filming. We are investing in films as a way to create awareness and reach a larger market.”
SUSTAINABILITY UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
AT MEETINGS AFRICA South African Tourism has pulled out all the stops to ensure that this year’s Meetings Africa is environmentally friendly in line with its
mandate to promote sustainable tourism.
The CEO Nombulelo Guliwe said that for Meetings Africa 2024, South African Tourism had partnered with an entity to independently assess the event’s sustainability aspect.
Delegates at this year’s event are encouraged to go digital, including further using the App to limit reliance on paper. Other improvements at the event include easy access points for recycling.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that our current needs do not have a negative impact on the environment,” she said.
Furthering her talk regarding Indian Market, exclusively with our Executive Editor, Suhani Nagpal, the CEO of South Africa Tourism, Ms. Nombulelo Guliwe suggests the plans they have for Indian market. Here are the excerpts:
Suhani: I would like to, first of all, congratulate you for putting up this wonderful show Meetings Africa. It was such a great success, I mean much beyond our imagination, and we’re hoping to double the numbers from India because we love the country. Indians love South Africans as we know that our Prime Minister has brought you at G20 table. So what is your strategy on India as a market?
Nombulelo Guliwe: India is an important and critical market for us. It’s a growth market. We know that there’s untapped opportunity. It’s therefore important that we have a strategy to grow that market share for India and we are working on that. We are happy with the values that we gain from our traditional post market.
Suhani: So as far as MICE is concerned, we travel in big numbers like 500, even thousand. So do you think South Africa is prepared to cater to such groups?
Nombulelo Guliwe: We definitely have the infrastructure. South Africa is ready to host big groups. The infrastructure speaks for itself. One of the target work for the next financial year is to also have a corporate dictate with corporates and say, what are your needs? So that we can match them to what we have in South Africa. So the short answer is we are ready to host big events.
Suhani: Bringing Bureaucracy and tourism together because we belong to that sector. If we would like to bring in a government delegate or a bureaucratic delegate here, what special can we expect from you as a tourism board?
Nombulelo Guliwe: So every delegate is important to us and the best thing for us is to be aware about the needs of our delegates. I always say it’s important to know what your customer needs are so that you can respond to them. So depending on whether you are a homemade delegate or depends on your needs and added so we are there to welcome you to South Africa. You’ve experienced the past few days with us in South Africa and every second person I’ve made has said they can feel the warmness. So we are naturally a welcoming country but one of the key things is that we work on what our consumer needs so that we can deliver the same. Thank you.
Continuing our discussion regarding Indian Collaborations, our Executive Editor, Suhani Nagpal spoke to Ms. Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South East Asia, South African Tourism. Here are the excepts:
Suhani: First of all, I would like to congratulate you for bringing in such a big delegations from India to magnificient ‘Meetings Africa’. What do you feel about it about India?
Neliswa Nkani: I think it’s been an incredible event. I think we brought some of the most amazing, credible, serious buyers who were looking for something new. What was even more interesting was the yearning for something. They were very clear that they’re wanting alternative products in South Africa. New experiences. So it was a really good success. But I say for me, the success lies with the tour operators and the mice guys. Once we start seeing the business, I think it will absolutely a testament of how successful it was
Suhani: Since we are the most populated country of the world now, what is your plan to get Indians out here? Because the numbers are 79000 so far and we want to come to South Africa like four times.
Neliswa Nkani: Firstly, we are having robust conversations with the department of Home affairs to make it easy to get your visa issued. Secondly, we’re obviously going to touch the consumer. We’ve got a campaign that we are running with Ethiopian Airways, Rs.39,000 less 15%, which will be promoted now, but travel will be in September. We continue to be hosting corporates and engaging corporates. We’ll be doing a lot of trade training as well and we’re preparing now for the mega, mega endeavor where we’re looking at about 80 to 100 buyers from India. But we’ll be focusing on tier two and tier three cities, which is very important for us, as well as making sure that we are hosting corporate and media to showcase new destinations in South Africa. Thank You.
AFRICA POISED FOR FILM TOURISM BOOST
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Meetings Africa in Numbers
- Meetings Africa 2024 saw a remarkable increase in attendees, reaching 3,480, compared to 2,987 in 2023.
- The (BONDay) saw 1,535 attendees, offering a dedicated session for networking and collaboration ahead of the main event.
- The number of exhibiting companies also rose to 385 in 2024 from 355 in 2023, indicating a healthy interest in the event as a platform for showcasing products and services.
- The event attracted 371 buyers, a notable increase from 273 in 2023.
- The media presence remained strong, with 179 media representatives attending across the globe.
Among the highlights were several educational Streams hosted for industry professionals, including innovation, sustainable tourism, and artificial intelligence (AI). Delegates learned from experts how these developments are changing the face of the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) Industry. According to organisers, ‘Meetings Africa 2024 aims to
create a market access platform for African Business Events products by facilitating quality connections.’ This annual event has became a hallmark in showcasing the best of the African business events industry sector and to harness the potential within their diverse cultures, landscapes, and industries to propel Africa to new heights on the global Stage.”
By Deepak Vyas, Editor-in-Chief, Bureaucracy India