SOUTH Africa stands to benefit considerably from tourism growth in emerging BRICS mar-kets, but needs to make the visa process easier and less daunting and add more direct flights from major cities to South Africa to in-crease arrivals.

SOUTH Africa is enjoying a boom in trade since joining the BRICS coalition and the tourism industry should be able to capital-

ise on this to win more inbound tourism from Brazil, Russia, India and China.

This was the message during a BRICS panel discussion at Meetings Africa yesterday, host-ed by TV presenter Lionel Skink and broadcast on CNBC Africa last night.

Olivia Ji Jingshu, vice president of China’s CEBEX group, said she had brought a delega-tion to Meetings Africa flying in on SAA’s newly-

launched flight from Beijing to Johannesburg, and that it had been an absolute pleasure and an easy travel experience for Chinese visi-tors. A few years ago South Africa had been difficult for Chinese travellers to access, said Anita Soni, chairperson of Brand SA, but seri-ous efforts had been made to improve air lift capacity for Chinese visitors.

More efforts are also needed to make it easier for Russian visitors to travel to South Af-rica said Elena Demidova, owner of Expert Avis in Russia. She said Russians were keen to ex-plore new markets but preferred countries that made it easy for them to come. “South Africa has always been seen as an exotic destination by the Russian market. It’s really great that ties between our two nations have strengthened here at Meetings Africa, which has been a huge step forward for us. We all need to work

together to make it as easy as possible for Rus-sians to visit South Africa and we need to work collectively on easing visa restrictions, direct flights into South Africa and promoting South Africa actively in Russia,” said Demidova.

Audience member Sean Bradley, SAA’s Global Manager of Trade and Product Sup-port, said the airline was looking at where to increase its activities and how to work with key destinations to attract more in-bound business. Bradley said SAA was putting a lot of emphasis on the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events market and had established a business tourism department.

Soni said since South Africa joined BRICS last year its exports to those countries had in-creased four-fold and imports had doubled. She hoped to see a similar rise in tourism along-side that economic growth. But that demand-ed a sound infrastructure and an enabling business and tourism environment.

The BRICS countries house 40% of the world’s population, so the potential for inter-country trade was enormous, leading to a clamour for more information about South Af-rica and its attractions.

S.D. Nandakumar, the head of business development for Kuoni Travel India, said In-dia could provide huge numbers of visitors to South Africa, especially for its sporting events, but stressed Indians needed more information about the country’s attractions.

Soni urged operators to put together cre-ative packages by combining culture, food, natural beauty and the hospitality of the peo-ple, as well as leveraging on sporting events.

Lesley Stones

SA WELL-PLACED TO CAPITALISE ON BRICS GROWTH

Please recycle me Published by

02 / MEETINGS AFRICA

FOR the SAACI educational workshop on Wednesday 29 February 2012, National Con-vention Bureau executive manager Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo and consultant Gary Grimmer addressed SAACI members about the real value of the meetings industry.

AMANDA explained that the purpose of the National Convention Bureau is to expand and strengthen the work of

the South African Tourism (SAT) Business Tour-ism Unit to become a truly one-stop Business Tourism support facility, and also to contribute to the National Tourism Strategy.

“With SAACI we can make it happen.

Association members must be our ambassa-dors,” says Amanda. “Our delegates spend more money than leisure visitors. We have 40 % of delegates coming back to SA after five years as a visitor. Nearly 60% of international business events visitors state that they are likely to return for a leisure break. In 2009, business visitors to South Africa accounted for 5% of ar-rivals compared to 30% for Singapore. We are right up there. We already contribute to the tourism volume.”

She explains that many visitors declare themselves as leisure visitors when they arrive even though many are actually business trav-ellers. Her hope is for the Convention Bureau to get to a space where the statistics can be measured correctly.

Amanda revealed that business event visitors spend three to five times more than the average tourist. “Business tourism visitors spend 56% more per day than the average international visitor. 46% international conven-tion delegates undertake pre and post tours.” she says,

The National Convention Bureau also aims to improve the seasonality of associa-tion meetings. “Some business events can be incentivised to meet during the tradi-tional low seasons. Convention bureau can contribute towards the improvement of sea-sonality patterns”.

Transformation is also vitally important. Amanda says that new skill sets are required to service conventions. “SAT data shows that for every $31000 USD in tourism GDP generated

by conventions, one new full time job is cre-ated,” she says.

Gary Grimmer was appointed to assist the National Conventions Bureau with its activa-tions strategy. Gary says that the convention and exhibitions industry has a huge impact on the economy.

What’s important to understand is that the convention and exhibition industries have al-most nothing in common with tourism, he says. “The participants are different, the purpose of the visit is different; even the buyers and buy-er motivation are different. We attract a very distinct type of visitor.”

Gary explains that the main economic impact of tourism is direct spending, while conventions and exhibitions are trade and in-vestment. “Our impacts go much broader in terms of macro economic outcomes.”

“The questions being asked today are ‘What are you looking to achieve through this meeting? and What are your business outcomes?’ Destination is almost a second-ary consideration, while for tourism, destina-tion is everything.”

He also explains that the market approach for leisure is very strategic as it targets larger groups of people. “On the conventions side, you have to be very targeted and tactical with your marketing.”

“We are not part of the tourism industry. It’s vitally important for us an industry to under-stand this and communicate this effectively,” says Gary.

Sally Fink

THE REAL IMPACT OF THE MEETINGS INDUSTRY

Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo & Gary Grimmer

The Meetings Africa Stand Awards awarded innovation and sustainabe thinking.

Tiny stand: 3m squared.Special mention: Urban Collection

Greening:Best Green stand: Strike Alliance

Small Stand 9 m squared:Winner: ICC Durban

Medium Stand: 10-18m squared:Winner: Sun International

Large Stand greater than 19 m squared:Winner: Tsogo Sun

FORMAL meetings and attendance records shattered!

BY close on the second day of Meet-ings Africa 2012, the show had al-ready been declared a stunning suc-

cess as attendance numbers and meetings concluded shattered previous records; as more than 200 international hosted buy-ers universally declared the event to have offered them tremendous business oppor-tunities and as more than 500 exhibitors agreed it had been a worthwhile invest-ment of their time and energy.

Attendance figures (with final count of feet through the gates still to come) were up by 20 percent on last year’s numbers as more than 2 150 delegates attended Meetings Africa this year. Of those, 205 were international visitors and 37 were in-ternational journalists.

The success of the Matchmaking activi-ties were most impressive. By 15h00 yester-day afternoon, 8 906 meetings had been confirmed giving real substance to Meetings Africa’s usefulness as a business enabling environment. Of those meetings, more than 420 were set up by international buyers and almost 370 were set up by local buyers.

James Costello, hosted buyer from At-lanta in the US was visiting South Africa for the first time. “It’s chin-droppingly beauti-ful,” he said, “and every single one of my expectations has been exceeded.”

His visit to Meetings Africa (and the

tour he went on that included the Western Cape and what he calls the ‘safari belt’) opened his eyes, he said, to the many dif-ferent ways South Africa can be packaged for incentive tourism – his own special inter-est in the global industry. “I have sophisti-cated clients who are well travelled. South Africa is ideal for this market group as you have it all here. And the various combina-tions of experiences that you offer puts this destination at the top of my inventory list. Yes, I am definitely planning to do business in South Africa very soon. And I’m going home to recommend South Africa as cen-tral for the marketing and incentive plans of my clients.”

Lin Wang, a hosted buyer from Shanghai was also impressed. She had visited South Africa before, and remained as impressed as ever with the variety of establishments and experiences the destination offers. “We are able to take this variety and package it into different itineraries for our specialist local agencies. It’s a fantastic business opportu-nity for us in China. I have enjoyed Meetings Africa. I like the clean and fresh South Afri-can air. But most of all I like the South African people – so nice and friendly.”

*follow Meetings Africa on Twitter (@meetingsafrica). Use #meetingsafrica2012 when tweeting about the show.

MEETINGS AFRICA / 03

THE BEST MEETINGS AFRICA YET

MEETINGS AFRICA STAND AWARD WINNERSTsogo Sun Strike Alliance

ICC Durban

BEING a part of a family as diverse, inspired and successful as the Tsogo Sun is what has taken the Sandton Convention Centre from strength to strength over the years.

TSOGO Sun is South Africa’s leading ho-tels, gaming and entertainment compa-ny in the leisure industry in South Africa.

Today Tsogo Sun consists of 14 casinos in South Africa and 94 hotels, primarily in South Africa, but also in seven other coun-tries across Africa and in the Middle East.

The Sandton Convention Centre is managed by one of the Group’s divisions, Southern Sun Hotels.

“Southern Sun Hotels is a brand associ-ated with excellence and having three of our top-class hotels right on our doorstep, dominating the ‘Sandton Corridor’, means that the delegates and exhibitors that fre-quent the venue can always rely on su-perior accommodation and service dur-ing their stay,” says Karin White, General Manager: Sales and Marketing at Sandton Convention Centre.

The Sandton Convention Centre enjoys a competitive edge in that the centre can offer a congress venue and competitive hotel rates from three to five star hotels from within the Southern Sun group.

“With 15 world-class hotels located within walking distance of the convention centre, as well as the convenience of direct access to a number of world-class shop-ping, dining and entertainment offerings within Sandton City via the sky bridge, the centre is ideally positioned to integrate our complementary interests and leverage off our combined service offering.” adds Karin.

A key differentiator of the Convention Centre is its ability to offer a diverse enter-tainment offering through the Tsogo Sun Gaming division. Each of the fourteen

gaming properties within the Tsogo Gam-ing portfolio become the destination of choice in the area in which it operates.

“This includes the magnificent Mon-tecasino entertainment complex, with its unique range of theatre, restaurant, enter-tainment and gaming. It also includes the Gold Reef City casino and Themepark and The Apartheid Museum.

Each of these venues are major tourism attractions in Johannesburg, local and inter-national visitors flock through the gates daily.

The Sandton Convention Centre also benefits greatly from group training and the strong cultural ethos that runs through-out the Southern Sun group. “Not only does this association provide us with a far broader sales and marketing reach, but we also benefit from the infusion of ideas and resources from our colleagues within the group.”

“We believe we are the only conven-tion centre in this country that can provide such an inclusive and diverse product of-fering,” concludes Karin.

Sandton Convention Centre has host-ed several high-profile events including the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Develop-ment; the 2005 World Petroleum Congress and the 60th Fifa Congress held in 2010.

In 2011 the Sandton Convention Centre hosted 551 events ranging from congress-es, exhibitions, weddings and film shoots.

Visit Tsogo Sun at Stand 500.Sally Fink

SCC ON BEING PART OF TSOGO SUN

Sandton Convention Centre

04 / MEETINGS AFRICA

Millions of dollars being spent on incentive travel is going to countries other than South Africa, and the local chapter of the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (Site) wants to know why it is missing out.

MORE research is needed to assess why South Africa isn’t winning a major share of that business – and more crucially, figure out how to in-

crease the volume it attracts. Now Site plans to lobby South African Tourism (SAT) for research funds to find out where those Dollars are go-ing and why, Site’s new chapter president Tes Proos said during the AGM.

Outgoing president Daryl Keywood said an initial survey into the business being lost to other destinations highlighted the need for a more comprehensive survey. “As individuals we know hundreds of millions of Rands worth of business that we are quoting on we don’t

get, but I don’t think the powers that be in the industry recognise that.”

Site members also heard about progress in its social responsibility initiative to award a bur-sary to a student studying tourism or hospitality. Site is working with SAT to select one student from the 20 students enrolled on SAT’s Student Leadership Programme. The students would each give a report back from Meetings Africa and the most promising would win a bursary to complete their studies, said Tes Proos. She appealed to members to offer the students a chance to work in their organisations for a few days to gain practical experience in between terms. “It’s important for them to get some training in our industry as well as the theory they are doing,” Tes said. “This is Site’s way of giving back to the industry. It will start this year and carry on from one year to the next.”

Next year local Site member David Sand will become the international president of the organisation.

His inauguration will take place during Site’s International Conference in Beijing this September, and he encouraged members to attend, both to support him and to begin exploring new business opportunities. “Doing business in China is really quite interesting and difficult. I exhibited last year and it’s tough. You need an interpreter and it’s expensive, but it’s a market with mega potential. You really have to invest two or three years of being present and visible there before you can expect good business from that market.”

Lesley Stones

MEETINGS AFRICA / 05

Tes Proos & Daryl Keywood

SITE ASKS ‘WHERE’S THE MONEY?’ IFES EYES CAPE

INTERNATIONAL hosted buyer Gloria Guevara is in South Africa to seek potential partners for the International Federation of Exhibition and Event Services (IFES) annual meeting taking place in Cape Town in 2013.

THE IFES Congress attracts members from 42 different countries for information sharing.

The 2013 congress will be the first time that IFES will hold its annual meeting in Africa.

Gloria says it’s all due to Justin Hawes from Scan Display, an IFES member, for the recom-mendation. “It was during the time we were looking for a venue for the 2013 meeting that Justin exposed us to Cape Town as an attrac-tive destination,” says Gloria.

Meetings Africa seemed the natural choice to look for partners for the event. “In addition to the structured programme, there will be a social programme with activities in and around Cape Town. Our key focus is to find business partners and suppliers for our various events. Meetings Africa has all the key players under one roof.”

Gloria explains that South Africa is an im-portant market for IFES members because of its status as a BRICS member. “Our members are really starting to look at BRICS countries. There has been a lot of interest in having part-ners in South Africa. After the World Cup, South Africa’s feasibility as a destination was put on the map,” she says.

Cape Town International Convention Cen-tre can expect between 120-130 members from the international exhibition industry.

06 / MEETINGS AFRICA

VELMORÉ HOTEL JOINS ORION

ORION Hotels has further enhanced its portfolio in the luxury market segment through the ac-quisition of the Velmoré Hotel Estate & Confer-ence Centre, just outside Pretoria

WHILE the company is leasing the property, it has purchased the hotel’s contents and operating equipment, and taken over most

staff and systems, with its management of the property officially beginning on 1 March 2012.

The estate comprises two hotels – the 4-star Velmoré Hotel and the 5-star Velmoré Grande Hotel, which was specifically built to host the visiting German soccer team as

part of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Estate has hosted numerous celebrity weddings and large corporate events. Together their rooms total 100, including a presidential suite, sev-eral luxury suites, twin suites and junior suites. It also boasts a number of conference venues and meeting rooms.

Franz Gmeiner, Orion Hotels CEO, says these factors perfectly positioned Velmoré Es-tate in line with Orion Hotels’ growth strategy. “This acquisition forms part our strategy to se-cure more upmarket hotels and hotels which adds to our critical mass. It adds 100 rooms and substantial meeting and conferencing space to our portfolio, which further augment our product offering. Being our first acquisition in the Pretoria area, it also now places us within striking distance of the Pretoria market with its government departments, foreign embassies, motor manufacturers and many other large corporates,” says Franz.

Velmoré Estate features several dining rooms, two large pools and terraces, ball-rooms, function bars, a wedding chapel and wine cellar function hall. It’s renowned for its grand proportions and classic French Proven-cal style which, combined with its facilities and location on the banks of the Hennops River.

“The estate has superb wedding facili-ties, including a large chapel and wine cel-lar themed function room. As it’s close to both Pretoria and Johannesburg, it’s a very competitive player in the wedding market,” Franz adds.

Visit Orion at Stand 1001.

Velmoré Hotel Estate

KZN UPBEAT ABOUT MEETINGS AFRICATHE city of Durban and province of KwaZulu-Natal is being showcased under the banner of the ‘Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bu-reau’ for the first time at Meetings Africa.

“THIS is a significant development as it is a well known fact that business event or meeting, incentive and exhibition

planners or organisers, very often use a con-vention bureau as an important first port of call for a wide range of support and advice before making a decision to bring an event to a destination where such a service is lo-cated”, said James Seymour, the CEO of the recently established Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau. This significant step has been made possible with the generous sup-port of both Tourism KwaZulu-Natal and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic De-velopment and Tourism.

“Meetings Africa is South Africa and Af-rica’s most important business events or busi-ness tourism trade show. We are particularly upbeat about this show as we have more than 10 KwaZulu-Natal business tourism service providers on our stand and the convention bureau alone has more than 40 meetings with international meeting, exhibition and incentive buyers over the three days of this event. We are convinced that will lead to an increased awareness of Durban and rest of KZN business tourism product and the actual conclusion of future meeting deals’’, stated James.

MEETINGS AFRICA / 07

SPOTTED AT MEETINGS AFRICA 2012

SATSA’s Lizzie Mokgothu

Kievits Kroon’s Faith Sibeko Leisure Hotels’ Manja Jaspers, Sedick Adams, Retha Spies & Heidi Blom

Southpoint Hospitality’s Khanyi Nompunga, Margeaux Swartz & Nobs Mudau

Protea Hotel Balalaika’s Angus Baike, Johan Vorster & Nicky Webster

Valley Lodge & Spa’s Cathy Shabalala & Bernie Swartz

Kenyatta International Convention Centre’s Terry Opiko

Lagoon Beach’s Cheryl Schmidt & Anthony Kelly