Boosting business tourism to SA

South African Tourism, which is hosting the event at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 27 and 28 February 2008, has invited 20 International Association Buyers to the event, with another 45 being invited by the Department of Trade and Industry.

As a market, association buyers are crucial to destination positioning in the business tourism sphere. These are people who scout the world for appropriate destinations and venues at which professional associations, such as the medical sector and the engineering industry, or large corporates can hold their conventions and exhibitions that attract anything from 300 to 3 000 delegates.

Preceded by conference

Meetings Africa will be preceded on 26 February by a Business Tourism Conference, also at the Sandton Convention Centre, hosted by the Johannesburg Tourism Company. The conference is open to the entire industry and is expected to attract a wide range of local stakeholders, as well as delegates from, in particular, Europe and Africa.

The conference is to be opened by Marthinus van Schalkwyk, Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, and speakers will include Joyce Dogniez, Meeting Professionals International's director of operations for Europe, the Middle East and Africa; Francois Rogers, corporate strategies officer of the World Conservation Union; Christian Mutschlechner, director of the Vienna Convention Bureau; Didi Moyle, COO of South African Tourism; and other local and international business tourism experts.

Green conferencing will be a key feature of Meetings Africa this year. Speakers will be encouraged to speak on global warming, climate change and other issues as they affect tourism and also to move away from publishing their speeches on paper to presentations on disc.