PAGE VENUE INDUSTRY STRAP NEWS INSIGHTS
combination with UFI, published their latest Global Recovery Insights report in October 2021 and it offers the following positive indicators from a survey done with 15,000 participants in 30 countries: • 62 per cent of exhibitors plan to exhibit at the same shows as in 2019 or more frequently at other shows • 72 per cent of existing visitors plan to return to attend trade shows with the same or increased frequency • 45 per cent of exhibitors expect the budget to return within 12 months • For exhibitors looking to cut budgets, 60 per cent will maintain their spend on design and build, 67 per cent will continue to invest in the same amount of floor space All indicators show that the industry is set to make a slow but steady recovery in 2022 and it is with great enthusiasm that we look forward to returning to the exhibition floor.
for some venues that are too small to accommodate these numbers due to the social distancing regulations. My insight for 2022 is that we need to remain positive. Slowly, but surely, the business events industry will open to the ‘new normal’ with international events leading the way (e.g. Dubai Expo, WTM London). With Meetings Africa and Africa’s Travel Indaba scheduled to take place again in 2022, I feel hopeful that a trace of normality may return to the business events and tourism industry. The vaccination drive needs to be supported by everyone in the business events and tourism industry, enabling us to become fully operational again. Only then will we be able to showcase to all countries that South Africa is event safety-ready and looking forward to welcoming everyone. In conclusion, I would like to see President Cyril Ramaphosa lift the restrictions further in the business events and tourism industries. Let’s build up the industry together and adhere strictly to safety protocols. Business events and tourism will revive in 2022.
with varying degrees of intensity. We lived life differently. If I had to pin 2021 on one word, that word would be ‘trust’. This single word defined my relationships, my vision, and my actions. I respond differently to people whom I trust and information that I don’t. Trust is a loaded word; it is built and therefore requires deep thought. We should interrogate and grapple with data until it makes sense and becomes useful information. Yet trust offers no guarantees. It does however hold the promise of hope. Trust requires our eyes on the horizon; looking for change and seeking understanding. In 2020 we learned to apply what was believed by some too far-fetched for our reality. This year was mostly spent on refining our approach to the new reality. Our past made us wiser and more resourceful. Let’s seek the developing signals on our horizon. Question what the metaverse means for our future; learn from the present; cast emotions to the side and work with attributes. Trust our instinct; it is hard-earned. I trust that 2022 will bring you renewed hope and deliver on the promise of prosperity.
PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE ORGANISERS
Ellen Oosthuizen, chairperson of the PCO Alliance
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020/2021 have certainly been unpredictable years for the business events and tourism industry. No one could have predicted the strict lockdowns and the struggles that came with it. We all had to switch to survival mode. Earlier this year there was a ray of light at the end of our gloomy tunnel when our President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an increase in the ‘gatherings’ numbers to 750 indoors and 2,000 outdoors. Finally, we felt we could operate again! This has given small businesses and the companies in the business events industry an opportunity to thrive again. I don’t foresee these numbers changing any time soon, possibly at the end of 2022. This remains a challenge
Denise Kemp, owner of Eastern Sun Events Pieter Swart, CMP, CMM | managing director of Conference Consultancy South Africa (Pty) Ltd
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ach of us had different experiences this year that was. Most of us probably went full circle on the wheel of emotions
18 Business Events Africa December 2021/January 2022
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was reading a PCMA report at the end of last year and the majority of Americans expected the industry in the USA to have widespread unemployment and economic depression over the next few years. So, what has 2021 been like for us in South Africa this past year? www.businesseventsafrica.com
