Anything is possible

Meet Stellenbosch — the Neelsie Cinema.

Editor’s comment

There are so many positive things happening now and the business events industry is bursting with opportunities.

Considering this, there are so many good news stories to share. Where do I begin?

Let’s start at the beginning with our exceptional cover story. Durban ICC, a jewel in the KwaZulu-Natal business events crown.

Having just hosted two successful major events – Africa’s Travel Indaba and the Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour – the Durban International Convention Centre (Durban ICC) is in pole position to reclaim the crown as Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination.

Durban ICC has been nominated as Africa’s Leading Meetings and Conference Destination 20 times and has been voted the winner in this category no fewer than 17 times. The state-of-the-art venue has also been nominated the World’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination for the past 10 years.

The sector is finally operating at full capacity, thanks to government for dropping all of the remaining Covid-19 restrictions.

It is heart-warming that we are able to look forward to events again. The business events industry calendar is looking tremendous.

Personally, I’m really looking forward to the SAACI National Congress in Stellenbosch. It is always a highlight in my calendar. I am looking forward to reconnecting with the industry at this congress. I have a soft spot for Stellenbosch. What’s not to like about this little town?

Visit Stellenbosch recently hosted its annual business events conference, Meet Stellenbosch. It is no surprise that Stellenbosch is positioning itself as the business events destination of choice. Look out for the feature in this issue.

South Africa has so many spectacular business events destinations, but what makes South Africa unique? In my opinion, it is the people. We have featured some extraordinary individuals in this issue.

Quite honestly, our sector has the most hard working, professional and experienced individuals with amazing track records. Even more than this, it is the relationships and partnerships we have managed to establish and grow over the past two years.

Anything is possible when it comes to our industry.

Even with the challenges we face today, from loadshedding, to the skill drain, to the petrol dilemma, we are able to overcome all of these because we are a winning team. We are Team South Africa!

Irene

Email: gomesi@iafrica.com