It is a time of celebration

As the year draws to a close, there is this sense of urgency, to wrap up for the year. It has been an incredibly busy year. Honestly, I believe we are all feeling exhausted and ready to enjoy some timeout in December.

2023 has been a year of great highs. The business events industry was able to operate for the first time, without any disruptions.

However, as always, new challenges presented themselves. One challenge that stands out is finding a way to increase current rates (many of which are sitting at pre-Covid times) to where they should be. Hopefully, in 2024 we will see this happen.

More importantly, it has been a year of normalcy, which definitely needs to be celebrated, especially after a few years of uncertainty.

This year sees the return of many year-end events. Many are smaller or have smaller budgets but, nevertheless, the year-end event is back in 2023.

It is a time of celebration, and the business events sector has much to be thankful for.

Gallagher Convention Centre celebrated 30 years this year, a wonderous achievement, it also makes it one of the oldest convention centres in our country.

In this edition, we look at the Gallagher Convention Centre promise, ‘Your event, Your Way’. This promise is more important today than ever before.

In this edition, Vivari Hotel & Spa also shares some year-end packages to make your event just that bit more memorable. Another highlight, Inspire Rentals also looks at events, and at the art of furniture and how it can set the scene and transform your event.

The African Report highlights some interesting statistics on how the African sector is expected to grow by 6.5 per cent, per year, over the next decade; and how travel and tourism could contribute US$350-billion to the regional economy.

These numbers are incredible, but what would be even more incredible is if we could obtain proper statistics on the impact of business events on the African continent. This is something I wish we could see: the various African convention bureaux coming together and collaborating on. It is something that is necessary and should be prioritised. Maybe this is a discussion that should be initiated at Meetings Africa, taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg from 26-28 February 2024.

The business events industry is growing in Africa, convention bureaux are opening regularly as governments are beginning to see its worth. However, its actual ‘worth’ remains an anomaly. My wish for 2024 is that we finally know what the business events sector is worth on the African continent.

In closing, the industry is in a period of flux, its worth is still relatively unknown, but we do know that there will always be a need for business events, in all its forms.

Irene

Email: gomesi@iafrica.com