WESTERN CAPE FEATURE

A reason to consider hosting an inperson meeting in the Western Cape

The Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau, a division of Wesgro, the official Tourism, Trade, Film and Investment Promotions agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, is excited to announce the Western Cape Business Events Support Programme - a support programme aimed to stimulate short-and-medium term national business events in the Western Cape.

The Western Cape Business Events Support Programme focusses on local or national business events, comprising of meetings, incentives, conferences or exhibitions, presented in person or hybrid. It is designed to reignite confidence in holding in-person or hybrid business events, by assisting eligible event organisers with funding, which can be used to cover event-related costs, such as accommodation, venue hire, food and beverage, transport and other eventrelated expenses, and with 50 per cent of this funding being paid prior to the event to support upfront expenses.

Expression of interest is now open, and submissions for business events will be assessed against the following eligibility and mandatory criteria:

• Must be a new national event,

• Conference organiser’s compliance must be in good standing,

• Event must commence prior to 31 March 2022,

• Must have a physical attendance of a minimum of 20 delegates for small sized events and 50 delegates for medium sized events. The delegate numbers exclude virtual delegate participation,

• Must consist of a two-day programme, with a one night stay in the Western Cape,

• Must include proof of venue hire and/ or accommodation enquiry/reservation from the venue/accommodation establishment, and

• Must provide a post business event report to verify the delegate numbers prior to the balance of the support being paid out.

Western Cape Minister of finance and economic opportunities, David Maynier, welcomed the launch of the Western Cape Business Events Support Programme: “The value of the business events sector to the provincial economy cannot be underestimated, with the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape having hosted the most international association conferences in Africa over the last 10 years. And so, we hope that this initiative will go a long way to supporting the sector, which has been hard-hit by the Covid-19 pandemic but has also shown great resilience and adaption during these difficult times. With our innovative hybrid conferencing and meeting facilities, world-class attractions and strict Covid-19 health measures in place, we continue to welcome business travellers to the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape.”

Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo, chief convention bureau officer at South African Tourism, said: "The South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) welcomes this initiative by the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau. These types of initiatives will assist our industry to reintroduce face-to-face engagement to our clients as a viable platform to advance the business objectives of their organisations. Business events are crucial to the economic development of our country, and we need to assist our clients to venture away from their screens safely and to again embrace the unique value face-to-face engagements can provide.”

Acting Wesgro chief executive officer, Yaw Peprah, concluded: “Business events are catalysts for change, and despite the sector being one of the hardest hit as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a continued interest in hosting conferences, meetings and incentive travel in Cape Town and the Western Cape. As the premier business events destination in Africa and an inspiring place to meet, there is no better time than now to showcase our commitment to supporting the business events industry and demonstrate that our destination is ready and prepared for business events to resume safely and responsibly. So I urge all business events planners to seize this opportunity and showcase their ability to adapt and innovate.”

Should regulations based on the Disaster Manager Act gazette be amended to prevent events taking place in person, the approved funding of 50 per cent will still be honoured to successful applicants.

Interested participants can visit https://www.wesgro.co.za/ convention-bureau/home or email businessevents@wesgro.co.za

Priority Sectors

The Western Cape’s high-growth sectors are finance and insurance, construction, communication, furniture, film, design, ICT and various marine sectors. Other priority sectors are human and animal medicine, engineering and infrastructure. The region hosts one of the highest concentrations in South Africa of medical device and biotechnology companies, research institutes and research groups.

Agriculture and agribusiness is also one of the most important sectors in the Western Cape and involves all the different activities that link the entire value chain, from the farm/forest/fishery to the consumer. This includes inputs, production, processing, marketing and distribution of agricultural, forestry and fishing products.

Oil and gas is the Western Cape’s fastest-growing sector. The Western Cape and Cape Town are ideally placed to service this growing demand. Most international exploration and oil-refining firms have a presence in Cape Town.

Issues and Challenges

In 2020-2021 the Covid-19 pandemic posed major challenges and CTCB worked energetically to instil confidence among its clients in terms of the destination’s readiness to host business events. During this time, it continued to bid for future business events and rolled out numerous promotional campaigns after the outbreak of the pandemic.

Villages, Townships, and Small Dorpies

CTCB are pleased that three of our regional towns have been selected as part of the National Association Programme otherwise known as villages, townships and small dorpies. The initial towns that have been selected include: Saldanha Bay (Weskus), Wilderness (Garden Route and Klein Karoo) and Grabouw (Cape Overberg). The National Association Projects is an initiative driven by the SANCB to pull different levers as part of South African Tourism’s (SAT) recovery plans for the tourism industry. This project aims to capacitate the local association sector in SA that will enable the sector to start hosting regular national meetings again and to create bidding opportunities for future international conferences.

Meet in an inspiring place

The Cape Town and Western Cape region is the number one conference destination in Africa and the Middle East (ICCA 2019.) It is a destination that offers flexibility, diversity and hands-on support. It is proud of its custom-built centres – designed to top international specifications – and the diverse range of facilities at hotels, educational institutions and theatres, and will provide a world-class meeting experience.