CONNECTING THE WORLD CONNECTING AFRICA

Business tourism in Africa received a boost following the success of Meetings Africa 2023. The show is owned by South African Tourism and delivered in collaboration with many partners and stakeholders to ensure regional inclusivity. As a result, the threeday trade event saw an estimated 352 exhibitors from 22 African countries and 362 buyers from over 53 countries converge at the Sandton Convention Centre, to explore business opportunities and close deals.

Zinhle Nzama, acting chief convention bureau officer for the South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB), says, “We are now post-recovery and are building back up. We believe this, the 17th edition of Meetings Africa, marks the start of a new era for business events on the continent and in South Africa.”

The show’s refreshed look and bold new branding communicate at a glance that it is no longer ‘business as usual’. “Meetings Africa has, for the first time, its own logo, which shows that this event has grown into its own brand with a strong brand identity. This new look has helped us to position Meetings Africa 2023 as a pan-African platform to advance the continent’s global standing and value proposition for the business events industry in this new era. This in turn helped us attract new stakeholders and renewed interest, all of which has added to the success of the show,” says Zinhle.

An Authentic African Experience

Zinhle shares that the SANCB worked hard to grow the show’s footprint of African countries for this event, with 22 nations from the continent being represented. She adds, “We were also very intentional about creating an event where Africans drove the agenda, and where Africans were finding solutions for Africa. We have the expertise and we were determined to show this.” As such, the programme for the Business Opportunities Networking Day (BONDay) on 27 February explored a range of topical issues impacting the region. This saw, for example, heads of African airlines gather to discuss air connectivity challenges in Africa and propose solutions, while local tech innovators tackled how to unlock more value in Africa’s tourism value chain, and MICE stakeholders explored better ways to achieve sustainable development goals locally.

The message that this was an African event was also reinforced at every touchpoint throughout the event, from the African-inspired decor and furnishings to the catering and even the bomastyled session talks.

Building Quality Connections

However, it’s not enough to simply bring Africa’s business tourism players together. A successful event needs to bring the right people together and facilitate business opportunities, which is why the theme for this year’s Meetings Africa was ‘Africa’s success built on quality connections’.

Zinhle explains, “This year, we wanted to create an environment that was conducive not only to creating connections, but to ensuring the highest quality connections were made. This meant bringing the right profile of people to the show and maximising their opportunities to network effectively.”

This goal was achieved through several strategies. One was the continuation of the show’s strict qualifying process for hosted buyers. This ensures that all hosted buyers have an existing piece of business to place at the show, and that they are decision-makers who can close deals on the floor.

Another effective strategy was the SANCB’s onboarding of additional networking opportunities. Zinhle says, “This included pre-show networking, which we observed worked especially well. It allowed exhibitors and buyers to get to know each other prior to the trade show, so that by the time the exhibition doors opened they were ready to do business on the floor, and the 20-minute meeting slots were enough time to progress any opportunities they had already identified. It’s something we will develop for next year’s event.”

Meetings Africa 2023 Attendee Feedback

“Meetings Africa has exceeded our expectations. We met with old friends, we made new friends and new connections. We’ve been thinking that we are a small destination from a capacity perspective, yet we have had so many enquiries for those that fit into the infrastructure that we have, so we are looking forward to hosting some exciting exhibitions and exciting conferences in Zimbabwe.”

- Muchanyuka, chief executive at the Zimbabwe Tourism Authority

“The impact of Meetings Africa in the past has generally been quite great considering our business mix, which is predominantly corporate. Meetings Africa is a key trade show for our hotels and resorts, as it plays a key platform for new business from the region and complements well our sales and marketing efforts for regional and international business. We are looking forward to a robust exhibition, and consolidating the recovery from Covid-19 through impactful meetings, generating great leads for new and dormant business, while engaging existing business for new opportunities.”

- Temwa Kanjadza, head: Sales, Marketing & Distribution at Sunbird Tourism PLC (Malawi)

“Meetings Africa is a great event to showcase the magnitude of opportunities presented by the African continent. I am attending Meetings Africa because it helps me identify parties that we could collaborate with because the future of business tourism is all about collaboration and partnership. That’s the key to success which speaks to the theme for Meetings Africa 2023, which is ‘Africa’s success built on quality connections’.”

- Maggie Tan, CEO of Magenta Globe Pte Ltd (Singapore)

“The impact of Meetings Africa is that it will increase the awareness of the position and services The Mövenpick Hotel provides within the continent. Secondly, it will provide a platform for us to hear from the clients directly on how better we can offer these same services. I’m looking forward to connecting with MICE clients and agents from all over Africa, and to keep up with the current needs and requirement of the clients, as well as the upcoming trends in the MICE market.”

A Solid Foundation For The Future

Zinhle shares that the overall stakeholder feedback reveals a high level of satisfaction with the quality of the show’s exhibitors and buyers. And with 7 000 meetings confirmed through the online diary system – not to mention the addition of several networking events and encounters on the trade show floor – Meetings Africa did not disappoint on delivering healthy business prospects.