THE SANCB’S SERVICE OFFERING

The SANCB has developed several strategies to achieve its ambition of growing the number and scale of business events in South Africa. These include the following:

Marketing: The SANCB has launched several campaigns to promote South Africa’s capacity to host extraordinary international events, highlighting its world-class facilities, warm hospitality, great natural beauty, diverse cultural experiences, as well as the accessibility of exceptional innovators and thought leaders who call South Africa home.

These campaigns run across multiple marketing platforms, including events and trade shows. Instrumental among these are SA Tourism’s two events – Meetings Africa, a business tourism event, and Africa’s Travel Indaba, which markets the leisure tourism industry – as well as three key international trade shows, namely: IMEX Frankfurt, IMEX America and IBTM World among others.

MICE Sales and Bid Support: This unit handles MICE sales as well as bidding on events and providing pre- and post-bidding support. The bidding phase includes offering independent advice when selecting a host city, as well as advice on local issues, lobbying and promotional support.

In the 2022, the team invested R51.2 million in bid submissions, supporting 101 bids and winning 66 of these. Between 2022 and 2025, these events are expected to contribute approximately R46.7 billion to South Africa’s economy.

Business Development and Support Services: The role of this unit is business development (including capacity-building initiatives for venues and event organisers) and to provide a range of support services. These include facilitating site inspections, convention planning support (such as sourcing venues and suppliers, compiling cost estimates, and submitting and monitoring request for proposals), on-site event serves and delegate boosting.

Research and Insights: The SANCB conducts ongoing studies to gain insights into the MICE sector, including best practices and trends.

“Since the start of the pandemic, we found the broader events industry was turning to us for guidance and answers, and we had to fill a leadership role. Therefore, it has been critical for us to continually conduct research into the MICE sector so that we can share the most recent findings and relevant solutions,” explains Zinhle.

Collaboration and Networking: The SANCB regularly engages with industry bodies, venues and event organisers, to better understand their experiences and needs. These engagements can take many forms, from industry events to familiarisation trips, and connecting venues and potential clients. The Meetings Africa 2023 BONDay (Business Opportunity Networking Day) is another such example, where several associations held events, including the inaugural International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) Africa Summit and the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Meetings Africa Association Day.

Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. Rather than perpetuating this trend, a concerted effort is now being made to grow the capacity and desirability of small towns, dorpies and townships as host destinations for MICE events.

Says Zinhle, “We want to see the economic benefits of the MICE sector trickle into all corners of South Africa, and to all its people. We believe this is how we can help to achieve the government’s National Development Plan, which aims to not only eradicate poverty by 2030, but also create an environment where all citizens can thrive.”

*Calculated using the average annual 2019 exchange rate of R14.4496, according to Exchange Rates UK

**Calculated using the average annual 2022 exchange rate of R16.3742, according to Exchange Rates UK