Durban by East Coast Promotions

COMPANY PROFILE

2014

Durban ICC

+27 (31) 360 1000 | www.icc.co.za

company profile

Where the world meets Africa Editorial: Helen Lake Production: Ajuanne Payne

The Durban ICC has been ever evolving since its inception in the early 90’s. IndustrySA speaks to CEO Julie-May Ellingson about its recent developments and the impact the ICC has on the region.

The Durban International Convention Centre has been voted Africa’s leading meeting and conference centre by the World Travel Awards 12 times in 13 years and is rated amongst the top 20 convention centres in the world by the AIPC. The Durban ICC was built as part of the community development project, Operation Jumpstart, and since its opening on the 8th August 1997 by President Nelson Mandela, the ICC has made astonishing progress. In 2000, it took over management of the Durban Exhibition Centre that has become the home of Southern Africa’s biggest tourism show, Indaba, almost every year since it began. In 2004, work began on expanding the Durban ICC to include the Durban ICC Arena. It opened March 2007, turning it into Africa’s largest, column-free, flat floor exhibition centre and meeting space. The arena is a world class venue for sporting events and concerts with its retractable seating and capacity for up to 10,000 people. Marking the significance of this development, the Durban ICC, as well as the Durban Exhibition Centre and Durban

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ICC Arena, were all named as part of the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC Complex, after the former President of the African National Congress and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Albert Luthuli. The entire complex is 33,000m² of flexible exhibition and meeting space with operable walls that allow an unlimited number of venue configurations, state-of-the-art technical equipment and renowned high standards of service excellence. 2011 was yet another significant year as the Durban ICC hosted its largest and most complex event, the 17th Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17/CMP7). With 2500 meetings held over the two week period in addition to the main plenary session, the conference drew 20,000 delegates to the city of Durban. “Full credit must go to the Durban ICC staff who were amazing. Nothing was ever too big or too small for them to handle. COP17/CMP7 showed that we have the necessary capabilities and experience to host the largest and most complex events in the world,” says CEO, Julie-May Ellingson. That same year, the Durban ICC hosted the 123rd International Olympic Committee Session that

Durban ICC

boasted a uniquely African experience for the delegates.

ECONOMIC FOCUS The events hosted at the Durban ICC have had a huge impact on the economy. In the past financial year, the Durban ICC has contributed R2.94 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and R2.73 billion to the KwaZuluNatal Gross Geographic Product (GGP). In fact, over the last seven years, they have made a total GDP contribution of R17.4 billion. These are big numbers, but they are not the only way to increase the value of the City of Durban as far as Ms Ellingson is concerned. “We aim to attract international events which will not only bring large numbers of delegates into our city (i.e. bums in beds) but more importantly will build the knowledge economy in Durban and South Africa.” An example of this is the upcoming AIDS Conference, Ms Ellingson tells us. The Conference is set to come to the Durban ICC in 2016, bringing 18,000 delegates to the city and enabling a gathering of experts from all over the globe to come together and share their knowledge on finding a cure for HIV/AIDS.

The Durban ICC team actually targets international associations in key economic sectors with the hope of supporting the region’s economic and societal objectives. “As the Durban ICC we have aligned our focus with the city’s IDP, Provincial Growth and Development Plan and National Development Plan. As such we target specific events in key economic sectors that will directly contribute to the future economic growth of the city,” says Ellingson. With their entrepreneurial vision, the Durban ICC team are dedicated to making Durban the number one destination for conferences and exhibitions.

KEEPING IT GREEN As might be expected from the host of the COP17/ CMP7, the Durban ICC is leading the way in creating a sustainable, energy efficient venue by being one of only two venues in Africa to have ISO 14001 certification. ISO 14001 is an international certification that recognises a company’s dedication to minimising its negative impact on the environment. From the beginning, the Durban ICC was built with materials that endorse a greener environment

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company profile with its large glass panels that allow natural light to flood in and reduce the use of artificial lighting. It has gone from strength to strength with the implementation of innovative environmental sustainability systems and practices. This includes escalators that are only activated when stepped on, bathrooms that are designed to limit water wastage, a reduction in their use of bottled water as well as their promotion of waste separation. “The last assessment indicated that more than 40% of the waste generated at the complex was recycled, which equates to over 87 tonnes of waste being diverted from landfills,” says Ellingson. They have also recently undergone a lighting overhaul that is anticipated to reduce energy requirements by 7%. On top of all this, they have energy efficient cooling systems that build up ice overnight and then use it to cool the buildings the following day. “This initiative, combined with several other electricity reduction measures, such as energy-efficient light fittings, have resulted in a 12% reduction in our total energy consumption, equating to a saving of 1.2-million kilowatt-hours in the last year,” Ellingson explains.

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BIG IMPROVEMENTS In addition to the environmental infrastructure, the venue itself has been undertaking significant upgrades. “We have completed the replacement of the operable walls in our main plenary venue and over the next year this project will continue in our other convention halls too, as our business levels allow,” explains Ms Ellingson. It’s not just the main halls that are important, other parts of the Durban ICC are benefitting from generous investment too. “We are also busy equipping our smaller meeting rooms and hospitality suites with automated dropdown screens and top of the line data-projectors. This kind of investment in the facility ensures that the Durban ICC remains an attractive venue to its clients and competitive in the market,” says Ellingson. The introduction of their new service, ‘Business on Call’, will mean more changes and upgrades to the venue, as Ms Ellingson describes: “We believe there is a need in the city for a ‘lastminute’ meeting facility or office which can be booked at the drop of a hat. In order to cater for this need, we will be converting under-utilised office space into a suite of ten small meeting venues ideally suited to boardroom meetings or small training sessions. The venues will be permanently set up and serviced with all the modern conference amenities, allowing clients to book them at extremely short notice.” The Durban ICC team are further upgrading the air-conditioning and lighting systems as well as the ablutions and development is set to continue over the next two financial years.

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Tel :+27 11 315 – 3336 Fax :+27 11 315 – 3331 Afterhours :+27 11 315 – 9914

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Over the years the Durban ICC has won numerous awards for stand out convention and conference services and architecture. In 2013, they were awarded the International Star for Leadership in Quality by the Business Initiative Directions and they were also the Top 500 Companies’ Best Exhibition and Conference Facility in South Africa. The Durban ICC has successfully hosted some of the world’s most prestigious and complex events with a commitment to quality that is demonstrated through its Five Star Rating by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa. In the next few months, the Durban ICC is set to see a number of important events such as the International Conference on Chemical Thermodynamics running from the 27th July 2014 through to the 1st August 2014, followed by the International Union of Architects World Congress running from the 3rd to the 7th August 2014.

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Durban ICC

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