The Event Issue 11

Issue 11 | 2015

+NEW + NEW VENUES AND REFURBISHMENTS

Spotlight on SA’s New and Improved Meeting Spaces

+IBTM + IBTM WORLD

The South African Presence in Barcelona

+FINANCE + FINANCE PRODUCTS FOR EVENTS The Systems Taking SA by Storm

CALL NOW

TO SECURE YOUR SPACE IN THE PREMIER MARKETING TOOL FOR AFRICA’S BUSINESS EVENTS INDUSTRY. Now in its 4th year, The Event Planners Guide has reached over 15 000 clients through its print publication and 410 000 through the e-books.

Distributed in collaboration with the SANCB to Event Organisers, PCOs, Exhibition Organisers, Incentive Travel Houses, Corporate Clients and Government Offices; and to 600 International African Associations and through the following Media Partnerships: Meetings Africa (2016 Launch) | International Meetings Review | ibtm world | EXSA Conference and AGM | ibtm arabia | IMEX America | IMEX Frankfurt | IT&CM Asia Pacific | IT&CM India | IT&CMA China | Loeries Creative Week | Markex – World of Events | SAACI Congress | SETE - Sports and Tourism Exchange | SITE - Swahili International Tourism Expo | Tourism Expo Botswana | WTM Africa | Zambia International Travel Expo

CONTACT JUAN-MARI: 021 674 0646 juan-mari@filmeventmedia.co.za

CONTENTS

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01

02. Tech Talk: Google Gets into

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SOUTH AFRICANS AT IBTM WORLD Turn to page 7 to see who is attending ibtm world in Barcelona, and where to find them.

the Travel Industry

03. DA calls for Action to Stem Tourism Decline

04. IACC Releases Trends Report

05. SA Set to Play Host to the ASEA Conference

06. Bidding for World Events (Part 3)

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NEW VENUES AND REFURBISHMENTS From Aquila to Tshwane, SA’s meeting and event venues are ever growing.

07. SA Presence at ibtm world 10. New and Refurbished Venues 14. AAXO Exhibitor Training Day 15. AAXO and SAACI Announce A New Strategic Partnership

16. Finance in Events 18. Event Strategy: Unleash Brand Value

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS See which event professionals are moving onwards and upwards, locally and abroad.

20. ConCept G: Should Stand Builders Charge for Design Work?

22. Movers & Shakers 24. Event Greening Forum: Meetings Africa’s Tree-Planting Legacy

25. Swahili International Tourism Expo

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SPOTLIGHT ON MANGAUNG Next year’s SAACI Congress will be held in Mangaung, so we turn our focus on this region on the rise.

26. IT&CMA: Asia 2015 28. Explore the Island Paradise of Mauritius

30. City Spotlight on Mangaung 32. Associations 34. Events to Diarise 36. Directory of Advertisers

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TECH TALK

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Think With Google © Google

GOOGLE GETS INTO THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY Last month Google released an innovative and interactive device called Travel Dashboard.

Kim Muller finds out what exactly it does and how it will assist the industry.

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lobal tech giant Google’s latest tool, the Travel Dashboard, details recent trends in the travel industry. Thanks to the company’s extensive big data collection, they will be able to provide a comprehensive outlook for the airline, hotel and other travel industries.

The latest dashboard collects data from 2013 to June 2015, analysing the travel habits of people from 25 major US markets.

The tool is set to detail most-searched brands, most-travelled destinations and the top-five travel related questions on Google and mobile search items.

Designed to assist travel marketers around the world and help them understand the changing trends in the travel industry, the tool observed that the most attractive hotel brands in America were Marriott, Hampton Inn and Suites, Hilton Hotels, Holiday Inn and

Best Western in the first half of 2015.

According to Google, wherever travellers go, they’re online. “Whether planning a trip, navigating a new city, or sharing vacation memories, they turn to the web, using whatever device is at hand. This has completely reshaped the path to purchase, creating many moments of intent. The Google data in this dashboard provides a glimpse into these moments.”

The application can be found on www.thinkwithgoogle.com, which covers a range of industries including advertising, business-to-business, consumer goods, education, restaurants, retail, tech and fashion. The data covers six platforms, namely cross-media, display, mobile, search, social and video, and Google offers a range of products that interact with the app including YouTube, Google+ for Brands, Analytics and Ads.

Whether planning a trip, navigating a new city, or sharing vacation memories, they turn to the web, using whatever device is at hand. This has completely reshaped the path to purchase, creating many moments of intent. The Google data in this dashboard provides a glimpse into these moments.

Planning tools offered through Think with Google: •

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Google Trends – uses real time search data to help you gauge consumer search behaviours YouTube Dashboard – explores the most popular videos by gender, age and location Display Benchmarks Tool – pulls up-to-date industry benchmarks for you to display campaigns The Customer Journey to Online Purchase – an interactive infographic that explores typical customer behaviour Databoard for Research Insights – Explores studies, shares the data and curates select data into a custom infographic Our Mobile Planet Tool – custom-tailors facts about the global mobile consumer Mobile in the Purchase Journey – explores the role of the smartphone in the consumer journey Consumer Barometer – explores the role of online sources in the journey from consideration to purchase

NEWS

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DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE CALLS FOR ACTION The DA Western Cape calls on the Deputy President to act against the decline of inbound tourism. By Beverly Schäfer MPP, DA Western Cape Spokesperson on Economic Opportunities, Tourism and Agriculture

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he latest Tourism Business Index (TBI) 3rd quarter results from Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) has been released and the findings are alarming. Business confidence is at a record low, with the second lowest reported since 2010, and the lowest yet this year. The drop in confidence is largely attributed to National Government’s failure in responding to the Tourism Industry’s concerns in particular, Visa Regulations.

We now see that government was unprepared for the results of their onerous regulations that was implemented mid-2014.

I therefore call on the Deputy President act against Department of Home Affairs, Malusi

Gigaba’s relentless insistence to destroy one of the most important job creators in South Africa. The tourism industry is the only industry that has managed to add hundreds of thousands of new jobs driven mainly by the private sector.

TBCSA’s latest index survey includes the impact of Visa Regulations, and the results speaks loud and clear. Almost 49% of the respondents in the index state that the introduction of unabridged birth certificates is having a negative impact on travel with more than half of the respondents having experienced a negative impact due to the required in person collection of biometric data.

While experts on immigration control and child trafficking say the new regulations will not have an impact on illegal immigration or child trafficking, Gigaba refuses to acknowledge the truth. His conflict with the industry and with Minister of Tourism Derek Hanekom, makes it impossible to know where the administration really stand on the issue.

The Visa Regulations has already destroyed 50% of family-related travel, and risks destroying thousands of jobs.

Sanity must prevail before the damage to this crucial sector is unable to recover.

I call upon Ramaphosa to listen to the experts in this field and put an immediate stop to these mad regulations.

IMEX AMERICA BREAKS RECORDS

by Trade Show News Network

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s the 5th IMEX America wrapped up in Las Vegas, records were broken across the board, with a total of 3 100 companies representing 150 countries exhibiting, including 80 new booths and 56 expanded booth. In addition, the IMEX hosted buyer programme brought a record 3 000 buyers from 54 countries to the show, for a total 10 600 people participating in the event.

There were 66 000 business appointments of which more than 57 000 were one-to-one appointments and booth presentations.

More than 40 leading buyers from the corporate sector also came for the annual Executive Meetings Forum. With senior executives from Merck, Cisco Systems and Wells Fargo attending,

together they controlled annual meetings budgets in excess of $3 billion.

Ray Bloom, who heads the IMEX Group, reported that Smart Monday, powered by MPI, and supported by association partners, IAPCO, ICCA, ASAE, PCMA, HSMAI, DMAI, SITE, GBTA, GMIC and ECM, had once again grown and developed. “I’d like to congratulate MPI, our strategic partner and premier education provider, on the tremendous success of Smart Monday, which grows year after year,” Bloom said. He added, “This day of high level education adds a tremendously valuable extra dimension to people’s overall experience of the show. The daily MPI key note sessions have also featured very interesting speakers and generated a great response.”

A new educational initiative, the Play

Room, sponsored by Play with a Purpose, drew 350 participants on the first day and several hundred more when it moved on to the showfloor for three days.

There were several networking and education events held by different associations throughout the week, such as the MPI Foundation Rendezvous, IMEX America Night, Association Evening and the CIC Hall of Leaders.

“We are delighted that so many industry events are coming together here using IMEX America as a hub for successful fundraising events such as the MPI Foundation Rendezvous, the CEIR Golf Classic and SITE Nite, as well as education activities, social networking and industry meeting,” Bloom added.

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NEWS

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IACC RELEASES TRENDS REPORT It is encouraging to see another year of improved performance and we are seeing clear signs that this important sector of the meetings industry is being invested in by member customers.

IACC Americas Connect 2016 will take place in New York City © IACC

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he International Association of Conference Centres (IACC) has released the 2015 edition of “Trends® in the Conference Center Industry.” According to IACC CEO Mark Cooper, “For the third year running, this comprehensive trends report, the only one that focuses on small meetings-focused venues industry wide, indicates that IACC members have improved occupancy and rates are stronger than the previous year, significantly so for IACC’s corporate meeting venue operators.”

Mark continued, “Corporate meeting venues lead the recovery with the highest Average Daily Rate (ADR) and Revenue per Occupied Room (RevPOR).

Given the package plan represents 90% of this group of IACC-members’

Executive conference venues had forecasted a 5.9% increase in conference package rates in 2015 and resort venues a 3.4% in CMP rates.

business, it can be assumed that corporate customers are investing significantly in training and meetings and in their use of member venues.”

Participation from day meeting venues in this survey has increased and is providing valuable data on what is a growing member category for IACC. The average External Day Meeting Rate rose significantly to $105.

Last year, IACC members predicted a bumpy ride, business wise, and this proved to be the case with the economy experiencing some setbacks and earlier improved earnings faltering later in the year. This year, all venue types have predicted positive occupancy growth, with corporate venues forecasting the greatest improvements by year-end.

Conference centres with over 200 guest rooms are projecting +6.5% in annual occupancy over last year.

“It is encouraging to see another year of improved performance and we are seeing clear signs that this important sector of the meetings industry is being invested in by member customers. We are also seeing a greater number of our members attending learning events and conferences, as they invest in education and innovation,

which will result in a skill-enhanced workforce to prepare for increased demand within the small meetings segment in the coming year,” said Mark.

The trends research showed that resort meeting venues achieved the greatest increase in Complete Meeting Package (CMP) rates, showing a 2.6% increase over the previous year. Executive conference venues had forecasted a 5.9% increase in conference package rates in 2015 and resort venues a 3.4% in CMP rates.

Day meeting venues reported a 12% increase in package rates, which include room hire, technology and food and beverage. IACC conference hotel venues with 200 or more guestrooms have reported, so far this year, a 6.5% increase in occupancy, outperforming their comparable resort member properties.

In this survey IACC members reported that digital marketing accounted for the same number of qualified sales leads as for personal sales calls.

IACC’s Trends® in the Conference Center Industry is available to purchase on the IACC website store at: www.iacconline.org/

store/trends-in-the-conferencecenter-industry-north-america

CTICC

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CEO, JULIE-MAY ELLINGSON ON THE CTICC’S EXPANSION Rather, the expansion is a key way in which the CTICC will help to raise the global competitiveness of Cape Town as a premier world-class meetings and events destination.

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nce CTICC East is complete in 2017, the combined exhibition space of both buildings will be 21 159m². We have already secured our first bid that will see both CTICC West and East simultaneously occupied by 15 000 delegates in 2020. Many of our repeat clients have also indicated their intention to expand into CTICC East by 2017.

Our expansion, funded by the City of Cape Town and Western Cape Government, will raise the global competitiveness of Cape Town as a premier world-class meetings and events destination. This in turn allows us to meet the City’s Integrated Development Plan’s objective of establishing Cape Town as Africa’s business events

destination. Simply put, the expansion will double our existing exhibition capacity by adding 10 000m² of multi-purpose exhibition space and approximately 3 000m² of formal and informal meeting space.

The expansion plays a pivotal role in continuing to bring international business to the region. It will allow us to meet the growing demand to stage more events, offer more flexibility and allow for an increase in the concurrent hosting of various sizes of meetings, conventions, exhibitions and other events.

While the completion of CTICC East will enable the centre to meet the steadily growing demand from exhibition and conference organisers across the globe, the

CTICC expansion is about far more than merely adding buildings or increasing the centre’s floor space. Rather, the expansion is a key way in which the CTICC will help to raise the global competitiveness of Cape Town as a premier world-class meetings and events destination.

Given the widespread acknowledgement that future global economic growth is increasingly reliant on intellectual capital, the meetings, conferencing and exhibition sectors have a serious role to play as a key driver of knowledge sharing and intellectual growth in South Africa.

The CTICC is committed to playing a leadership role in the development of this knowledge-driven economy in Cape Town and across South Africa.

By allowing the centre to attract even more global associations and large, knowledge-based events, the CTICC expansion is growing its contribution to expanding the expertise, knowledge and skills in the city, the province and the country.

For more information contact the Corporate Communications Manager, Melany Kühn, on +27 21 410 5000.

Experience Extraordinary There is a place where the ordinary is transformed into the extraordinary. A place where passion prevails, innovation comes to life, and unforgettable experiences happen every day. Here breathtaking scenery, a vast selection of superb venues, and truly unforgettable cuisine conspire to put the ‘special’ into every event.

This place is Cape Town International Convention Centre. And to experience it is to experience extraordinary.

To transform your special event into an extraordinary experience contact CTICC: +27 21 410 5000 sales@cticc.co.za www.cticc.co.za

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OPINION

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BIDDING FOR WORLD EVENTS Nonnie Kubeka, General Manager at Gauteng Tourism Authority, is a wealth of information on bidding for large-scale events, with experience to match her expertise. She shares with Kim Muller exactly how the bidding process works, what to expect if you’re planning to submit a bid, and why successful bids are so important to the business events industry, and the national economy. This is part three in a three-part series.

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ast month, we dug into the coordination phase of the bid process, as well as the functions of a Local Organising Committee, and which elements are key to putting together the ideal presentation as part of your event bid. In this issue, we find out what to do once a country has been awarded an international bid.

Tips for Putting the Best Bid Together

Nonnie imparted many gems of wisdom for bidding for events, but these are her top tips for creating a truly excellent bid.

1.“Each and every bid is different.”

And for this reason, keeping things simple is always best. “If they ask how many rooms, you don’t say four rooms that can be divided into whatever. If it’s four, it’s four.

Things that are presented in a very simple and straightforward manner are the ones that win,” she says.

Participation Boosting This is the third phase of the bidding process. Participation boosting, or delegate boosting, begins once you’ve been awarded the bid for an event, Ms Kubeka explains. “People come from all over the world to watch tennis at Wimbledon, or to see the World Cup. Remember people have not planned to come to this event, so we have to do drives and activations.” She uses the 2015 SAACI Congress as an example. “The way SAACI posted on Facebook, you felt like, ‘oh, if I’m not at this particular conference, I’m going to miss out!’” This is just one of the many kinds of participant boosting.

Another form of activation is creating an intensive marketing campaign through the media. This could be by inviting media from a variety of countries and letting them do a ‘postcard’ each day on their visit. “This is to encourage them, to say, ‘this is what I’ve seen’; and to share the good things they’ve seen. They can Tweet, or write articles or blogs,” she says. “So you would perhaps invite ten of them and give them each a different month to write something.” This will ensure the event is

Nonnie Kubeka, General Manager at Gauteng Tourism Authority top of mind for ten consecutive months.

Activation options also include creating an attractive package for the potential attendee. Nonnie returns to her SAACI Congress example for this: “They did what we call an ‘accompanying person programme’ where the people that have families have a programme arranged especially for them from Friday until Sunday. It will have increased the numbers because certain people don’t want to leave their families over the weekend.”

2. If an event has been to Africa in the last decade, don’t even try bidding for it.

“This is because it has to rotate to so many other areas. So you have to check if the last event took place ten or twelve years ago, then there’s a possibility of the event coming back.”

3. Incorporate other African countries Internationals often want to experience Africa, not just the event; this is why at least two other areas such as the Kruger National Park or Kenya should be added to their itinerary.

Hosting This is pretty self-explanatory and is essentially where the bidding process ends and the hosting phase begins. “Once you reach this stage, there’s before the event, there’s during the event and there’s post the event,” Nonnie concludes.

Things that are presented in a very simple and straightforward manner are the ones that win.

FEATURE

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SA PRESENCE AT IBTM WORLD ibtm world connects the global meetings, events and incentives industry decision makers through 78 000 face-to-face meetings predicted to take place. The Event speaks to the South Africans attending the event from 17-19 November.

The main purpose of going there is to meet people and introduce ourselves, and if they are coming to SA, to give them the opportunity to provide our services.

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btm world has long been one of the foremost trade shows on the international calendar, and this year is no different. The South Africa National Convention Bureau will be attending the event along with a delegation of 19 exhibitors.

The global meetings industry is an important cog in a country’s economic development and ibtm world is a place where people can not only meet their international peers and potential clients, but where new trends are set for these sectors. A recent article for inVOYAGE by Daryl Keywood, MD of Walthers Tours, explores this: “We are definitely seeing a focus on unique experiences rather than extravagant dinners etc. Incorporating authentic local culture and meeting and bringing together people in the destination is what participants want to experience in addition to seeing the highlights,” he writes. ibtm world ticks all these boxes and more with their newly created ACS Knowledge Village, the annual Trends Watch report, and a Knowledge Programme focused on immersive events, engagement and appetite for change.The Event speaks to SA Pavilion exhibitors.

The Propel Africa Destination Management team

Riedwaan Jacobs, Managing Director of Ilios Conferences

the opportunity to provide our services.”

Why ibtm world is the show to be at: “We’re a three-and-a-half year old company which means we’re basically a start-up. In the last year we’ve been dealing mainly with national associations and conferences which are the smaller ones taking place in South Africa. We feel it’s time for us now to start breaking into the international association conference market and start to do international conferences. Needless to say events like ibtm world provide the perfect platform for us to meet with international hosted buyers, and introduce ourselves. ibtm world is a long term investment because you’re not going to meet someone there who’s going to be doing an event in the next three or four months in South Africa. I think most of the people going there are still considering which destination they want to take their congress to and that’s where the NCB comes in. The main purpose of going there is to meet people and introduce ourselves, and if they are coming to SA, to give them

On exhibiting with the SANCB on the SA Pavilion: “We wouldn’t have been able to attend without their support – I think the cost to exhibit there is like R60 000 to R70 000, and then there’s still flights and accommodation so there’s no way a small business like us would have been able to afford it without the NCB’s support.”

Mnqobi Mahlangu, Managing Director at Ubuhle Tours On his expectations for the show: “Our expectation is to form partnerships and network with buyers that are interested in having their meetings in Tshwane or experience the vast activities that it has to offer for breakaway tours or incentive packages.”

On why he chose to attend this event: “It connects you with decision makers and you get to network with key industry stakeholders which is good for Africa to promote its offerings globally.”

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FEATURE

Nick Buckland, Director of Into Africa On why ibtm world is best for his business: “There has been a significant growth in the number of business travel trade shows over the last few years. The net effect of this from an exhibitor’s perspective is a dilution of buyers and as a consequence potential business. It is important to select the trade show which best matches your needs. ibtm world is well proven and is exactly what is says it is – a worldwide show which allows you to showcase your product and services to a global audience. Exhibiting on the South Africa stand at this show provides the right profile at a show of this calibre.”

Miguel Bennetto-Dos Santos, Director of Group Sales, The Westin Cape Town On why this event is pivotal for The Westin, as well as the African continent: “ibtm world is a good show for the Westin Cape Town in that it allows us to meet with clients that already have expressed interest in our property but are wanting a faceto-face experience on the facilities. The timing of the show is also good as it allows products to solidify leads that will actualize in the following year. For Starwood, it is a fantastic opportunity to showcase its 38 properties throughout Africa, and this is so important for planners as they are able to tap into any of these properties through a one-stop-shop approach. To be able to confidently refer a piece of business to another African country and assure the clients of continuity of service is always a good thing for the continent as it ensures revenues and market share.”

Yoshni Singh, International Sales Manager, Sandton Convention Centre, Tsogo Sun On their expectations for ibtm world: “ibtm world has always been an important marketing platform which forms part of our annual marketing plan. Our expectations are that the show will be bigger and better. We wish to increase presence in Europe in order to secure more larger international association business to the city and continent.”

Why this event is great for SCC: “It allows for Johannesburg to stay on the map as a

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competitor for international events. With SCC being the host venue for Meetings Africa, this platform assists to promote the show. It helps associations to build/increase membership for their relevant associations.”

Carole O’Connor, Marketing Manager MICE at Rovos Rail On her expectations for ibtm world: “I have exhibited at many shows but not in Barcelona as the new ibtm world, as I felt the IMEX show in Frankfurt sufficed. The prescheduled appointment system works well for me and being on the South Africa Pavilion is an excellent platform to show case Rovos Rail as well as network with the other exhibitors on the stand…The MICE side of Rovos Rail is a relatively new division that I head up, so I am hoping to achieve a great interest from the more high-end Incentive Buyers, many of whom are aware of Rovos on the FIT side of the business.”

James Seymour, Chief Convention Bureau Officer at Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau On why ibtm world is a critical event for SA: “There is no doubt that ibtm world, formerly known as EIBTM, is one of the four most critical business-events trade shows that South African Convention Bureau’s need to attend. It is a critical platform for us to engage with potential association, corporate, government and incentive buyers.

The Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau has used this as key platform to raise the level of awareness of the offerings of KwaZulu-Natal as a business-events destination, to secure critical leads for business events that we could host in the ‘Zulu Kingdom’ and to build on relationships that we have made with buyers over the years. Business events are one of the most extreme forms of relationship marketing.

It sometimes takes years to convince a potential buyer to take what is a significant decision to bring a particular organisation’s business event to a destination such as Durban and KwaZulu-Natal.”

buyers whose business interests include South Africa, particularly Mpumalanga.

We want to secure meetings with buyers who are interested in incentive trips, and to interact with hosted buyers who want to have their events in the wild, for example, Kruger National Park. The event is good in that it gives Mpumalanga a platform to promote its unique offerings to the Hosted Buyers who are looking to take their business to Africa.”

Scott Langley, Marketing and Sales Manager, Durban International Convention Centre On exhibiting at ibtm world: “The Durban ICC has exhibited at this show for many years and we view it as a ‘must-attend’ event in our global calendar. In our experience, the event always offers an excellent quality of buyer and an extremely interesting knowledge programme. As Africa continues to grow in popularity in the international meetings industry, it is critical that our destination be represented at these types of shows to proactively promote the unique offering we have.”

As Africa continues to grow in popularity in the international meetings industry, it is critical that our destination be represented at these types of shows to proactively promote the unique offering we have.

Sma Dlamini, Business Events Manager, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency On their expectations for the event and why it’s great for Mpumalanga: “Our expectation is that we meet hosted

Scott Langley of Durban ICC, an exhibitor at ibtm world 2015 © Durban ICC

FEATURE

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Pernilla Landstedt, Propel Africa Destination Management On her expectations for ibtm world: “My expectations at ibtm world 2015 is to meet with existing clients from our main market (Scandinavia) but it is also vital for us to meet some new clients from new markets. The aim is to bring back some requests for next season and I’m also hoping to convince some clients to come and experience South Africa during the secret season, winter. This is the time of year when it’s not too busy with lots of visitors, wildlife is at it’s the best, whales will come to shores, the weather is most of the time like a good north European summers day and prices are even more compatible than normal.

The message for me is to explain why we do our work and let them understand how we do it to make their client have their best travel experience ever.”

On why this event is worth attending: “ibtm world is a great event since it is the main MICE event in the world. It been

running successfully for many years. ibtm world attracts the best buyers and the best exhibitors in the industry looking to make business in the MICE industry.”

products to raise their company profile but to also motivate buyers that the African continent has so much to offer as an option to host meetings.”

Corne Koch, Head of the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau (Wesgro)

Lillian Hlabangane, Director of International & Association Meetings Management, City of Tshwane

On their expectations for ibtm world: “Our expectations are exactly what ibtm world stands for – Connections mean everything!

We hope to reaffirm connections with our existing clients, as well as connect with top level buyers to ultimately create new business opportunities. We believe in the power of meeting faceto-face and being able to reach a global audience using the trade show.”

On why it’s a good event for Africa: “The trade show offers a cost-effective way to promote the destination’s products and services to businessevent influencers to ultimately meet our business objectives. The show not only allows an opportunity for South African

On their expectations at ibtm world: “Our expectation is to increase our international presence, network, increase destination awareness and position Tshwane as the business event destination of choice for business events within the research industry. Mostly importantly we expect to meet with hosted buyers and convert the leads.”

Why this event is great for Tshwane and the greater continent: “As one of the leading intellectual cities in Africa, this is the opportunity to learn and benchmark ourselves with other cities across the globe; to also put Africa as a destination for big international congresses.”

IBTM KNOWLEDGE Creating connections, innovating and inspiring attendees.

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ey topics for this year’s ibtm knowledge programme at ibtm world will include ‘Connections’, ‘Inspiration’ and ‘Innovation’, highlighting the diverse range of content that will be delivered on the show floor.

Erica Keogan, Associations and Education Manager, ibtm events comments, “We are looking forward to welcoming the most impressive line-up of international speakers we have had at the show to date. This year’s ibtm knowledge programme is going to be full of inspiring and engaging content, which we hope everyone will make the most of and enjoy.

“We’re particularly excited about Christine Renaud’s session; Brain Dating: The Next Frontier For Events. In this session, based on the case study of a partnership between C2 Montréal & E-180, social entrepreneur and

CEO of E-180 will share her best practices to boost the peer-learning component of events.

Negative Brainstorming: Using The Power Of The “Pre-Mortem” To Reveal Problems Before They Happen is also set to draw in the crowds. Presented by Brandt Krueger, Owner of Event Technology Consulting, the session invites participants to think creatively and critically about their events and meetings.

Finally, in partnership with ISES and presented by Héctor A. Venegas, Chief Executive Officer and Partner of SwarmWorks Ltd. and Heiner Koppermann, Co-founder and CEO of SwarmWorks Ltd. (Germany) and SwarmWorks, Inc. (USA); The Business of Bore Busting in Meetings and Events: Using Neuroscience and Technology for Breakthroughs in Live Communication will introduce the subject of collective intelligence.

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FEATURE

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01 CTICC 02 CTICC 03 CCCC, Courtesy of Rabie Property Group 04 Hoyohoyo Hotels & Resorts: Chartwell Lodge

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NEW AND REFURBISHED VENUES There’s been a surge of infrastructural development over the last twelve months and the Event has been at the forefront of this growth, documenting many new and refurbished venues across South Africa. Kim Muller reports. uch place in in thethe past uchhas hastaken taken place past year, of of large hotel year,with witha anumber number large hotel groups investment groupsannouncing announcing investment ininAfrica. is is leading thethe Africa.Hilton Hilton leading race onon thethe continent race to todevelop developnew newhotels hotels continent with while with 77250 250rooms roomsininitsitspipeline, pipeline, while Carlson rooms spread CarlsonRezidor Rezidorhas has6 6953 953 rooms spread

across 32 hotels. Marriott is in third place with 6 412 rooms in its pipeline – up 22% since 2014. Hilton will also be opening its first hotel in Swaziland, while Best Western, Mangalis and Kempinski all have plans in the works for new developments.

Closer to home, much has been

happening. From a number of new convention and conference centres to fabulous new five-star hotels, the list is almost endless – but here they are, the new developments, the refurbished properties, and those currently going through expansion.

FEATURE

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Aquila Private Game Reserve Aquila Private Game Reserve is situated on the R46, just off the N1, near Touws River and is under two hours’ drive from Cape Town. Aquila is an ideal executive getaway and Cape Town conference centre. There are a variety of room set-ups possible, full catering amenities and stately conferencing equipment. Aquila Game Reserve has a refurbished conference centre with a dance floor and buffet area.

The conference centre can seat up to 92 pax. There are two breakaway rooms and an option to strategise in the Boma

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restaurant. Aquila has an impressive activities list, including traditional game drives, safaris on horseback, quad biking, 4x4 mountain trails, visits to ancient rock art sites, and so much more.

Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) Cape Town’s world-class convention centre is currently undergoing massive expansion to accommodate the many requests it has been receiving. Most recently it was chosen as the venue for the prestigious World Ophthalmology Congress in 2020 – the first time it will be held on the African continent.

According to CEO Julie-May Ellingson, the expansion is “a key way in which the CTICC will help to raise the global competitiveness of Cape Town as a premier world-class meetings and events destination.” The CTICC will have an additional 10 000m2 of multi-purpose exhibition space, 3 000m2 of additional meeting space and a reduced environmental footprint – as well as a significantly increased socio-economic contribution.

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Century City Conference Centre and Hotel (CCCC) This brand new venue only opens in early 2016 but has already seen sixteen conferences booked for next year. The much-anticipated Century City Conference Centre and its super-posh hotel adjacent to the complex can accommodate 1 200 people cinema style. At capacity it can host 1 900 delegates across 20 venues. Its square can be used as additional exhibition space or for gala functions, while a further 1 200m2 is available under a Bedouin canopy. Joint CEOs Glyn Taylor and Gary Koetser are leading the operation.

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Hoyohoyo Hotels & Resorts

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This gem is a fairly new family-owned establishment – founded in 2009 – with six venues under their banner.

Hoyohoyo is ideal for majestic getaways, with meeting facilities as follows: • Chartwell Lodge – A four-star boutique hotel in Johannesburg complete

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with a relaxing day spa and eventing and conference facilities for up to 500 delegates cinema style.

Eagle’s View Eco Estate – Set upon the breath-taking God’s Window escarpment, this estate has two onebedroom units and a four bedroom cottage complete with amenities.

The venue can hold up to 650 guests, with fully inclusive packages for teambuilding and conferences.

Machadostud Lodge – A delightful cattle farm and fishing chalets in the mountainous Eastern Highlands of Mpumalanga, with three self-catering cottages for 12 or more guests. Their conference centre holds 18 guests, ideal for an intimate strategy session.

Acorns Conferencing – Located near the Orpen Gate of the Kruger National park, this unspoiled lodge and conference facility offers twelve double-storey cottages and meeting facilities for up to 300 delegates.

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FEATURE

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Johannesburg Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch Part of Marriott International’s footprint across the continent is the 150-room Marriott Hotel in Joburg’s Melrose Arch and a 200-unit Marriott Executive Apartments, slated for completion in February 2018. The Marriott Hotel Melrose Arch will also have conference and event facilities for up to 500 delegates, and will also include a business centre, restaurant and pool.

“Africa is important to Marriott International’s growth strategy because of its rapid economic growth, growing middle class and youth population, as well as the expansion of international flights onto the continent,” explains Alex Kyriakidis, President and Managing Director, Middle East and Africa for Marriott International. The hotel and apartments will join Marriott’s existing properties in the area, the African Pride Melrose Arch Hotel and Protea Hotel Fire & Ice! Melrose Arch.

Lanzerac Hotel & Spa If you enjoy the idyllic countryside, Lanzerac Hotel and Spa in Stellenbosch will be right up your alley. The 300 year old wine estate is in the process of completing a fabulous refurbishment after new management took over in 2012. Phase one was a complete remodelling of the Wine Tasting Room, with a beautifully appointed space for their acclaimed wines. Phase two was the full reconstruction of the Lanzerac function venue, The Cellar Hall, and the

NH The Lord Charles Hotel

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02 01 NH The Lord Charles 02 Lanzerac Hotel & Spa 03 Lanzerac Hotel & Spa Cellar Hall External View 04 Radisson Blu Le Vendome Cape Town © Carlson Rezidor

upgrade of the Manor House boardrooms.

These state-of-the-art facilities are a firm favourite for high-profile events.

Phase three, which takes place in 2015/16, is the redoing of all the hotel rooms to include new amenities, five star conveniences and comforts – as well as original antique pieces and artwork. The latter part of 2015 will see soft refurbs to the lounge and restaurant, as well as touch ups to the main pool area and a complete remodelling of the Lanzerac Spa, due for completion around March or April next year.

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NH South Africa announced in September this year that the major refurbishment programme of its landmark property, NH The Lord Charles Hotel, was completed on schedule. The refurbs included major renovations to the conference centre, lobby area and Garden Terrace Restaurant, as well as 100 guest rooms. The refurbishment is part of the brand repositioning programme contained in the five-year strategic plan announced by the hotel group in 2014.

The upgraded conferencing facilities are ideal for up to 600 delegates and come complete with flexible room spaces and world-class equipment, from teleconferencing to audio visuals. The hotel is conveniently situated only 20 minutes from Cape Town International Airport and 30 minutes from the CBD.

Radisson Blu Le Vendome Hotel Situated in Sea Point, Cape Town, Le Vendome Hotel opened its doors in early 2015. This incredible new property has modern conference facilities for meetings of up to 250 delegates in the Atlantic Meeting rooms, while the opulent London Boardroom is perfect for up to 10 delegates. Le Vendome has 143 rooms and suites featuring old world detail and convenient amenities – including free, high-speed Wi-Fi. Added to this comfort are its inspiring sea views – including meeting rooms with stunning seascapes, and some of the best eating and shopping options in close proximity.

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FEATURE

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Rustenburg International Convention Centre (RICC) Rustenburg is set to become home to an International Convention Centre, according to Executive Mayor Mpho Khunou. It is estimated to cost R683 million, and potential investors will be invited to share in this during the next financial year.

“The ICC will be combined with two hotels adjacent to it as well as retail outlets and possibly residential development nearby. The estimated costs are for the ICC only and do not include the two hotels and residential development,” he said during his State of the City address in May this year. This move, as well as a boost in flights to the North West province is part of the region’s goal of regaining the number two spot as a tourism destination in South Africa.

Tsogo Sun Hotels Tsogo Sun announced earlier this year they had reached an agreement to demolish the Tulip Hotel in Cape Town to make way for an exciting new 500 bedroom complex in

the city centre. The new hotel will consist of two products in one – a 200 bedroom SunSquare Hotel and a 300 bedroom new generation StayEasy Hotel. Construction is slated for completion in September 2017.

Tsogo Sun CEO Marcel von Aulock explains, “We believe the continued development and rejuvenation of Cape Town’s city centre will lead to growing demand for hotel accommodation. We already operate three full service hotels – The Cullinan, Southern Sun Waterfront and Southern Sun Cape Sun – as well as the recently refurbished SunSquare Cape Town in Gardens and believe the addition of an exciting new product aimed at the limited service market will allow us to provide the full spectrum of products to suit all budgets for both business and leisure travellers.”

Tsogo Sun Garden Court Marine Parade, located on Durban’s Golden Mile, has just received a ‘majestic’ revamp, according to IOL Travel. The hotel was first opened in 1985, and is an art deco masterpiece – especially after its R110-million restoration.

It has 352 sea-facing rooms and a pool

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area on the 30th floor with sweeping views of the beachfront, harbour and city. The upgraded conference and event venues can accommodate up to 500 delegates.

Tshwane International Convention Centre (TICC) In 2006 the government announced that Tshwane, one of the largest metropolitan areas in SA, would be building its own international convention centre in Centurion. Almost ten years later and it is finally being realised. The Tshwane International Convention Centre is being developed by Community Investment Holdings and is set to be part of the African Gateway Convention and Exhibition Precinct, a project in the shape of the African continent on a 14 hectare site.

TICC will be an 8 000m2 multi-purpose facility hosting 2 000 delegates indoors and up to 5 000 guests including the outdoor plaza space. It will also have 20 breakaway rooms and two hotels with 500 rooms in total, including a five-star property linking directly to the convention centre.

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SPOTLIGHT

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AAXO EXHIBITOR TRAINING DAY The Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) held its first event in mid-October since its inception a few months ago. Aimed at the exhibitors that attend South Africa’s myriad lifestyle, B2B and consumer shows, this well-attended training day was a resounding success for AAXO.

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arol Weaving opened the event by explaining the aims of AAXO and the training day. “AAXO is a dynamic and credible new voice for exhibition organisers. Our aim is to collectively represent professional exhibition organisers and to regulate conduct in the interest of the industry and exhibitors and establish opportunities for growth and success. Exhibitions are a powerful platform to stimulate trade and attract foreign investment to the African continent. They are a great marketing medium that bring potential customers right to your doorstep through face-to-face interaction, questions and answer sessions, product demonstrations and engaging brand experiences.

We are here today to show you how to maximise your participation.”

Held at the Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, the event comprised engaging and entertaining presentations

by Frank Tilley, Gary Corin, Brian Prowling, Conrad Kullman, Amanda Cunningham, Projeni Pather, Sugen Pillay, Mitch Bowker, Justin Hawes, and the Event’s very own Katie Reynolds and Lance Gibbons.

Lance and Katie spoke about the importance of working with the press before, during, and after the exhibition.

Exhibitions are, at heart, the truest form of face-to face business eventing, and deals are struck based on the quality of the initial engagement with your client. The media grooms your client for that engagement through consistent brand awareness and cross-platform marketing solutions.

Other topics of engagement included: How to green your stand; Planning the stand design; Manning your stand;

A s a first time event we are delighted, it was a resounding success and a positive step forward for AAXO in meeting its objective of providing education and training to our exhibitors on how to maximize their participation at an exhibition. This in turn benefits the entire industry.

Taking advantage of sponsorship opportunities; Approaching visitors, networking and evaluating competition; Measuring success vs goals and objectives; Following up on leads; and Managing expectations on the stand.

When asked about her about her feelings about the Exhibitor Training day, Carol said “as a first time event we are delighted, it was a resounding success and a positive step forward for AAXO

in meeting its objective of providing education and training to our exhibitors on how to maximize their participation at an exhibition. This in turn benefits the entire industry. We look forward to continuing on from this success. We are holding exhibition organiser training in January specifically around technology and digital media.”

Congratulations to Carol Weaving, Cindy Wandrag and the rest of the AAXO team for an excellent and informative day.

SPOTLIGHT

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AAXO AND SAACI IN NEW STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP AAXO and SAACI join forces for a stronger and more productive exhibition industry.

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s the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) grows and expands, part of the vision of the organisation is to form partnerships with other bodies that share in AAXO’s vision of a profitable and thriving exhibition industry. This is in keeping with the mandate of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI), and for this reason, AAXO and SAACI have entered into a strategic partnership which will result in a greater number of benefits for members of both organisations.

SAACI represents various industry sectors such as conferences, exhibitions, services, technical providers, transport services and venues, whilst AAXO was formed to be the voice of exhibition organisers. The synergy between the two bodies and their interactions within the exhibition industry presented an opportunity for co-operation and resourcesharing. The agreement will allow for the exchange of ideas between the two bodies, as well as providing increased opportunities for members of both organisations to connect. Members now have the option to attend both AAXO and SAACI networking sessions and training

courses, which increases the body of knowledge within the entire sector.

Carol Weaving, member of AAXO says that the partnership made a lot of sense with regards to giving members added value. “SAACI is a well-oiled machine, with great benefits for members and fantastic relationships and a strong reputation within the industry. Collaborating with them will give AAXO members access to SAACI resources – and vice-versa – and it gives us both an opportunity to enhance the level of professionalism in the South African and African exhibition industry for the good of all who work within it.”

Adriaan Liebetrau, the Chief Executive Officer of SAACI, agrees. “The key messages and take-aways from our Congress this year was the need to collaborate. This collaboration is not just for our member’s individual businesses but also for all the associations in the business-events sector. SAACI is a firm believer that we should not just grow the proverbial slice of the pie but we need to grow the pie. As South Africa, Southern Africa and the African continent at large is showing great growth potential in business events with many new

Collaborating with them will give AAXO members access to SAACI resources – and vice-versa – and it gives us both an opportunity to enhance the level of professionalism.

venues and hotels being constructed we need to find ways to work together in the best interest of our members and stakeholders. Partnering with AAXO is another step in the right direction and we are excited of this new formed partnership between our two associations.”

For more information on AAXO and the partnership agreement with SAACI visit www.aaxo.co.za or contact Cindy Wandrag on 011 549 8300 or

info@aaxo.co.za. For membership inquiries, including a full list of membership benefits and information on how to join, contact membership@aaxo.co.za

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FEATURE

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Illustrated by Lauren Smith

FINANCE IN EVENTS Kim Muller explores the systems that are taking the globe by storm, and why the events arena should get involved, too.

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ast year, we explored the banking apps overtaking South Africa, from Nedbank, Standard Bank, FNB and Absa to SureSwipe, SnapScan and Wappoint. This year, our eye extends even further – to broader themes impacting the financial product realm. All of the below-mentioned topics will change or have already changed the payment and transactional realm, from registering for a conference to buying that Proudly South African product for your kiddie back home.

for processes including financial, while 58% used mobile access for corporate applications. Examples of mobile financial products include SnapScan, which has become highly popular in South Africa, and Carta Worldwide which offers services such as Host Card Emulation for security and stability, Tokenisation, enabling services to request tokenised card credentials in place of consumer payment card credentials, and transaction processing enabling operational flexibility.

1. Mobile and Cloud Technologies

2. EPS: ‘Easy Payment System’

This is a bit of a no-brainer, but these days, there are any number of ways to pay for things via mobile or through cloud-based applications. According to a study by Telstra Global Enterprises and Services, 59% of respondents used cloud services

Although it actually stands for Electronic Payment Systems, this technology makes our lives easier without us even realising it. It was launched in 1985 and is the largest system in Asia with over 25 000 acceptance locations. EPS offers a range of

options: EPS Banking Solutions (managing cards, ATMs, POS, transactions, and online fraud), EPS InstantCARD (a customisable solution for producing cards), EPS Mobile Banking and EPS Branch Online.

Morocco’s BITS offers a number of EPS solutions to locals as mentioned above.

3. Join the Identity Parade One of the fastest-growing facets of financial products is identity verification.

Companies like Intelligent ID offer solutions in this arena to businesses. Options include financial services and pre-pay cards, online gaming, Adult website and television services, recruitment and on-boarding, and e-commerce – all areas which constantly need identity verification. South Africa’s number one verification service is VerifyID, offering quick mobile verifications as well

FEATURE

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as risk analysis and online, SMS, and bulk verifications. MIE offers a similar service with instant ID validation and authentication, as well as credit checks and drivers’ license verification.

4. Cryptocurrency and Beyond For those not yet in the know, SA hosted its first Bitcoin Africa Conference in Cape Town this year. Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency – an innovative payment network and a new kind of digital money. The difference between this coin and traditional dollars, euro or yen is that it is decentralised, meaning no single institution controls the bitcoin network. The currency (and over 600 like it) is not physically printed but is instead ‘mined’ by a community of people using computing power in a distributed network. It is based on mathematics and the formula for producing bitcoins is freely available and open source – meaning anyone can have access to it to ensure it does what it’s meant to.

10 Cryptocurrency Alternatives to Bitcoin Litecoin: This one sets itself up as the ‘silver to Bitcoin’s gold’.

Confirmations of transactions are apparently processed quicker than Bitcoin and the way it’s mined also eliminates some of the advantage for miners with specialised computer hardware.

Price: $13.53 Year Created: 2011 Peercoin: Peercoin markets itself as using less energy and therefore being more environmentally friendly than others on the market. It is designed to have a 1% rate of inflation.

Price: $3.37 Year Created: 2012 Primecoin: Miners have to use their computers to find Cunningham chains, which are sequences of prime numbers.

Price: $1.55 Year Created: 2013

Other great aspects of this ‘future’ currency is that it’s anonymous, completely transparent, and transaction fees are miniscule – Bitcoin doesn’t charge for international transfers – and it’s fast. It’s so fast that you can send your money anywhere and it will arrive minutes later, as soon as the Bitcoin network processes the payment. The blockchain is similar to a bank’s balance sheet or ledger in that it is viewable at any time by anyone. The blocks continue to grow as peers in the network, called miners, relay and confirm transactions.

The downside is that it’s nonrepudiable, that is, once they’re sent, there’s no getting them back unless the recipient returns them to you.

Although this technology has taken off in leaps and bounds across the US and Europe, African cryptocurrency is on the rise. Coinbase, LocalBitcoins, BitQuick, CoinCorner, BitBargain and Xapo are all platforms where Bitcoin can be bought or sold.

Namecoin: Created to explore the record-keeping side of cryptocurrency technology. It acts as a peer-topeer, decentralised domain name system for dot-bit domains.

Price: $3.30 Year Created: 2011 Ripple: Already having attracted millions in venture capital, Ripple does not allow for mining as Bitcoin does.

It is set up as a payment network not only for Ripple, but for other currencies, and as an automated system for currency trades.

Price: $0.014 Year Created: 2013 Sexcoin: The goal of this coin is, you guessed it, to allow for consumers of Adult content to have a fast, stable and secure method of transaction that protects privacy.

Price: $0.0073 Year Created: 2013 Quark: The Quark coin uses nine rounds of encryption to ensure security and anonymity of

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Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency – an innovative payment network and a new kind of digital money. The difference between this coin and traditional dollars, euro or yen is that it is decentralised.

The currency is not physically printed but is instead ‘mined’ by a community of people using computing power in a distributed network.

transactions. Because it is mined using regular computer processing power, it allegedly offers the ‘fairest distribution model available’.

Price: $0.05 Year Created: 2013 Freicoin: This one imposes a ‘demurrage fee of about 5% annually on money held by users, meaning that if you hoard instead of spend, your coin will decrease in value.

Price: $0.036 Year Created: 2012 Mastercoin: Created to address some of the security and price stability issues of Bitcoin, Mastercoin implements more advanced features on top of the block chain.

Price: $52.46 Year Created: 2013 Nxt: Like Ripple, it does not build on the Bitcoin code, but instead uses its own code written from Java software.

Price: $0.045 Year Created: 2013

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OPINION

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EVENT STRATEGY: UNLEASH BRAND VALUE Consumers are increasingly willing to participate in campaigns, become a part of the brand and open up to companies they love. Digital is often impersonal and communication can appear cold and fragmented. Knowing consumers’ willingness to connect in this digital age is an opportunity for brands to connect in the real world with consumers. A killer event strategy is key to exploiting this.

By Magnetic Storm hile traditional channels struggle to cut through the noise, events can quickly establish a genuine emotional connection. Events can wrap audiences up in authentic brand experiences, disarm skeptics, schmooze cynics, and ultimately win consumers over. In short: they make true engagement possible.

Think of it like this: Why do people visit Table Mountain when they can Google it?

Because the experience is multi-dimensional: proximity and tangibility builds familiarity, and authenticity creates an emotional response.

Plus people love sharing / talking about the actual experience and “being there”.

When strategically planned and creatively imagined, events can strengthen messages delivered through other marketing and advertising platforms and provide opportunities to inspire, create loyalty, and attract and build relationships with new audiences.

Event strategy and brand strategy: two sides of the same coin Having an event strategy is much more than great planning or including the latest tech.

We all seek clear and consistent experiences at each brand touch point and this holds true for events as well. The entire event, from conception to realisation should be held together by a clear purpose and a recurring theme to tie all brand events together.

Experience is the new currency There are two factors that determine event strategy success: • How deeply it is grounded in the brand • The extent to which the event meets (and exceeds) customer needs and expectations.

Consumers now expect and demand more from brands including product and service quality, environmental impact, and the scale and relevance of events. With the stakes so high, brands that ignore customers’ need for tangible, direct dialogue, face a new risk – for example suspicions can evolve into opposition. This risk is compounded by the prevalence of social media - anyone can impact a brand’s image and reputation As a result, brands need to be proactive and allow direct engagement to create ongoing, meaningful relationships.

Staying ahead of the curve Well-produced events build market share, increase profits, and boost brand equity in the long-term. If you want to make create an exemplary event that maximizes brand potential, here are some key points to keep in mind: 1. Integrate on- and off-line touch points It may seem appropriate to place related event material online, but most efforts to promote events often lack the conceptual

Why do people visit Table Mountain when they can Google it? Because the experience is multi-dimensional: proximity and tangibility builds familiarity, and authenticity creates an emotional response.

link. To close the gap, online and offline activities should be interlinked, to simplify the guest journey throughout the event and delivering a rich, consistent experience.

2. Embrace your values The wow factor isn’t the only thing to consider in events. Inappropriate ‘wow factor’ initiatives can dilute brand strength. Instead, events should embrace and mirror the brand’s values, rather than host the latest spectacle.

3. Act sustainably It is no longer adequate to merely talk about sustainability or play up a green image – you have to be green. Demonstrate how you are serious about minimizing, or entirely negating, potential environmental impact. Work out how to reduce or offset environmental impact from planning and set-up, to execution and cleanup.

4. Monetary ROI is not everything Creating an event requires effort and there is no doubt that return on investment needs to be measured. Rather than assessing an event’s worth based on the number of participants or direct post-event sales impact, look at an event’s ‘return on engagement’. The more people are involved and engaged with the brand during the event, the more brand value is likely to be built.

Conclusion Brands must meet continually evolving needs and meet them with greater clarity and precision. As a vital point of contact between consumers and brands, events hold the key to uniting the need to deliver clear understanding and the ‘next new thing’.

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FEATURE

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Gill and Andrew Gibbs of ConCept G

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SHOULD STAND BUILDERS CHARGE FOR DESIGN WORK? This call for further discussion is brought to you by ConCept G.

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ne of the main reasons for ConCept G’s success is because they bring experience, knowledge and track record to their target market, and are contracted mainly because of that experience. Stand builders need to determine how much their clients value them and their specialised services.

Gill Gibbs of ConCept G says that “Occasionally a client will ask us for a design and then they will take our design to another stand builder to quote.

Should we then charge for this design, considering it is our intellectual property?”

In an effort to be different from competitors, should stand-builders offer more attractive value adds? This will surely raise their profile, but at what cost?

Gill feels that “We should take a hard look at our background and experience and find as many reasons as we can to start communicating higher value to our clients. Many of our design projects require us to work nights or weekends. Is it fair for us to bill clients for those extra hours?”

“There are certain instances where a client will purchase a design from us.

In these cases, most clients want you to give them an actual quote for the design, rather than an hourly rate in order for them to have a fixed price for said design. You could translate your preferred hourly rate into a flat per-design project quote to cover cases where after hours work or overtime is entailed – but this may blow your pricing out of the market”, says Andrew Gibbs.

As an industry, design is one of the core service offerings. Stand builders hire qualified, experienced architects, 3D designers and exhibition designers, and purchase licences for the latest design software and invest in on-going design training. In other

industries, the design function would be billed out to clients either by the hour or a design fee would be calculated according to the scope and size of the project and would be payable either before the design is started or once it is complete, regardless of whether the project goes ahead or not.

Cara Nortman of SSQ Exhibitions says that “In the local exhibition industry, it has become common practice to design and quote at risk and at the expense of the company doing the design work. This cost is generally only recompensed if the project is won and most of the time the actual design fee is discounted in order to meet overall stand budgets. It takes time and resources to put together a design and in an ideal world the design function is one that should be billable. However unless this is mandated to the industry and everyone agrees that our designers time and experience should be valued and accurately charged for, it is very difficult for some to charge for this function upfront and still remain competitive when other players in the industry choose not to”.

Robyn Self of Plan-It Design says “As a member of the South African Institute of Interior Design Professions (IID), and working mostly in the retail and corporate sectors, it is industry practice to quote on the various design phases of a project: Appraisal and definition of a project, Design Concept, Design Development and Technical documentation.”

“Along with many other professional design bodies throughout the world, the IID resolutely opposes all ‘free’ pitching (supplying design/décor services at no charge) as it destroys the value of design services and undermines the professional standing of all designers. As a client it is worth paying for the expertise, advice, service and design solutions offered by

Occasionally a client will ask for us a design and then they will take our design to another stand builder to quote. Should we then charge for this design, considering it is our intellectual property?

- Gill Gibbs of ConCept G professional interior architects/designers and decorators. If we all believe that design has value, then it is valuable. It is up to the exhibition industry to determine how much people value their talent”, says Robyn.

Conrad Kullman of 3D Design concurs, stating, “I believe that we should charge for our designs. However, unless this becomes an industry standard and all players abide by this it will never work. If I am charging for a design and my opposition is not, I will soon go out of business. It is hard to change something that has been around since the inception of exhibitions, not impossible but hard. The only way this could work would be to make it part of being a member of your association. It will only work, in my opinion, if we all stick together”.

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS

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MOVERS AND SHAKERS CSIR Develops Capacity with four In-Service Trainees The CSIR International Convention Centre (CSIR ICC) recently appointed four students to do their in-service training they need to obtain their various qualifications in the hospitality industry. The in-service trainee programmes are aimed at addressing skills shortage and are tailored to enhance the students’ knowledge and offer them the necessary skills for employment in the hospitality industry.

The students, Francinah Ndala, Noluthando Shabangu, Peter Mabela and Deogracious Chauke will be working in various departments of the CSIR ICC for the next few months, whilst gaining knowledge in their respective fields. Capacity development has continuously been a priority for the CSIR ICC and the organisation has accommodated many in-service trainees over the years.

“We wish our trainees well during their stay with us and believe it will be a mutually beneficial relationship,” says Bronwen Cadle de Ponte, CSIR ICC General Manager.

AIME Appoints New Event Director The Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) welcomes new Event Director, Ian Wainwright, to lead the team in delivering an inspirational trade show for the business events industry, 23 – 24 February 2016 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

A global events marketing specialist with over 13 years’ experience, Mr Wainwright has an understanding of all facets of the industry, enabling him to bring a variety of perspectives to AIME, from the corporate, association and not for profit sectors.

Sallie Coventry, ibtm events Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions commented

CSIR ICC In-service Trainees from left: Francinah Ndala, Noluthando Shabangu, Peter Mabela and Deogracious Chauke

The in-service trainee programmes are aimed at addressing skills shortage and are tailored to enhance the students’ knowledge and offer them the necessary skills for employment in the hospitality industry.

that Ian’s background, experience and passion for the events industry are key to his appointment to the position and his innovative thinking will have great influence on AIME. “With strong relationships with numerous industry stakeholders, including convention bureaux and tourism, government and private bodies, Ian is well positioned to drive Asia-Pacific’s leading business events trade show.”

“Ian‘s appointment to AIME also includes his appointment as a core part of the ibtm global leadership team, alongside our other Event Directors and Senior Exhibition Directors for ibtm World (Barcelona), ibtm arabia (Abu Dhabi), ibtm Africa (Cape

With strong relationships with numerous industry stakeholders, including convention bureaux and tourism, government and private bodies, Ian is well positioned to drive Asia-Pacific’s leading business events trade show.

Town), ibtm America (Nashville), ibtm China (Beijing), ibtm Latin America (Mexico City) and ibtm India,” concluded Ms Coventry.

Ian Wainwright, Event Director – AIME, Reed Travel Exhibitions commented on his appointment and vision for AIME. “Having experienced AIME for the past seven years and witnessing its many stages of transformation, I’m delighted and proud to now be at the helm; leading a talented and passionate team and working in tandem with the team at the Melbourne Convention Bureau to deliver a show that’s integral to doing business in the events industry,” said Mr Wainwright.

AIME has also appointed Elena Peridis as Marketing Manager – AIME, Reed Travel Exhibitions, who commenced in September 2015. With a strong background in corporate communications and community engagement, Ms Peridis will drive both exhibitor and visitor engagement strategies for AIME 2016, weaving through the core theme of AIME, where inspiration begins.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

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Selina Chavry Appointed Pacific World Global Managing Director Pacific World, the integrated global DMC and Event Management Company, operating in 30 countries, announced in October the appointment of Selina Chavry as Global Managing Director, based in Singapore.

Chavry was previously Regional Director for Asia at the organisation. The past fifteen years of her career spans the business events industry in London, Sydney and Singapore, and she has a strong track record of building market leadership through innovation in the Events, DMC, and Strategic Meetings Management sectors.

Herve Joseph-Antoine takes the role of Chairman for Pacific World and expands his responsibilities within parent company Hotelbeds Group

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I am really excited to take the lead of Pacific World.

In the past four years, the company has transformed to a top global and forward-thinking market player.

Together with Herve, we want to continue leading the way. Constantly challenging our business models is a must in an industry that is transforming so much. as Regional managing Director Asia Pacific, Destination Management.

“I am really excited to take the lead of Pacific World,” Chavry said. “In the past four years, the company has transformed to a top global and forward-thinking market player.

Together with Herve, we want to continue leading the way. Constantly challenging our business models is a must in an industry that is transforming so much.”

Says Joseph-Antoine: “Selina is a wellrespected, high-calibre and next generation

leader of our industry. She is bringing a set of new ideas and a track record of making transformation happen. She is the best leader to drive the new expansion we are investing into new major geographies and stronger event management capabilities.”

Pacific World also announced a new phase of development into Latin America, North Europe, the Mediterranean, India and China in the coming months, as well as investment in the event management space.

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EVENT GREENING FORUM

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MEETINGS AFRICA LEAVES A LEGACY WITH TREE PLANTING AT SOWETO SCHOOL

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epresentatives from South Africa National Convention Bureau (SANCB) and the Event Greening Forum recently visited the Winnie Ngwekazi Primary School in Soweto for the annual Meetings Africa tree planting ceremony.

This year’s Meetings Africa saw a substantial increase in support of the event’s greening initiatives from exhibitors, suppliers and delegates. These initiatives included a recycling programme, the purchasing of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to power the show, the implementation of a R5 surcharge on bottled water, and the purchasing of trees to offset the carbon footprint associated with attending the event.

This year an impressive 33 fruit trees were purchased by exhibitors. The trees were bought from Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA), a social environmental enterprise that, in addition to planting trees, addresses sustainable development through climate change response, greening and food security programmes.

“It was heart warming to see the passion and dedication for the various sustainable practices implemented at Winnie Ngwekazi Primary School,” says Amanda Kotze-

Nhlapo, Chief Convention Bureau Officer of the SANCB. Some of these practices include paper recycling, rainwater harvesting and the cultivation of the school grounds. KotzeNhlapo adds that it was evident the school had started with simple building blocks which have grown into something greater.

Bheki Radebe, the school’s deputy principal, explained to the Meetings Africa

team how they encouraged the children to buy into the green initiatives. When they cultivated the school grounds, the children selected names for each of the young trees.

This enabled the children to develop an understanding that these trees are living organisms that have the potential to grow to be big and strong. He added that the children have learned to take responsibility for the trees and other plant life on the grounds.

“We are delighted to have been involved in making Meetings Africa a sustainable event. It has been rewarding to see Meetings Africa pave the way as a green show ambassador,” says Event Greening

Forum chairperson, Justin Hawes.

Meetings Africa has been acknowledged for its sustainable initiatives, winning the Exhibition and Event Association

of Southern Africa’s (EXSA) Best Green Show Award in 2013 and 2014.

The tree planting is part of Meetings Africa’s objective to leave a legacy that will continue to exist long after the show has concluded. It was gratifying to see how eager the children were to learn and be involved in this programme, and it was especially moving having one of the trees named after Meetings Africa!

SPOTLIGHT

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25

SWAHILI INTERNATIONAL TOURISM EXPO 2015 Dar es Salaam was abuzz with anticipation for the 2nd Swahili International Tourism Expo (S!TE), which took place on the 1st and 2nd of October.

T

he Event’s Editor Katie Reynolds was invited to join an illustrious contingent of speakers, and presented her speech entitled ‘Harnessing free social media platforms to promote your travel business’ to a rapt audience. Exhibitors travelled from all over Tanzania to meet with more than 50 buyers from Germany, China, America, India, Ireland, Australia, South Africa and England. Most exhibitors were promoting hotels, attractions, incentive products and transport, and this year showed a marked increase in delegates and buyers.

A diverse melting pot of cultures, traditions and people also make this region a visual and sensory delight. Currency exchange rates also ensure value-for-money services for tourists and businesses alike.

Tanzania and East Africa are home to some of the world’s most beautiful tropical beaches, exotic islands and pristine coral reefs. The region also boasts incredible game lodges, wildlife parks and adventure, such as the Serengeti and Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro.

Opportunities in eco-tourism, nature conservation, travel, trade, hospitality, service and marketing will continue to open up as S!TE grows in popularity and stature.

Pure Grit Project and Exhibition Management Ltd, a leading African and international event management company, managed the event, with guidance by Tanzania Tourist Board, who hosted it.

The post-show tour was held in Arusha, a lush and fascinating part of Tanzania that is home to the Ngorongoro Crater, and resides in the shadow of the massive Mount Kilimanjaro. Katie was hosted at the Neptune Ngorongoro hotel, a sumptuous five-star spectacle with unsurpassed views. The staff were

01 01 The view from Katie’s villa at the Neptune Ngorongoro luxury hotel.

02 Buyers and exhibitors mingle at the 2nd annual S!TE Conference.

03 Some of Neptune Ngorongoro’s luxury amenities.

02 beyond professional and attentive, and the combination of fine cuisine, world-class wine, and spectacular amenities makes this hotel one of the finest on the continent.

A special thank you to the Tanzania Tourist Board, Pure Grit, Neptune Ngorongoro, White Sands Hotel, the Ramada Dar es Salaam Hotel, Fab Cars and the New Arusha Hotel for an excellent experience. The Event looks forward to attending S!TE next year.

03

26

IT&CMA

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IT CMA: ASIA 2015 The IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific 2015 event took place between the 28th September – 1st of October at the Bangkok Convention centre in Central World, Bangkok, Thailand.

The Event’s Production Manager Nazeera Hartley-Roach travelled to Bangkok to experience the very best that the region has to offer the business-events world.

I

ncentive Travel and Convention, Meetings Asia (IT&CMA) and Corporate Travel World (CTW) AsiaPacific is the world’s only double-bill event in MICE and corporate travel.

It features:

Business • •

• •

•

•

Up to 100% prescheduled appointments via PSA and online diary Buyer-Meet-Sellers (BMS) Appointment scheduling sessions: for exhibitors and buyers Networking Session for Exhibitors and Corporate Travel Managers Exhibition and Appointment sessions: Featuring both International and Local Exhibitors, Buyers and Corporate Travel Managers Official Press Conference and Media Briefings by NTOs and Industry Organisations (for Media Only) Association Day – Destination Presentations

Opening night © IT&CMA

Darren Ng, Nopparat Maythaveekulchai and Charamporn Jotikasthira The 2015 event hosted 891 exhibitors from 297 exhibiting companies and organisations, 399 buyers (39% International and 61% Asia-Pacific) from 55 countries/territories, 114 Corporate Travel Managers from 12 countries/ territories (6% International and 94% Asia-Pacific) and 116 media From 25 countries/territories (including Thailand).

The event was seamlessly efficient and well organised. The objective was to

engage regional and international industry suppliers and buyers in the realms of business, education and networking, which was successfully offered this year. The event provided numerous platforms for the delegates to expand their network and learn more about the latest trends of the travel sector. Nazeera was treated to an opulent and sumptuous post-show tour to Krabi, alongside numerous hosted buyers and media.

28

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT

www.theevent.co.za

© Mauritius Attractions (www.mauritiusattractions.com )

Village Weaver spotted on the Black River, Mauritius © Antoine Debroye

REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS Imogen Campbell discovers one of Africa’s island gems, a paradise of white sand, turquoise lagoons and rich green palms swaying in the summer breeze.

M

auritius is a volcanic island situated in the Indian Ocean about 2 000km off the southeast African coast, and 800km from Madagascar. The country includes the island of Mauritius, Rodrigues, the islands of Agalega, and the archipelago of Saint Brandon. Port Louis is the capital and largest city.

Mauritius is a paradise of white sands, lagoons and palm-fringed beaches. The main island is almost entirely surrounded by coral and renowned for its spectacular beauty. It’s a heavenly locale for aquainspired activities so pack the swimsuit and the sunscreen for an idyll in the islands.

Key venues Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre (SVICC) SVICC is a modern, well-equipped convention centre ten minutes from Port Louis. It is able to comfortably accommodate 3 500 seated guests in its ten meeting rooms.

Trianon Convention Centre The facility was inaugurated in 2009, conveniently situated in the centre of the island. It combines a beautiful backdrop with fine facilities and the latest technology. The 3 000-seater auditorium combines modern comfort and style.

Getting around the island There are well-known car-hire companies available for car-hire needs, as well as buses and metered taxis. Boats and yacht charters are also options for hopping between islands.

Pre-and-post tour opportunities To see fish without wetting your feet, board the Blue Safari submarine. Watch dolphins in their natural habitat off the Tamarin coast of the island, also known as a great spot to surf. Unique activities include a visit to the National Botanical Garden of Mauritius, one of the oldest botanical garden in the southern hemisphere.

The coloured earth of Chamarel is an

Swami Vivekananda International Convention Centre (SVICC) Venue

Capacities Theatre

Banquet

Classroom

Boardroom

Atrium

n/a

1200

n/a

n/a

Main Hall

3500

2000

2500

1200

Pink Pigeon

600

350

400

200

Other watersports to be enjoyed on the myriad amazing beaches are sailing, windsurfing and water skiing and a requisite outing on a glass-bottomed boat. unmissable sight; the undulating landscape comprises contrasting colours in different shades of blue, green, red and yellow due the erosion of the volcanic ash.

Ile aux Cerfs is one of the more beautiful beaches and pivotal for watersport enthusiasts, particularly snorkelling.

Other watersports to be enjoyed on the myriad amazing beaches are sailing, windsurfing and water skiing and a requisite outing on a glass-bottomed boat.

Contact: Mauritius Tourism Authority Tel. (+230) 213 1740 Website: www.ta.gov-mu.org Email: tourism.authority@intnet.mu / contactadmin@tourismauthority.mu

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT

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29

Grande Baie, Riviere du Rempart, Mauritius © rMaX (via Flickr)

Airlines and major airports: Air Mauritius is the national carrier and celebrated its 47th anniversary last year.

The gateway to Mauritius is Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport. Helicopters are also an aerial option for transfers and tours.

Regional and international airlines include the following: • Air Austral • Air Madgascar • Air Seychelles • Air France • Emirates • British Airways • Condor • South African Airways • Meridiana • Kenya Airway • Corsair International

Trianon Convention Centre

Currency

Climate

The currency is the Mauritian Rupee and the exchange rate against major currencies on 12 October 2015 is as follows: Major Currencies 1 ZAR (Rand) 1 US dollar 1 GBP 1 Euro

Mauritian Rupee 2.66 35.37 54.33 40.24

Mauritius has a tropical climate. It has a warm, dry winter in months May to November, whilst the other months of the year are hot and humid with summer-like temperatures.

Population 1,339,827 (July 2015 est.)

- Source: World Factbook

30

CITY SPOTLIGHT

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01

MANGAUNG Imogen Campbell explores the hidden gems of the Free State and encourages readers to stop and smell the roses in the heart of South Africa.

B

loemfontein, the “city of roses”, is in the heart of central South Africa, and often a stop-over for travellers commuting from Johannesburg to Cape Town on the N1.

However, it has a myriad of attractions that beckon one to exploration.

The literal translation of Bloemfontein is ‘blooming fountain’ and it is the capital city of the Free State and judicial capital of South Africa. The city’s Sesotho name is Mangaung, meaning ‘place of the cheetahs’. It is home to the African National Congress (ANC). It is also the birth place of J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings.

Getting around the city Online car rental via international and local companies is simple. A wide range of vehicles are available to use across the city.

Key Venues Kopano Nokeng offers five state-of-the-art conference venues with the following capacities: Kopano Nokeng Venue

Forum 1

Forum 2

Forum 3

Forum 4

Forum 5

Cinema

170

50

20

540

25

Schoolroom

130

35

16

400

20

U-Shape

90

26

12

n/a

14

The President Hotel is situated at Naval Hill, which is renowned for its picturesque views and very centrally located. Its capacity is as follows: The President Hotel Room Number

Class Room

Cinema

Banquet

Cocktail

1

30

50

40

50

2

60

100

80

100

3

100

160

140

160

4

60

100

70

100

5

60

120

80

120

6

120

130

180

200

7

90

100

100

140

4&5

120

220

150

220

5&6

180

250

260

320

4&5&6

230

350

330

420

CITY SPOTLIGHT

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31

02

Airlines and major airports: The Bram Fischer International Airport serves Bloemfontein. Only domestic airlines operate in the Free State, and these are: • South African Airways • CemAir • South African Express • Mango Airlines

03

Pre-and-post tour opportunities

Climate The city’s summer (December to February) is very hot. Rain and thunderstorms are characteristic of this season. Winter is sunny and dry and known for very chilly mornings.

01 Bloemfontein, Free State © SA Tourism 02 Naval Hill in Bloemfontein © Vitorcius 03 Nelson Mandela on Naval Hill © SA Tourism 04 Loch Logan Waterfront © SA Tourism

The Franklin Game Reserve is in the heart of Bloemfontein itself, one of only two city reserves in the world. This 250-hectare wildlife reserve has giraffe and blue wildebeest as well as many bird species.

The Manguang Township is the home of the African National Congress and township tours offer tourists the opportunities to savour traditional cuisine, nightlife and a visit to important sites.

The Cheetah experience allows encounters with cheetahs as well as tigers and leopards. The Bloemfontein zoo is world-class and includes the Big 5. A unique resident is the liger - one of about 100 internationally – and is a cross between a lion and tiger. The Loch Logan Waterfront is a hub for shopping, restaurants and entertainment.

Contact: Free State Tourism Authority Address: Koupies Building, 99 President Reitz Ave, Bloemfontein, 9301 Phone: 051 409 9900 Email: info@freestatetourism.org Website: freestatetourism.org/ 04

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ASSOCIATIONS

SAACI SAACI is the umbrella body of the business-events industry in Southern Africa, dedicated to efficiency and professionalism in the industry since 1987.

The work we do is guided by four key principles: 1. SAACI Community – where we interact with our members and stakeholders.

2. SAACI Intelligence – where we gather and publish information that helps our members to grow their business.

3. SAACI Academy – where we professionalise the industry through certification, education and training.

4. SAACI Into Africa – where we expand our network into all South African provinces and all Southern African Countries.

Four key tributary pillars support them: 5. Branding and Communication – where we communicate innovatively and grow the SAACI brand.

6. Stakeholder Engagement - where we keep everyone with a stake in the industry informed and involved.

7. Sustainability – where we provide guidance for ‘sustainable best practice’, both in terms of business and the enviroment in which we operate.

8. Future Focus – where we encourage and support industry members younger then 35.

With nearly 30 years of being your partner in the business events industry, we have a great track record of 1500 individual, corporate and patron members representing all sectors.

www.theevent.co.za

EXSA – THE EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

AAXO AND SAACI ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP

The Exhibition and Events Association of Southern Africa (EXSA) strives to increase the significance of exhibitions and events as part of the marketing mix.

Face-to-face is simply better. Our core strategy is to actively grow and develop the exhibition and events industry within Southern Africa.

This is achieved through promoting the unique benefits offered by exhibitions and events and raising the profile of our members who comprise of venues, organisers and suppliers/services.

Hosting exhibitions enables South Africa to develop and showcase advances in both trade and technology, to create new networking and business opportunities and therefore create more jobs and open the doors for direct investment. Business tourism also provides positive publicity for the country, as well as high levels of return both for more business and leisure travel. Domestic exhibitions prove equally popular.

With world-class exhibitions centres, high-tech convention centres, beautiful ballrooms scaling down to quiet, serene meeting rooms there is a venue in South Africa for everyone and every event.

Visit the EXSA website www.exsa. co.za and use an EXSA member for all your exhibition and event needs.

The Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO) was established earlier this year and part of their growth strategy is to form partnerships with other bodies that share its vision. The Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) shares this view and has therefore entered into a strategic partnership with them. This will result in greater benefits for both organisations’ members.

SAACI represents various industry sectors such as conferences, exhibitions, services, technical providers, transport services and venues. AAXO was formed to be the voice of exhibition organisers.

The agreement will permit the exchange of ideas between the two bodies. It will also provide increased opportunities for members of both organisations to connect. Members now have the option to attend both AAXO and SAACI networking sessions and training courses.

ASSOCIATIONS

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33

FEDHASA WARNS OF RETRENCHMENT POSSIBILITY

IAPCO EXPECTS MORE MEMBERS AFTER IMEX AMERICA

Direct costs of an event are easy to measure, however it underplays the holistic value of an event. This expenditure to the tourism market reflects the market it operates in. However, from studies, it has been shown that half expenditure of meetings fall into non-tourism items category like technical services and venue hire.

Other under-appreciated items are e.g. impact from knowledge transfer and scientific advancement.

These types of items represent under-communicated assets that associations can use to negotiate better deals from destinations.

ICCA will be expounding on this at IMEX America. This development is in line with the changes experienced in leading destinations. They are moving from a tourist-centric view of associations and meetings to a focus on intellectual capital and strategic economic development.

Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (FEDHASA) has warned that there is a possibility of retrenchment in the Tourism Sector.

Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, its CEO, pointed out that the declining trend of occupancy could result in a concomitant reduction in staff.

He specifically mentioned that hotel income was impacted due to the immigration regulations rules influencing the choice of South Africa as a destination from India and China specifically, but also other countries worldwide.

Charles Drewe of Indaba Hotel quoted 10-15% loss of revenue directly due to immigration regulations. In conclusion, Tshivhengwa stated that if the trend continues there will be bigger problems. This was reported by Travel and Meetings Buyer.

International Association of Professional Congress Organisers (IAPCO) is expecting more members to join after IMEX America in October 2015, where it hoped to use the forum to further its outreach goals. Its world-wide reach now has 120 member companies in more than 40 countries.

Regional ambassadors have been created. The aim of this is to enhance benefits to destinations and members alike. Global strategic partnerships are being formed with destinations and convention centres wanting to align with the IAPCO brand. It also continues its partnership with Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA).

Mauritius Island © Ludovic Lubeigt

ICCA URGES ASSOCIATIONS TO TELL THEIR BIG STORY

34

EVENTS TO DIARISE

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NOVEMBER GREEN BUILDING CONVENTION 2015 2-6 Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town MAXIMUM OCCUPANCY ACCOMMODATION INDUSTRY CONFERENCE 4 Auckland, New Zealand MEET YOUR STARS EXPO 4-6 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg

GLOBAL WELLNESS SUMMIT 13 - 15 Mexico City, Mexico THE COMMERCIAL UAV SHOW AFRICA 2015 17 - 18 Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg IBTM WORLD 17 - 19 Barcelona, Spain

26TH IFTTA CONFERENCE 2015 4-6 Buenos Aires, Argentina.

UNWTO 4TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON SUB-NATIONAL MEASUREMENT AND ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF TOURISM 18 - 20 San Juan, Puerto Rico

MARKETING INDABA 5 Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town

SOUTHERN AFRICA WOMEN IN TOURISM ANNUAL CONFERENCE 22 - 25 Lilongwe, Malawi

AFRICA TRAVEL ASSOCIATION WORLD CONGRESS, KENYA 9 - 14 Nairobi, Kenya

WEST AFRICAN POWER INDUSTRY CONVENTION 24 - 25 Lagos, Nigeria

17TH INTERNATIONAL APPAREL, TEXTILE AND FOOTWEAR TRADE EXHIBITION OF SOUTHERN AFRICA 24 - 26 Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town MAMA MAGIC: THE BABY EXPO JOHANNESBURG 26 - 29 Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg GRAND DESIGNS LIVE – CAPE TOWN 27 - 29 Cape Town International Convention Centre, Cape Town 18th ICASA CONFERENCE 2015 29 - 4 December Harare. Zimbabwe

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EVENTS TO DIARISE

TECH EXPO INNOVATORS AFRICA 1 Melrose Arch, Johannesburg VW CAR SHOW @ NASREC EXPO CENTRE 6 Johannesburg Expo Centre, Johannesburg CLASSIC CAR SHOW 6 Johannesburg Expo Centre, Johannesburg BET EXPERIENCE AFRICA 12 Ticketpro Dome, Johannesburg UNWTO 4TH GLOBAL SUMMIT ON CITY TOURISM 14 - 15 Marrakesh, Morocco

© Pexels

DECEMBER

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DIRECTORY OF ADVERTISERS

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ADVERTISERS 3D Furniture Hire

ibtm world

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T.

+27 11 608 1588

+44 (0)208 910 7711

E. conrad@3ddesign.co.za

E. ibtmevents@reedexpo.co.uk

W. www.3ddesign.co.za

W. www.ibtmevents.com

Air Mauritius

IT&CM Asia & CTW Asia-Pacific

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T.

T.

+27 87 1511 848

+65 6395 7575

E. jnbmk@airmauritius.com

E. cheryl.kah@ttgasia.com

W. www.airmauritius.com

W. www.itcma.com

ConCept G Exhibitions & Events

Oyster King

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T.

T.

+27 11 708 7991

+27 860 697 837

CONTACTS Cover Image: Westin Cape Town’s Heavenly Spa infinity pool. Image courtesy of The Westin Cape Town. Framed by photographer Claire Clarke.

T: 073 1728 772 E: info@framedbyclaire.co.za W: www.framedbyclaire.co.za Publisher: Lance Gibbons lance@filmeventmedia.co.za Executive Editor: Katie Reynolds katie@filmeventmedia.co.za Head of Design: Sheree Steenkamp sheree@filmeventmedia.co.za Writer: Kim Muller kim@filmeventmedia.co.za Assistant Designer / Illustrator: Lauren Smith lauren@filmeventmedia.co.za

E. info@conceptg.co.za

E. patrick@oysterking.co.za

W. www.conceptg.co.za

W. www.oysterking.co.za

Editorial Assistant: Imogen Campbell info@filmeventmedia.co.za

CTICC

SAACI

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Account Executive: Mariska Rose mariska@filmeventmedia.co.za

T.

T.

+27 21 410 5000

+27 41 374 5654

E. info@cticc.co.za

E. info@saaci.org

W. www.cticc.co.za

W. www.saaci.org

Event Greening Forum

Swahili International Tourism Expo (S!TE)

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T.

T.

+27 74 369 6369

+27 86 107 7784

E. lynn@eventgreening.co.za

E. grace@puregrit.co.za

W. www.eventgreening.co.za

W. www.site.co.tz

Expo Centre Johannesburg

TCEB

OUTSIDE BACK COVER

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T.

T.

+27 11 494 1920

E. krit_p@tceb.or.th

W. www.expocentre.co.za

W. www.businesseventsthailand.com

EXSA

Tshwane Events Centre

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INSIDE BACK COVER

T.

T.

+27 12 327 1487

E. exsa@exsa.co.za

E. ricky@tshwabac.co.za

W. www.exsa.co.za

W. www.tshwane-events.co.za

Hoyo Hoyo Hotels & Resorts

Valley Lodge and Spa

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+27 11 024 2612

Production and Traffic Manager: Nazeera Hartley Roach nazeera@filmeventmedia.co.za Production and Traffic Co-ordinator: Basheera Hartley bash@filmeventmedia.co.za 57 2nd Avenue, Harfield Village, Claremont 7708, Cape Town, South Africa Tel: +27 21 674 0646

+66 2 694 6000

E. info@expocentre.co.za

+27 11 805 7272

Sales Manager: Philip Gordon philip@filmeventmedia.co.za

+27 14 577 1301

E. info@hoyohoyoleisure.co.za

E. res@valleylodge.co.za

W. www.hoyohoyoleisure.co.za

W. www.valleylodge.co.za

JOIN US www.filmeventmedia.co.za www.theevent.co.za DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Event do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/ advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Event and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.