MEETINGS AFRICA ALREADY A SUCCESS
Registration at Sandton Convention Centre
OVERVIEW By the end of day two, Meetings Africa 2011 had already improved on last year’s show in a number of key areas.
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ost importantly, more business than ever before is being done at Meetings Africa, thanks to the sophisticated matchmaking programme implemented by outsmart Marketing.
“A record 7 387 meeting requests were sent, with 6176 (83.61%) already actioned half-way through day two,” says Nomasonto Ndlovu, south African tourism’s global manager: Business tourism. “over 3 222 meetings had been confirmed by that stage.” scan on show’s Jacqui Reynolds says, “our goal was to have 60% of the meeting requests actioned. We’re now up to 83%, which is super.”
Meetings Africa is also generating more press coverage than last year, with registered local media up an impressive 66% by the end of day one. south African tourism is hosting a number of African trade partners at the show, which has also led to increased editorial coverage across the continent. Even before the African press conference on tuesday, Meetings Africa had been featured in Nigerian Tribune, Compass, and Daily Independent. At the end of day one, local visitors, excluding media, were up 6% to 808, with further growth expected for day two and three. At the sAACI educational workshop on greening, Event Greening Forum chairperson Justin Hawes hailed Meetings Africa as an example of an environmentally conscious show. He said Meetings Africa is only the second exhibition in south Africa to run on green power and is also being eco-audited for the first time. this year’s innovations included a corporate brunch; an Association Day workshop; an easy-to-navigate segmented exhibition floor; and the Poken, an interactive networking device which serves as an electronic business card. Meetings Africa will also host its first ever Golf Day on thursday, 24 February 2011 at Dainfern Country Club.
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REDISCOVERING JOBURG AT RANDLORDS
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EETINGS Africa delegates relaxed at the end of day one at a stunning welcome party hosted by Johannesburg Tourism Company at Randlords, an exclusive rooftop bar and lounge beautifully poised at the highest point of Braamfontein. The view from Randlords
DIARISE GENERAL EVENTS SAACI Special General Meeting 07h00 - 09h00, Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) SAACI members only Registration for Meetings Africa opens 09h00, Entrance Foyer, SCC Open to all trade Meetings Africa exhibition 10h00 - 18h00, Hall One, SCC Open to all trade
Trevor Noah
GEARHOUSE PRESENTATION AREA
Trevor Latimer & Joyce DiMascio The Scan on Show team
10h00 - 10h45: Grace Stead - Event Greening Forum 11h00 - 11h45: Debora Patta - Why South Africa Matters 12h00 - 12h45: Justin Cohen - What’s Your Story? 13h00 - 13h45: PQ Institute - Leadership Stamina 14h00 - 14h45: Derek Houston - EIBTM & AIBTM 15h00 - 15h45: Robin Wheeler - Being Yourself for a Living 16h00 - 16h45: Daryl Keywood - Site AGM All presentations are open to all at The Presentation Area in Hall One at SCC. Speakers sponsored by Unique Speaker Bureau.
THURSDAY Meetings Africa Industry Golf Day 11h00 – 17h00, Dainfern Country Club
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EVENT GREENING FORUM LAUNCHES AT MEETINGS AFRICA EXHIBITORS The South African events industry took an important step towards a more sustainable future at Meetings Africa 2011.
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even representatives from key associations relating to meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICe) will meet to pledge their support as founding members of The event Greening Forum (eGF), and add their signatures to its draft constitution. “This is very big step for the industry and we at South African Tourism are fully supportive to this move, as it paves the way for meetings and conferences held in South Africa to be more sustainable which is in line with business tourism global trend,” said nomasonto ndlovu, Business Tourism global manager at South African Tourism. At this morning’s SAACI educational workshop on greening, Scan Display’s Justin Hawes gave an update on eGF, which he chairs. He confirmed that EGF has received support from seven associations who will be signing a memorandum at Meetings Africa so that the organisation can become a Section 21 company.
“Cop 17 is on our doorstop,” he said, referring to The United nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Durban later this year. “We need buy in from industry so we can make changes now. The events industry is extremely wasteful and we have to encourage greener events. You have to sell greening to get events.” The eGF plans to set up a technical panel for a certification process and green audits to address concerns about greenwashing. More exciting news is that Services SeTA has approved funding for The event Greening Forum to hold greening workshops in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Hawes called Meetings Africa an example to the rest of the industry, as it is only the second exhibition in South Africa to run on green power. He explains that organisers Scan on Show made a critical move towards a paperless exhibition by introducing online registration; an electronic catalogue; and the Poken, a greener alternative to exchanging business cards. Other green aspects include the delegate bags, made by disadvanged communities using local product; tension fabric walls for shell
Justin hawes, event Greening Forum chair
scheme stand packages; and the Gautrain. In addition, the carpeting will be donated to disadvantaged communities. Meetings Africa was chosen as the ideal platform for the eGF launch as it attracts all the key players from the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICe) industries. For more information about The eGF, visit www.eventgreening.co.za or stand 501C. Sally Fink
SOUTH AFRICAN TOURISM REVAMPS BUSINESS TOURISM SITE ONLINE MARKETING In a bid to ensure that South Africa is marketed as a world-class destination for conferences, incentives and other business tourism events, yesterday South African Tourism unveiled a revamped business tourism website.
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qUIPPInG the business tourism industry with tools to make a decision about doing business in South Africa is extremely important,” says nomasonto ndlovu, global manager of Business Tourism at South African Tourism. “That is why we deemed it necessary and important to relook
at our website and make some improvements. The enhanced website has a lot more information about what South Africa has to offer from a business tourism perspective.” William Price, global manager: e-marketing, says, “More than 80% of people make their travel decisions online, including meetings and events planners, which is why we are constantly trying to enhance and improve their access to information that will convince them to choose South Africa as their next destination.“ new additions to the website include: •Access to more than 1 700 verified conference facilities and service providers;
•A service that users can subscribe to for the latest news and updates on business tourism. “Our focus is on South Africa’s ability to provide facilities and services to the millions of delegates who annually attend meetings, congresses, exhibitions, and business events and who participate in incentive travel and corporate hospitality. The site will allow planners access to all the critical information needed to plan and execute a world-class event in South Africa,” says ndlovu. “Look out for more features as more improvements and additions are made to the site.” visit www.southafrica.net/meetings for more information.
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GREEN IS THE ONLY COLOUR FOR BUSINESS TOURISM Valerie Green, SAACI GM Adene Pringle, Greg McManus, Joyce DiMascio, Justin hawes, and SAACI chair Nina Freysen-Pretorius
GREENING The second day of Meetings Africa began with a SAACI educational workshop on greening, facilitated by Scan On Show’s Justin hawes, chair of The event Greening Forum.
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alerie Green, director of the National Business initiative’s Climate and energy Unit, spoke about the business case for greening business tour-
MeeTiNGS aFriCa / 04
ism in the South african context. She mentioned the importance of The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 17) taking place in Durban from 28 November-9December 2011. “COP 17 is our new World Cup. We need to show these heads of state what we are capable of.” The next speaker was Joyce DiMascio, a greening consultant and former head of Business events australia. She explained that australia faced a major
challenge, being a long haul destination at a time when this was seen as a negative because of climate change. “Our goal was to change this perception and to place business events at centre stage. Our simple philosophy was to reduce consumption and to lead through example,” she said. The third speaker was Greg McManus, managing director at the Heritage environmental Management Company (HeMC). He delivered a case study on the greening of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, a major annual South african sporting event. The methods used by HeMC were both innovative and groundbreaking. They were able to transform the waste water from portable toilets into grey water to irrigate the greens; solar power was used for energy and heating; and even sponsors like Spur pledged their support to ensure that all food packaging was recyclable. The result was that The Nedbank Golf Challenge became Africa’s first carbon neutral sporting event and only one of three golf events in the world to be certified carbon neutral. “Wherever you go in the world, green meetings are the way forward,” says McManus. Visit stand 509 for more info.
ASSOCIATION DAY CONFERENCE ALONGSIDE MEETINGS AFRICA South African tourism (SAt) hosted an Association Day workshop alongside Meetings Africa yesterday.
Farieda Karod-Domingo, chair of the local organising committee for the uNI World Congress in 2014
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arieda Karod-domingo deilivered a case study on the bid to host The UNi World Congress, taking place in Cape Town in 2014, the year that marks the 20th anniversary of our democracy. She’s from SaSBO, a banking trade union representing 70 000 members. SASBO is affiliated to COSATU as well as UNi, the international trade union which represents 20 million members. UNi sector conferences take place annually and the world congress is every four years. The South african bid committee, which she chairs, was created in 2004. The organising committee (OC) was tasked to represent South africa at the closing ceremony of last year’s World Congress held in Japan. “We wanted to show a high impact aV demonstration and give hand made gifts to all 3 000 delegates,” says Karod-domingo. The major challenge was money. “The cost of producing a dVd, sourcing gifts, packaging and transport was enormous. Unfortunately there’s not a lot of funding going around within a trade union,” she says. South africa’s banks came to the
rescue as sponsors and SaT provided the high quality footage needed for the dVd, as well as the transport to Japan. The first challenge was internal. Trade unions require an export permit for couriering gifts. When she failed to obtain one, she was saved by SaT, who let the OC use their internal channels. The next challenge was The Japanese Health Ministry. “They kept sending the customs clearing form back because they wanted to know exactly where the
corporate goods were manufactured,” says domingo. Because the gifts, two hand crafted place mats and beaded spoons, were produced by a disadvantaged community, domingo had to supply the street address of the artist’s township shack. it was worth the effort. “at the closing ceremony, the entire crowd were on their feet, dancing and blowing vuvuzelas. We set the benchmark for what’s to come in 2014,” she says.
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MEETINGS AFRICA EXHIBITORS’ NEWS HIGHLIGHTS Convention Centre. For more information, visit www.sportsandevents.co.za. Next business tourism event: Automechanika South Africa AuToMEChANIkA South Africa will be held at The MTN Expo Centre from 9-12 March 2011. This major international automotive conference and exhibition will attract 300 international companies from 27 countries around the world. 750 international participants, including automotive delegates from Africa, will join the 7 500 South African trade visitors. For more info, visit stand 707.
Cape Town will host SA Tourism’s Sports & Events Tourism Exchange in July 2011
GENERAL INDUSTRY YOU can find the full versions of all of these breaking news highlights online at www.theevent.co.za, where you can also submit your stories for inclusion in the next monthly edition of The Event Newspaper.
SA Tourism launches Sports & Events Tourism Exchange To promote South Africa as a world-class host of international, large-scale events, Thebe Exhibitions and Project Group, supported by SA Tourism (SAT) and The Department of Trade & Industry, will be hosting a Sports & Events Tourism Exchange conference and exhibition between 2729 July 2011 at Cape Town International
Durban KZN Convention Bureau wins bid for wildlife conference ThE new Durban kwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau have won the right to host the 2012 International Wildlife Management Conference, which is set to attract between 700-1 000 international delegates and is expected to generate R10 million for the economy. For more info, visit stand 316. Packed 2011 for Mother City ThE biggest association conference in Cape Town this year is The World Veterinary Congress, which is projected to attract 3 000 delegates, contribute R30
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MEETINGS AFRICA / 06
million to the local economy and generate 9 000 bed nights. To find out about other events happening there this year, visit The Cape Town and Western Cape Convention Bureau at stand 615. Pretoria climbs ICCA rankings ICCA 2009 statistics, collated by Drewe Associates on behalf of South African Tourism, indicates Pretoria/Tshwane added six meetings compared to 2008. For more information, visit CSIR International Convention Centre at stand 1007. Durban KZN Convention Bureau joins Future Cities Convention Alliance THE Future Cities Convention Alliance have accepted the Durban KwaZuluNatal Convention Bureau’s application to become members of this powerful marketing alliance, which includes Seoul, London, Sydney, Toronto, San Francisco and Abu Dhabi. For more info, visit stand 316.
program in the US,” she says. So far, 1 500 exhibitors have been confirmed.
IMEX USA launches ALEX Donaldson, sales manager for IMEX, announced at Meetings Africa that IMEX America will launch in Las Vegas from 11-13 October 2011. “2 000 hosted buyers have been confirmed, making IMEX America the largest hosted buyer
Expo Centre undertakes research CRAIG Newman, CEO of The MTN Expo Centre and chairman of Dogan Exhibitions and Events, says that exhibitions impact on business tourism is often underestimated. The Expo Centre, which hosts business to business exhibitions such as
Jeremy Hurter, acting CEO of ICC Durban, host of The International Wildlife Management Conference
Electra Mining and Automechanika, will embark on a study to be completed throughout 2011 to assess the impact on business tourism of exhibition industry events hosted at his venue. “These statistics will provide invaluable data to the business tourism promotion agencies and highlight the value of business tourism achieved through direct private sector initiatives,” said Newman.
ALL THE STAND AWARD WINNERS
Legend Lodges, Hotels & Resorts
EXHIBITION STANDS CONGRATULATIONS to all the stand award winners at Meetings Africa: LARGE STAND: BIGGER THAN 25SQM Nominees: •South African Parks •City of Tshwane Metropolitan •Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau •MTN Expo Centre •Gautrain •Fairmont Runner Up: Gauteng Tourism Authority Winner: Johannesburg Tourism Company
MEDIUM STAND: 10SQM–24SQM Nominees: •Gearhouse Group of Companies •Cradle of Humankind •Khaya iBhubesi •Premier Hotels & Resorts & East London International Convention Centre •Hilton Hotels •Emerald Resort & Casino •CSIR International Convention Centre •Oasys Innovations Runner Up: Peermont Winner: Legend Lodges, Hotels & Resorts
SMALL STAND: 9SQM OR LESS Nominees: •City of Ekhuruleni Tourism •Sandton Convention Centre •Focus Rooms •Southern Sun Hotels •Villas & Hotels for Africa •Sunwa River Lodge •Scan On Show •Mabalingwe Nature Reserve •Avianto •Unlimited Events Runner Up: Uniquely Spectacular Winner: NH Hoteles MEETINGS AFRICA / 07