Meetings Africa is now firmly established as one of the top international business tourism exhibitions.

Meetings Africa 2010, which took place at the Sandton Convention Centre from 24 to 26 February, generated 2 216 scheduled business appointments from 365 online diaries, with both exhibitors and visitors reporting that the exhibition had been taken to new heights.

A total of 272 exhibitors, an increase of 12.5% in 2009, marketed their products and services − including conference and event venues and services and incentive travel destinations − at Meetings Africa to 1 894 local and international visitors this year. Of these, 123 were international buyers hosted by South African Tourism and the Department of Trade and Industry. A record number of 81 media representatives attended the event.

Nomasonto Ndlovu, global manager: business tourism at South African Tourism says Meetings Africa is now the key driver of the organisation’s business tourism growth strategy. “I have no doubt whatsoever that it will continue to grow, as there is definitely greater synergy between our marketing efforts and the needs of the private sector than ever before.”

Meetings Africa 2010 placed far greater emphasis on the association market than in the past, with the hosting of the first-ever special association day for local associations that aim to attract international events and the inclusion of more association buyers in the hosted buyer group.

Exhibitors responded very positively to these efforts, saying South African Tourism managed to get the right mix of international buyers at Meetings Africa this year.

Bronwen Cadle, marketing and sales manager at the CSIR International Convention Centre, says Meetings Africa gets more professional each year. “We hope to see it grow to compete with similar international shows. There has been a huge improvement in the quality of buyers, they all kept their appointments with us and there were lots of good business leads to work with.”

Brian McDonald, deputy chairperson of Global Conferences Africa says there was real business to be done at Meetings Africa 2010. “The quality of especially the association buyers was fantastic. It was most definitely worth our while to be at Meetings Africa this year.”

Hosted buyers reported that the products on show at Meetings Africa were of a top-class, international standards. 

Ben Gosman of Free Style Events and Promotion in the Netherlands says he was really impressed with the high quality of exhibitors.  “In fact, I was so impressed that I changed my mind; I was going to take an incentive group to another destination, but now I am bringing them to South Africa in September.”

Meetings Africa 2011, to be staged once again by South African Tourism and its partners the Gauteng Tourism Authority, the Johannesburg Tourism Company and the Sandton Convention Centre, will take place from 23 to 25 February.