Almost 70% of the delegates attending conventions, congresses and exhibitions in Cape Town, South Africa, say they will definitely visit the destination again in the next five years, underlining the invaluable role business tourism plays in repeat tourism and in converting convention delegates into leisure tourists.
This is according to a Datavision convention delegate tracking study, commissioned by the Cape Town International Convention Centre, that covers the period January to March 2007. A total of 397 questionnaires were completed, 213 by international delegates and 179 by South Africans, with five respondents not indicating their origin.
“These results, a core element of our overall conference delegate tracking for Cape Town and the Western Cape for 2007, are extremely encouraging. To calculate the estimated conversion from business to leisure tourists, we normally use the internationally acknowledged formula of 1:35, which means that approximately 35% of delegates to an international conference return to the destination as leisure tourists within five years of the conference taking place. The Datavision results however, tells us that we can be far more optimistic,” says Calvyn Gilfellan, acting chief executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape, and home to the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention and Events Bureau.
“The results underscore the power and potential of the conference, meetings, exhibition and incentive industry to sustain tourism to a destination. This is especially true as we look towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Many international associations and corporate companies want to be part of the 2010 buzz and have their congresses and meetings here in 2010. Cape Town and the Western Cape is already looking forward to hosting at least 11 conferences and conventions in 2010, expected to attract a combined 19 300 business tourists and an economic impact of approximately R200.8 million to the destination. If 70% of this group returns, we have already scored as a destination – and this is over and above the soccer enthusiasts that we expect to be flocking to Cape Town and the Western Cape,” says Gilfellan.
Convention Delegate Tracking survey results
A total of 53.3% of the Datavision survey respondents (international and domestic delegates combined) said Cape Town would “most definitely” see them again in the next five years, while 16.3% said they would “definitely” visit again. For most delegates (46.6%) it was the first time that they’ve ever visited Cape Town.
While 47.8% were “very satisfied” with Cape Town as a congress city, 52.9% were “very satisfied” with the city as a holiday destination. “This shows us that Cape Town and the Western Cape’s unique combination of first-rate infrastructure, hotel accommodation and conference facilities, together with incredible natural splendour, top class restaurants, rich cultural diversity and endless outdoor activities and shopping possibilities, is what keeps on taking tourists’ breath away,” says Gilfellan.
The majority of the respondents, spending an average of R10 192 per person on convention days only (the bulk of which goes to convention fees and accommodation), have been satisfied that Cape Town is a value-for-money destination, both as a congress city (51.4%) and a holiday destination (42.6%).
For more than 70% of the respondents, hotels were the preferred form of accommodation. The most popular hotel category was 4-star (40.9%). Delegates mostly travelled by themselves (64.2%) and stayed an average of 4.84 nights in Cape Town.
On a question about how safe they felt in Cape Town, the greater part (51.2%) said that they were “satisfied”, with 21.8% being “very satisfied” and 0.8% “dissatisfied”.
Both international and domestic delegates seemed to be very impressed with the level of service provided by Cape Town’s state-of-the-art International Convention Centre (CTICC). They were particularly impressed with the CTICC’s decoration and furnishings, as well as the space and comfort of the meeting and congress rooms, and the quality and availability of technical equipment.
While the majority of domestic delegates (43.2%) indicated that their visit to Cape Town was “as expected”, most of the international delegates (37.6%) said that their Cape Town experience was “much better than expected”.
“As the destination marketing organisation, our task is to help ensure that every visitor to Cape Town and the Western Cape leaves as an ambassador for our destination. These results show us that we’re definitely on the right track. They also encourage the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention and Events Bureau and our business tourism partners like the CTICC, to keep on pulling out all stops to attract new convention and meetings business to our destination, and ensure that delegates have the conference-of-a-lifetime once they are here,” says Gilfellan.
Meetings Africa 2008
For this reason, a team from the Cape Town and Western Cape Convention and Events Bureau is exhibiting at the Meetings Africa Business Tourism Indaba this week, promoting the destination as a premier business tourism destination to more than 3 000 delegates, exhibitors, journalists and tourism product buyers from all over the world. Meetings Africa, being held at the Sandton International Convention Centre in Johannesburg from 26 February to 29 February 2008, focuses specifically on showcasing events, incentives, conferences and business travel products of the African continent.
A range of Western Cape travel and venue operators, and conference organisers is participating in the exhibition, including three tourism entrepreneurs: Lithalethemba Events Management, the destination management company Avista and Mahogany Soul Events.
In order for potential tourism product buyers to get a real taste of Cape Town and the Western Cape, the Convention and Events Bureau, in partnership with SA Tourism, is hosting more than 30 representatives from the USA, UK, Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Africa and Australasia for pre and post Meetings Africa tours of the destination.
The association buyers, secured through SA Tourism’s Paris and Benelux offices, are all key decision-makers when it comes to conferences and meetings for associations such as the International Hospital Federation, International Institute of Refrigeration, and the International Association for Dental Research.
Michael Verikios - Thursday, February 28, 2008