As a reflection of the importance of major sporting, business and cultural events to re-inspire tourists to travel to global destinations, the UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the South African Government announced that the T&T world’s first international Tourism, Sport and Mega-events Summit will be held in Sandton, South Africa from February 24th - 26th 2010. The summit will provide a forum for active discussion, debate and direction around the leverage of mega-events as a vital force for sector growth and advancement in national development strategies.

A number of major global events will be held in 2010, including the FIFA World Cup in South Africa; the Commonwealth Games in India; the World Exhibition in Shanghai, China; and the Winter Games in Canada. With this taken into consideration, the UNWTO seeks to align the global T&T sector’s leadership to create a framework for leveraging sport and other mega-events (including cultural and entertainment events, exhibitions and business conventions) for economic growth. This process must take into account the economic, social and environmental consequences for host nations, and the massive multimedia opportunities for nation branding and export promotion.

South Africa’s Department of Tourism and Department of Sport, as well as CNN International as global media partner, will be working in partnership with the UNWTO. Said South African Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, “We know that we, as a developing country, cannot afford to have underutilised infrastructure after the World Cup, and we understand that we must plan ahead to make sure our infrastructure and skills investments do not go to waste.”

Said Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO: “This important meeting reflects the increasing economic and social impacts of sport, mega-events and tourism. It will establish new lines of thinking on operations, economics and sustainability. We are delighted to be working with South Africa - particularly in 2010 which will see a great sporting mega-event in the FIFA World Cup, which promises so much for Africa.”

The summit will be held parallel to the annual Meetings Africa, Africa’s top business tourism exhibition hosted annually by South African Tourism.

The UNWTO and the Ministry of Tourism are calling for papers on mega-event sustainability, to be presented at a colloquium co-hosted by the University of Johannesburg, South Africa, and the Christel DeHaan Tourism and Travel Research Institute, Nottingham University, United Kingdom. The colloquium is scheduled for 24 February 2010 and colloquium participants are afforded the benefit of attending the full summit.

The committee welcomes proposals for papers/case studies from researchers, scholars, consultants, policy makers and practitioners worldwide. The closing date for the submission of abstracts for oral presentations is Friday 4 December 2009. Late submissions will not be considered.