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In Cape Town and the Western Cape it is not only soccer fever that is running high ahead of the year 2010, but also conference fever as the destination’s business tourism calendar for 2010 is filling up rapidly. As South Africa, its people and infrastructure developers are eagerly preparing for the FIFA Soccer World Cup, the world’s biggest sporting and media event, it is becoming abundantly clear that the growing interest in the host destination also has a business tourism side to it.
The Cape Town and Western Cape Convention and Events Bureau, together with key tourism role-players like the Cape Town International Convention Centre and associations involved in the bidding processes, have already secured altogether 10 conferences, congresses and conventions for 2010*. These conferences are expected to bring a combined 16 300 business tourists and an economic impact of approximately R166.3 million to Cape Town and the Western Cape.
A team from Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape, is currently attending the 46th ICCA (International Congress and Convention Association) Congress and Exhibition in Pattaya, Thailand (27 – 31 October 2007). They are promoting Cape Town and the Western Cape as a preferred business tourism destination, establishing new business relationships and gaining expert knowledge on the latest international business tourism trends.
The conferences that will be held in Cape Town in 2010 include:
Lausanne III – International Congress on World Evangelization, expected to draw 5 000 delegates and an economic impact of approximately R77.4million;
The International Union of Food Science and Technology World Congress, expected to draw 2 000 delegates and an economic impact of approximately of R23million; and
The International Communication Conference (IEEE ICC), expected to draw 1 000 delegates and an economic impact of approximately of R14.5million.
“The 2010 FIFA World Cup provides the Western Cape, South Africa and the African continent with an unprecedented opportunity to market ourselves not only as a world-class, but also a unique tourism destination,” says Calvyn Gilfellan, Acting Chief Executive of Cape Town Routes Unlimited.
“While we have the world’s eyes on us and we are preparing to receive thousands of soccer enthusiasts, we must use this opportunity to position our destination in such a way that those who will be visiting South Africa in 2010, do visit the Western Cape, and that they return soon for more, bringing with them their friends and family. We believe that having conferences and events run parallel to the soccer tournament will help us to achieve this. And should Cape Town’s facilities get filled up, we have five other regions in the Western Cape that stand ready to host delegates,” he says.
Cape Town is currently ranked the Number One convention destination in Africa. The city secures more than half of conference business coming into the continent. Cape Town is also enjoying the 29th position on ICCA’s Global Ranking Report, confirming that it is a business tourism destination of choice for conference planners worldwide. Cape Town and the Western Cape wins an extraordinary 90% of the conferences it bids for.
The Cape Town and Western Cape Convention and Events Bureau, together with its tourism partners and association role-players, recently managed to secure bids for three fairly huge and substantial conferences. They are:
The International Symposium on Dental Hygiene in 2013, expected to draw 2 000 delegates and an economic impact of approximately R15.5million;
The Congress of the International Association of Theoretical and Applied Limnology in 2010, expected to draw 1 000 delegates and an economic impact of approximately of R11.6million; and
The 19th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) in 2014, expected to draw 3 000 delegates and an economic impact of approximately of R34.83million.
“The incredible rate at which we are securing conferences together with our tourism partners, is an indication of the world’s recognition of and growing interest in our region, country and continent as a business tourism destination. It installs confidence and is a vital building block in realising our tourism dream for Cape Town and the Western Cape – to be one of the world’s top tourist destinations by 2020,” says Gilfellan.
IFAC has selected Cape Town as the venue for its 19th World Congress in 2014, at the invitation of the South African Council for Automation and Computation (SACAC). Says President of SACAC, Dr Richard Roberts: “Many of the prospective delegates will be students, so IFAC requires any congress city to have abundant accommodation to suit all pockets as well as a wide variety of tourist attractions for ‘accompanying persons’, and Cape Town meets these requirements with ease.”
But the undisputed quality of its conventions facilities alone doesn’t explain the emergence of the Western Cape as the preferred host for conferences and the broader meetings, incentives, conferences and events (MICE) sector. Nor do the favourable exchange rates, its famed hospitality or the fact that it’s generally no further away than an overnight flight.
Cape Town is an internationally connected, cosmopolitan city with world class telecommunications infrastructure and excellent connections to other major cities and regional centres throughout South Africa and beyond.
Besides its African identity, the Western Cape is also a unique global mix of culture, cuisine, architecture and arts from Europe, the Middle and Far East, making the province a palette of French, Dutch, German, Portuguese, British, Indian, Indonesian, Dutch influences. Its attraction lies in a host of factors. Whether visitors are drawn to World Heritage Sites or extreme sports, there’s something for everyone.
Cape Town is also part of the BestCities Global Convention Bureau Alliance, the world’s first and only convention bureau alliance with eight partners on five continents. Besides Cape Town, the member cities are Copenhagen, Dubai, San Juan, Singapore, Melbourne, Edinburgh and Vancouver. The vision of the Alliance is to be recognized internationally for being innovative and represent the highest standards of service in the global meetings and convention industry.
According to Gilfellan Cape Town’s BestCities membership is definitely helping it to win conference bids. “We’ve just returned from Vancouver, Canada, where it was once again clear that Cape Town is seen as a rising star on the global conference scene. There’s a tangible excitement about the destination in the global conferences market. We share that excitement as we look forward to play an even more prominent role in the global MICE sector.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
