South Africa stakes claim on "The New Gold"

Tourism is “the new gold” in Africa, with South African Tourism's Nomasonto Ndlovu also claiming it plays an integral part in the economy, creating jobs and improving the lives of people in the community.

A key sponsor at this year's Association Congress, currently taking place at London’s ExCeL, South African Tourism (SAT) unveiled trends for the key associations market in South Africa, as uncovered by its Strategic Research Unit.

SAT global manager, business tourism, Nomasonto Ndlovu noted that South Africa has been the biggest driver in Africa’s growth with the total number of meetings held in SA at its highest level, at 82, in 2008.

Moreover, the number of organisations that have headquarters in Africa has increased from 30 in 1998 to 50 in 2007, opening up the potential for further association interest.

South Africa’s International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) ranking for the number of association meetings held improved by one position from 35 to 34 in 2008, with Johannesburg moving up 30 places from 150 in 2007 to 120 in 2008; Cape Town’s ranking rose from 37 in 2007 to 35 in 2008.

Recent international association wins for South Africa include the 2009 International Congress on Occupational Health (with 4,000 delegates), and the 2013 International Geological Congress (with 6,000 delegates).

“It's an exciting time for us, with the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the legacy it will leave in terms of improved infrastructure and hotel stocks. It will also prove we are a destination that can deliver events of that size,” Ndlovu said.

“South Africa is getting a lot of enquiries and not just for the big cities but what can be done outside, in Limpopo, or KwaZulu-Natal post-event.”

The South African tourism minister, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, visiting the UK this week to attend a Tourism Society debate with UNWTO regarding stimulus for G:20 economies said: “There has been unprecedented and encouraging demand for 2010 FIFA World Cup tickets – 60,000 tickets have already been sold to date and we anticipate somewhere in the region of 450,000 visitors to our continent from around the world.”

Source: www.meetpie.com.