South AfricaISSUE 65 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / 75impetus peter out. Chief Director of South Africa's Department of Sport and Recreation, Professor Paul Singh, has said the investment made by the government for the World Cup needs to be sustained for the next 20 years, with smaller-scale sports events also significant, "given that they require little additional infrastructure investment and offer a greater net benefit to local communities," he said.Cape Town markets also as part of the BestCities Alliance, the world's only alliance of certified convention bureaus, which includes Dubai, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, San Juan, Melbourne, Singapore and Vancouver.JohannesburgIn addition to Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg is home to many chain hotels and also the business and financial capital. It houses three-quarters of the country's corporate headquarters.Johannesburg has good international flight connections and a bidding partnership with the Johannesburg Tourism Company (JTC), Gauteng Tourism Authority and Sandton. "The synergies allow for bidding profiling, quick turnaround of approvals and resources to support the bids," said Sandton Executive Director Mati Nyazema.Nyazema believes the World Cup mitigated the effects of the recession on South Africa and is confident of 7,387 business meeting requests were turned into viable leads BY 2001 MEETINGS AFRICA EXHIBITOR AND DELEGATES80%Above: The Gautrain averages 50,000 passengers per weekSouth Africa is famous for its 'Big Five' and there are plenty of game reserves that offer pre- and post-conference tour opportunities for delegates. The Kruger National Park and the numerous private reserves offer wildlife in natural surroundings and can sometimes provide 'boutique' meeting facilities.There are mountain walks and shark cage-diving, and the country has eight UNESCO World Heritage Sites including the Cradle of Humankind and Robben IslandFor wine tours, Stellenbosch is worth a visit in the Cape Winelands.South Africa was voted Best Leisure Destination at China's Travel Weekly Travel and Meetings Industry Awards and nominated in the long-haul MICE Destination category.There are plenty of secondary destinations outside of the directly accessible centres of Johannesburg, Cape Town and now Durban, offering good value and plenty of spectacular scenery, too. Outside the meetingwas more often lack of quality hotel space, now hoteliers bemoan over supply. CEO of Protea Hotels, Arthur Gills, says a post-World Cup hangover has left Cape Town hotels "bleeding", with occupancy rates as low as 10 per cent and room prices "dropping through the floor". That said, there could be bargains for event organisers, with three-star hotel rooms available for R240 a night.Cape TownCape Town, as well as being the country's top tourism hotspot, offers a variety of conference venues including the Vineyard in Newlands. It's next to the cricket ground and overlooked by Table Mountain.Major events booked into the city include the International Congress of Psychology in July 2012 (6,000 delegates); and the 17th IUPHAR World Congress of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology, July 2014 (10,000).Both events will be hosted at Cape Town ICC. This venue recently hosted the inaugural Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE), an event designed specifically to build on the 2010 FIFA World CupTM legacy. SAT's Global Manager of Events, Sugen Pillay, has said SETE was a showcase for a new generation with the skills, infrastructure and knowledge to attract a wide range of sports events to the country. A SETE steering committee will now drive the country's sports events strategy. There is a clear desire not to let the World Cup

South Africa76 / ConferenCe & Meetings World / issUe 65CTICC will contribute to 8,000 jobs annually by 2018 CTICC ChIef exeCuTIve rashId ToefyJohannesburg has reached "new heights" in terms of its reputation for hosting major events. "We look forward to a busy 2012," she said, adding the perception of the city changed as a result of the World Cup. The city and the provincial tourism entity, Gauteng Tourism Authority, have launched aggressive campaigns to ensure sustainability and focus on enhancing the offering for international delegates and getting stakeholders to offer value-for-money conferences. As a long haul destination, it is essential for Johannesburg, and the country as a whole, to remain globally competitive. In this respect Nyazema says the most resilient sector has been the corporate market, where "clients are still meeting regardless of the constraints of the recession".And the latest big event landed by Johannesburg was the bid to host One Young World (OYW) in 2013. Lindiwe Kwele, CEO of JTC said she was "thrilled", with the news. "JTC's conference and events team put in so much effort bidding for OWY, and we are so excited to be bringing this high profile event to Johannesburg in two years' time," she said. And it is not just in Cape Town and Johannesburg where new infrastructure has given a welcome filip to business tourism marketing. Port Elizabeth will develop and open a new convention centre in 2012, while Durban's new international airport now brings business tourists in direct. The urgency not to rest on laurels was again sounded recently by the CEO of South Africa's World Cup Organising Committee, Danny Jordaan. "The country," he said, "needs to act quickly to attract events, to fully leverage off the infrastructure and experience in hosting big events. "We cannot wait another 30 years to host a major event. By that time we would have to build new facilities." He added the gap could only widen if the country waits. ,national GDP will increase from R2.3 billion currently to over R5.1bn per annum. Since opening its doors in 2003, the centre has contributed 53,000 direct and indirect jobs, as well as raising the profile of Cape Town and the Western Cape as a leading globally competitive business destination. The Executive Mayor of Cape Town, Alderman Dan Plato, said Sandton CC Johannesburg's Sandton Convention Centre host Meetings Africa and has 22,000sqm of event space. The International Federation of Societies of Cosmetic Chemists' Congress and the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation are booked for 2012; the 4th World Conference on Doping in Sport in 2013 and the General Meeting of the International Mineralogical Association 2014. There are 5,000 hotel rooms nearby and SCC was a finalist for ICCA's Best Marketing Awards 2010 (Project Diski). East London CCEast London joined South Africa's ICC club last in 2010. Managed by Premier Hotels & Resorts, the ELICC includes a 600-seater auditorium, 2,000sqm of exhibition space and a major hall seating up to 850 people ballroom style and 2,100 cinema-style. The ELICC is located on the Esplanade and has views of the Indian Ocean. The centre is a 15-minute drive from East London Airport, the Industrial Development Zone and all major industries. There is an adjoining 254-room four-star and 175-room three-star property.South Africa centres of conventional excellenceevents are a key component of Cape Town's economic development strategy, with the CTICC is at the core of this strategy. "The CTICC is already the leading convention centre in Africa," claimed Alderman Purchase. The CTICC this summer hosted the inaugural Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE), a major event held specifically to build on the 2010 FIFA World CupTM legacy.Cape Town InternationalConvention Centre CTICC's long awaited expansion is now expected to be completed by 2015, is part of a R4.5bn urban regeneration project to create a "convention precinct". City funding of R550m for the extension venture over the next three years is available, on top of R150m for the purchase of land parcels and related statutory processes.According to CTICC Chief Executive Officer Rashid Toefy, CTICC will contribute to 8,000 jobs annually by 2018. The expansion of the convention centre will also include 10,000sqm of retail space; a hospital; an office tower, basement parking; as well as the regeneration of Founder's Garden by the Province, which will connect the Artscape precinct with the new, larger venue.A feasibility report by economists from the University of Cape Town predicts the centre's contribution to Durban ICC Durban International Convention Centre is the country's largest meetings venue and hosts the global environmental congress COP 17 in December 2011. The International Confederation of Midwives Conference came in June, the 5th Southern African Aids Conference in July and the World Methodist Council in August this year. International conferences make nearly half of the total business and the venue was named Africa's leading conference centre at the World Travel Awards 2011.