Durban - KwaZulu-Natal is aiming to position itself as the key conference destination.
The Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau wants to have delegates not only attend conferences in Durban but also participate in post-conference tours of the province.
The bureau believes delegates who go on the tours will be more likely to return with their friends and families as tourists, to further experience what the province has to offer.
The bureau was part of the annual Meetings Africa conference that was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg this week.
It had meetings there with potential conference planners and corporate groups. They were selling KwaZulu-Natal venues for gatherings and promoting the province as a tourist attraction.
Speaking to The Mercury at the conference, chief convention bureau officer James Seymour said since its establishment in 2010, the bureau had generated more than R2.5-billion for the economy of the city and KZN.
Bids
The bureau bids for meetings, incentive tours that corporate companies organise for their staff, exhibitions, and international congresses.
Durban has secured a deal to host the 21st International Aids Conference at the ICC from July 18 to 22 this year.
Seymour said this would be yet another opportunity to market the province to the delegates.
“We are expecting about 20 000 delegates and the impact of that event is about R800-million. What research has shown is that about 40 percent of delegates that attend business events, if they have a good experience, become brand ambassadors for the destination and also return with their friends and families as leisure tourists. That is the fantastic value of business events.”
Sadha Naidoo, chairman of Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, who was also at the conference, said Tourism KwaZulu-Natal, together with South African Tourism had arranged post-conference tours that would showcase the province.
“What we have to offer to the delegates is more than a business conference. After being in a long meeting and conference, there are beaches, mountains, culture, wildlife and many more things they can explore as part of their short stay in the province,” he said.
Before the establishment of the bureau in 2010, business conferencing organisation was handled by the marketing division of Tourism KZN.
The Department of Tourism, Economic Development and Environmental Affairs and the eThekwini Municipality contribute 70 percent and 30 percent respectively to the operational costs of the bureau.
The Mercury