Meetings SA September/October 2011 preview

SOUTH AFRICA – AN EXCEPTIONAL CONVENTION DESTINATION

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ISSUE 39 September/October 2011

C O N T E N T S

in this issue 26

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Fairway Hotel & Spa

Stimulating domestic tourism Eastern Cape regional focus

Industry Insight Stimulating domestic tourism Minister launches Tourism Month

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AIPC column Report back from San Diego 2011

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Thebe column Building on the legacy of sports and events tourism

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EXSA column An update on the bumper times ahead

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Talking points Feedback from Markex World of Events Cape 2011

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Product News Hot topics in business tourism news revealed MSA showcases the latest developments in MICE products and service offerings

Meeting Places

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Mauritius Incentive Connection

MEETINGS SA | SEP/OCT 2011

Discover the heart of South Africa Free State regional focus

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Eastern Cape Open for business all year round

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Meetings in motion At South Africa’s sporting venues

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Mauritius Incentive Connection showcase profile Let the pleasure be yours

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Event Management Event showcase Sandton Convention Centre hosts the Bidvest Lounge

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Exhibition organisers & venues Creating winning partnerships

39 Cover Story

Trouble-free transportation Getting your delegates there

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Bon voyage 2011 Super-stylish year-end events

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Johannesburg Expo Centre Meeting your demands, exceeding your expectations

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Reward & Develop USB Speakers Corner Ryan Hogarth takes you to the next level on social media

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Adventure teambuilding focus Experience the real world

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Regulars Editor’s comment Join the SA Conference community online Subscribe Who’s who? People on the move Coming up & Looking back Events diary Index to advertisers

Super-stylish year-end events

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Exhibition organisers and venues focus

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Trouble-free transportation

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E D I T O R ’ S

N O T E

Three cheers for event planners!

Publisher Elizabeth Shorten Editor Abby Wintgens abby@3smedia.co.za +27 (0)11 233 2608

Creative chief executive Frédérick Danton Chief sub-editor Cindy Maulgue Sub-editor Danielle Hugo Contributor Claire Rencken Production manager Antois-Leigh Botma Financial manager Andrew Lobban Administration Tonya Hebenton Distribution manager Nomsa Masina Subscription sales George Changunda georgec@3smedia.co.za

Distribution coordinator Asha Pursotham Advertising sales Caroline Martin +27 (0)11 454 6051/2 +27 (0)72 235 5725 caroline@pinpoint.co.za Meetings SA Sept/Oct 2011 © Copyright. All rights reserved 2009

No. 4, 5th Avenue, Rivonia, Johannesburg PO Box 92026, Norwood 2117, South Africa Tel: +27 (0)11 233 2600 Fax: +27 (0)11 234 7274/75 www.3Smedia.co.za Annual subscription: R225.00 (incl. VAT) ISSN 1684-9264 NOTICE OF RIGHTS Meetings SA is published bi-monthly by 3S Media. This publication, its form and contents vests in 3S Media, January 2008. All rights reserved. No part of this book, including cover and interior designs, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

While every precaution has been taken in the preparation and compilation of this publication, the publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, completeness or accuracy of its contents, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. While every effort has been taken to ensure that no copyright or copyright issues is/are infringed, 3S Media, its directors, publisher, officers and employees cannot be held responsible and consequently disclaim any liability for any loss, liability damage, direct or consequential of whatsoever nature and howsoever arising.

For the first time, I ve personally felt the intensity of what goes into planning a fullscale event.

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ome 16 months ago, I started organising my wedding. It’s a very long time for planning, I know, when so many organisers are faced with increasingly short lead times in which to pull off major events.

Nevertheless, our big day is here, and all our hard work and creative efforts will be culminating in a major celebration on 24 September.

Attention to detail and anunyielding knack for project management must be the two things that stood out the most for me during the planning. Without those skills, the function could possibly have fallen flat.

This got me thinking: corporate event planning is not for sissies. It is not party planning –this profession falls far from the idea (and glamour) of throwing great parties.

In fact, planning a professionally-run business event focuses on the rationale or goal of having an event, and whether it is achieved.

The real work is in the details leading up to the event…and paying attention to every facet of these is crucial.

Meetings SA endeavours to assist you, the planner and our reader, every step of the way by providing access to the latest in event management and meeting destination trends.

In this issue, we showcase the launch of the Mauritius Incentive Connection, which sets out to provide organisers and incentive houses based in South Africa with a single point of contact to access the many hidden treasures of the magical island. Turn to page 30 for the full story.

We’ve got the most up-to-date news from exhibition organisers on page 39, in terms of their exhibitors’ and visitors’ requirements when it comes to exhibition venues. Meetings SA takes a look at what these requirements

are and what various venues are doing to meet these demands.

In addition, there is just no getting away from the social network revolution. On page 60, in the USB Speakers Corner, Ryan Hogarth digs deep into the topic of social media as a conferencing dream tool, providing you with exclusive knowhow on how to make it work for you.

So, before I head off on honeymoon to somewhere exotic, here are three cheers to all our readers, the planners and organisers especially, who make the magic that is South Africa’s conferencing and events industry happen.

Salute!

Editor

On the cover: Johannesburg Expo Centre Bottom left: Golf in the Garden Route Middle: Sandton Convention Centre Event Showcase Right: Mauritius Incentive Connection

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C O V E R

S T O R Y

Meeting your demands...

...exceeding your expectations Established in 1984, the JEC has grown from strength to strength over the years. What started as a venue purposely built for the Rand Easter Show has now become home to a exhibitions, conferences and events. range of world-class exh PMR Diamond Arrow Award The JEC has been awarded the PMR Diamond Arrow Award 2011 for the Best Exhibition Venue in South Africa. The centre was rated the highest with a mean score of 4.22 out of a possible 5.00 after an independent survey was conducted among 50 event and exhibition organisers.

The respondents rated the venue on: • access to event/exhibition facilities • catering (quality in relation to cost) • cleanliness and preparedness of event/exhibition space prior to build-up • competitive rates/value for money/cost per square metre • environmentally friendly buildings and structures • facilities for disabled individuals • flexibility in terms of layout • going the ‘extra mile’ • access to loading bays • office facilities on-site for organisers • off-loading facilities and building access for exhibitors/contractors • parking facilities for event/exhibition visitors • security • audio-visual offerings • staff (helpful and friendly) • venue infrastructure.

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he Johannesburg Expo Centre (JEC) prides itself on being the largest exhibition and conferencing venue in South Africa. With a total of 50 000m² indoor space and 100 000m² outdoor, the only limitation is one’s imagination. From inception, it was evident that the JEC would be ready to take on even the biggest and boldest of functions.

The JEC’s massive portfolio consists of live concerts hosted at the venue for international artists such as Anita Baker, Black Eyed Peas and Arman van Buuren. Then there’s the Mega Fest church gathering that filled the Main Arena to capacity; the Soweto Marathon, which returned home to the JEC in 2009 after having spent a few years in Soweto; the Toy Run 2010, which consisted of bikers who collected toys in aid of charity; the annual Rand Show, which continues to expand and saw an increase in visitor numbers of 40% this year; the Johannesburg International Motor Show, which consistently occupies the entire venue and is anticipating even bigger visitor numbers in 2011; the Soweto Festival, which is set to attract a large number of crowds as it makes its debut at JEC this year, targeting the Soweto market and beyond.

Therefore, regardless of size and specification, it’s clear that the JEC has the

Soweto Marathon

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Sasol 60th Party

space and capability to host any exhibition, conference or event efficiently.

The best place to show off Craig Newman, CEO of JEC, and his team are highly competent, willing and able to host the most daring of events. Subsequent to the venue refurbishment and Nasrec precinct revamp, the infrastructure is definitely in place at the JEC. Newman and his team pride themselves on being forward thinking and thus try keep up with modern hospitality trends in order to compete with international markets.

With more than 10 self-sufficient and fully adaptable venues on site, the JEC offers endless possibilities for your exhibition, conference and event.

“The JEC offers erss endless possibilities for or your exhibition, conference and event” Craig Newman, CEO acknowledging the difficulties that the JEC clients have experienced over the years, centre management has formed strong business relationships with numerous reputable service providers in an effort to assist organisers during the planning and implementation process.

These preferred suppliers are therefore made available for the benefit of the

organiser, to help in sourcing security services, cleaning services for during and after the function, décor and design services, risk and disaster management services, catering services, audio, visual and electrical services, logistics, registration services and accommodation offerings. So, if you are planning an extraordinary event and wish to have it paired with professional and handson services, look no further than the JEC. The venue offers competitive rates and a comprehensive range of services – no project is too big.

Contact t +27 (0)11 494 1920 f +27 (0)11 494 1005 info@expocentre.co.za www.expocentre.co.za

We put you on show The staff at the JEC understand that, in order for events to be memorable, they need to be hosted at a venue that offers the very best in hospitality experiences. It is for this reason that the JEC tailor makes all exhibitions, conferencing and event packages to suit each client.

A fully supportive, friendly and efficient staff complement is readily available at the centre to assist where needed. After

Toy Run

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Africa Health

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Stimulating domestic tourism Minister launches Tourism Month As South Africa celebrates Tourism Month in September, the Minister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has stressed that domestic tourism is central to the growth and sustainability of the sector. Meetings SA provides insight.

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peaking at the official launch of tourism month 2011 at Freedom Park in Pretoria, Minister van Schalkwyk urged the tourism industry to join hands in support of finding innovative ways of stimulating domestic tourism. The minister further called for greater cohesion from everyone involved at all levels of South Africa’s tourism sector and stressed the importance of a new approach to the domestic tourism market.

Against the backdrop of an industry still feeling the effects of the global recession, Minister van Schalkwyk said that “in difficult times we need to be even more united as the tourism industry and focus on markets that not only provide quick relief in the short term, but whose growth will be sustainable for many years to come. With domestic tourism contributing over 70% of our country’s tourism volume and contributing to sustaining and creating much-needed jobs, the domestic market has to be one of our key focus areas”.

BLK JKS, a South African rock band from Johannesburg, have played their part in the Sho’t Left domestic tourism campaign

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MEETINGS SA | SEP/OCT 2011

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I N S I G H T DJ Black Coffee shot in KZN during the Sho’t Left campaign

He added that, in these tough economic times, the industry also needs to look at innovative ways of marketing their tourism product to the domestic traveller, which includes competitive pricing and showcasing our distinctive provinces, cultures, events and attractions in dynamic, new ways. He also urged tourism businesses, hotels and other establishments to robustly market themselves to the domestic market, especially in the current global economic climate.

International focus Briefly shifting his focus to a global perspective, Minister van Schalkwyk reiterated that the National Department of Tourism and South Africa Tourism (SAT) remain committed to attracting tourists from every corner of the world, with its core markets still being absolutely critical and exciting potential being seen for South Africa in new tourism markets.

While market conditions around the globe remain challenging, he highlighted that the first quarter of 2011 showed South Africa was on the right track with its tourism marketing efforts. From January to April 2011, South Africa had 2 750 175 foreign tourist arrivals, up 7.5% on the 2 558 715 recorded over the same period in 2010, with core markets holding their own and good growth being recorded from new markets such as China, Brazil, India and the rest of the African continent.

“Lower hotel occupancy does not mean arrivals are declining, in fact we continue to record impressive growth. It does, however, point to shifts in consumer choice and where people choose to spend their money whilst on holiday in South Africa. We need to therefore work even harder to understand the tourism market and respond to the needs of global travellers. Our major tourism revenues still come from our core markets in Europe and North America and we are working aggressively to defend and grow our position in these markets, while also actively exploring the potential for tourism growth from emerging markets in Asia, the Americas and Africa,” says Minister van Schalkwyk.

Take a Sho’t Left and find your Mzansi With all the natural beauty that SA has to offer, who needs international roaming? The good times are just a road trip away. Just take a Sho’t Left towards some of the best times of your life. For more information, visit www.shotleft.co.za.

“However, domestic tourism remains our industry’s backbone and we are committed to working with the travel trade to market the destination and its offerings,” he adds.

In 2010, 29.7 million domestic trips were taken, marginally less than the 30.3 million in 2009. However, there were increases in the number of trips taken (2.2), as well as an increased length of stay and people travelling for the purpose of holiday (13.4% up from 12.0% in 2009).

The National Department of Tourism and South Africa Tourism remain committed to attracting tourists Minister van Schalkwyk emphasised again that, as part of the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) launched in March 2011 aimed at increasing tourist arrivals in South Africa, increasing tourism’s contribution to the national economy and creating jobs, the target has been set to grow domestic tourism from 30.9 million in 2009 to 54 million annual trips by 2020 and significantly increase its contribution to the country’s GDP. “... but getting the revenue and the tourism numbers we need – and to sustain and grow our industry – will take a collective effort. It will require synergy from tourism bodies at national, provincial and local level and the critical support of the entire tourism industry and our thousands of world-class tourism products in making our world-class

destination viable, competitive and even more attractive to local and international travellers. We must not lose sight of the fact that South Africa remains a world-class destination and we must continue to be positive in harvesting its tourism potential,” he adds.

As a supplementary tool to enhance the NTSS and to ensure that the sector reaches its targets, as set out in the NTSS, a Domestic Tourism Strategy has been drafted to further ensure the development of a diversity of products with an appeal to all market segments. The final draft of the Domestic Tourism Strategy is due for approval early next year.

SAT’s new Sho’t Left campaign, with its mantra of ‘there’s no such thing as a wrong turn’, is an example of a novel approach to putting the tourism spotlight on all nine of our provinces and SAT and its partners are doing their utmost to market the attributes of our destination.

In its most recent phase of its Sho’t Left domestic tourism campaign, SAT is using a number of local influencers to take the message of tourism deep into the heart of the emerging target market. The latest phase of the campaign profiles each of the destination’s nine provinces and puts special emphasis on the hidden gems that many people might have heard about but have not visited and explored. The campaign is supported by a number of private-sector and media partners.

South Africa celebrates World Tourism Day in Clarens in the Free State Province on 27 September 2011.

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San Diego 2011 Rashid Toefy, CEO, Cape Town International Convention Centre

David Blanchflower, professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, USA

A realistic assessment of current challenges From a warning that global economic concerns are far from over to the kinds of action centres should be taking in response, this year s AIPC annual conference addressed both industry challenges and the opportunities available. By Edgar Hirt

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here are a lot of questions about where we are in the global recovery, what kind of industry is emerging from the crisis and what we should be doing

about it. The conference in San Diego was intended to use the very latest industry intelligence and insights to answer these questions and owing to the extraordinary efforts by both the global experts and AIPC colleagues who contributed to our programme, it succeeded far beyond our expectations.

The tone was set for the conference theme, ‘It’s all about change’, by opening keynote speaker David Blanchflower, a former member of the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee

South Africa to host the 2013 AIPC annual conference

The decision taken at AIPC’s general assembly this year in San Diego to select Cape Town as the 2013 annual conference destination is a very welcome one. Cape Town itself is a hugely attractive destination but the real issue for AIPC is the extent to which the Cape Town International Convention Centre represents the quality and innovation that reflects our objectives as an organisation. A great deal of the strength of our industry comes from the diversity of experiences we deliver around the world and the ways in which these inspire attendees. Our location in Cape Town will provide AIPC delegates with a great opportunity to experience a centre and destination that are at the leading edge of development in this part of the world and to see how they are using their special qualities to create a very unique product – one that has proven itself to be highly competitive in the global market. This type of exposure helps generate the kind of new ideas and thinking that ultimately benefit not just the industry overall, but also our individual member centres as they grapple with the challenges and opportunities facing the industry today. We look forward to working with the centre and its staff to make this one of AIPC’s most successful conferences ever.

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MEETINGS SA | SEP/OCT 2011

and professor of Economics at Dartmouth College, who was also named Business Person of the Year by the Daily Telegraph.

His strategic advice was followed by a series of reports on both major geographic areas and key sectors, including association business, the exhibition industry and event planners interacting with both corporate and association clients. The common themes were modest growth combined with an ongoing need for flexibility and caution.

Presenters also identified the need for a greater effort to look for new services that can generate value for both suppliers and clients and new ways of organising business relationships that can again benefit both parties in times that are financially challenging for everyone.

Addressing the challenges The third major component of the programme addressed the ways in which member centres are already addressing the challenges they face with a range of new planning, programming and community interaction. These elements include new approaches to revenue generation, facility

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design and refurbishment, the rise of premium food and beverage and managing change in a centre environment. Also addressed were the ways in which centres in various parts of the world are adjusting their arguments around the role they play in economic development in order to attract new attention and investment from governments and communities.

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Panel discussion on how events are evolving: a user’s perspective

Survey results Driving much of the programme were the results of a comprehensive member survey carried out in the months immediately prior to the conference, which covered business confidence, performance results, key economic and business factors and new response tactics. The survey was completed in a way that enabled the wide variety of topics it contained to be broken down by region in order to enable a comparison of how various factors are playing out in different parts of the world.

What we learned didn’t necessarily make those of us hoping for a speedy recovery entirely happy, but there was general

agreement that a realistic assessment of business conditions, combined with a spirited discussion of tactics for response, provided members with the best possible value for their participation. I think we consider ourselves better prepared for the challenges of the future as a result of what was conveyed in the conference and this is the best outcome we could have achieved.

About the author Edgar Hirt is the president of the International Association of Congress Centres (AIPC) and thee managing director of Congress Center Hamburg. For more information, e-mail marianne.de.raay@aipc.org or visit www.aipc.org.

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www.saconference.co.za To advertise on SA Conference Online, contact Caroline Martin • t +27 (0)11 454 6051/2 • f 086 660 2024 • caroline@pinpoint.co.za For more info or any website-related queries, contact Abby Wintgens • t +27 (0)11 233 2608 • abby@3smedia.co.za

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THEBE COLUMN

Building on the legacy of sports and events tourism

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hese days, many people say that the 2010 Soccer World Cup is “old hat”. To some extent that may be true, but we cannot afford to underestimate its legacy.

The fact of the matter is that South Africa delivered the best World Cup ever and that it is the biggest sporting event in the world.

Sports tourism is one of the fastest growing areas of the global travel and tourism industry and South Africa is now, without a doubt, a leader in the field. Sports tourism and mega events in South Africa are estimated to

contribute more than R6 billion to our tourism industry. More than 10% of foreign tourists come to South Africa to watch or participate in sports events, with spectators accounting for 60 to 80% of these arrivals.

At the recent sports and events tourism conference in Cape Town, experts agreed that we cannot rest on our d laurels now that we have proved what we can do. Even with the legacy of the World Cup, we will not be able to sustain

“Sports tourism and mega events in SA are estimated to y” contribute more than R6 billion to our tourism industry” Carol Weaving, MD of Thebe Exhibitions & Projects

the momentum if we do not have a clearly formulated strategy and plan in place to grow the industry.

The conference brought together decision makers in this industry for the first time, discussing aspects such as destination branding and sponsorships and looked at some very interesting international case studies.

While many of us are not directly involved in sports events, the impact on events industry is huge. We need to keep a close watch on developments in the sporting arena and turn sports events into business opportunities. We need to work with authorities that are putting g bids together, making sure that our events form part pa of bid documents. We need to work with incentive travel companies, spo sports tour operators and government ag agencies, negotiate sponsorships an and provide essential strategic and lo logistical support. Central to all o of this is a understanding of the interrelatedness of sports and events, of how the different pieces of the puzzle fit together.

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