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“The biggest stumbling blocks we have seen in recent years with the development of the country – and Johannesburg is a good example within the business events industry has been the vulnerability we have in Africa in terms of perception management,” he says. “Africa is still seen by the international market in many cases as one country. This may seem like a strange concept but is evident in the booking declines seen when there is media attention around instability on the continent or even health concerns with outbreaks like Ebola etc. “This being said, Johannesburg has still seen consistent growth within the business events space. South Africa is a world-class destination and with the consistent development within the industry and especially from private sector investment, there continues to be a great pace of growth. We consistently see new venues being added to the stable and infrastructure
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development also continues on an ongoing basis.” Van der Vyver predicts that the conversation surrounding Johannesburg – as South Africa’s largest city and an indictment of trends across the rest of the country – will be very different in as little as five years’ time. He adds: “I think we will see major improvements in infrastructure. Ease of access, public transport as well as safety will be items of top priority for us to continue growing the business events industry. “I believe we’ll see more venues creating that immersive experience for delegates/travellers by linking our history and culture closely to their venues and using this concept to create a more collaborative business environment, as we are all moving closer to a shared economy, especially within the business events and business tourism space.”
AFRICA
FACTS & FIGURES
Capitals:
Pretoria; Bloemfontein; Cape Town
Area:
1.2 million square kilometres
Population (2018): 57.7 million GDP (2018): $742.4 billion Currency: South African rand (ZAR)
Time zone: Dialling code: Internet TLD:
UTC+2 +27 .za
WWW.AFRICAOUTLOOKMAG.COM
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