Sonto Mayise

Sonto Mayise

Our top woman!

SONTO MAYISE KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau Sonto is by nature a determined woman, this she has shown by summiting Mount Kilimanjaro in 2019. This is the same determination she shows at work, no matter the task she is faced with. Long before she joined the Durban KZN Convention Bureau or before she was making waves in her own right. She is well travelled and is well equipped with skills that sets her apart from the rest, with the Masters in Tourism and the MBA from Universidad Europea de Madrid (Spain), it is clear that Sonto really means business and she is a a great motivation to many.

She already has the massive task of bringing mega conferences into the province, which have noticeably helped boost the economy of the province. Her efforts have earned her a number of accolades including being one of the top 40 women in Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) in 2018. She was also recognised by the Premier of KZN as his Discretionary Award recipient at the Premier’s Excellence Awards 2018 and recently earned the Convention Bureau an important award – the 2020 Oliver Top Empowerment Award in the category of Public Services as the most commendable organisation. Other prestigious awards include: The Golden Globe Tiger Awards/ The Future of Tech Congress and Awards 2020 for the Woman Leader in MICE Industry and for the Most Influential General Manager in MICE and the recent awards at the World Leadership Congress and Awards/ Business Leader of the Year 2021 for The Outstanding Contribution to MICE Industry and for The Most Influential Woman Leader in MICE Industry.

The master organiser that she is, Sonto has been instrumental in bringing to KZN events that have put the province on the international map, exposing it to both tourism and investment opportunities. Some of these events include: the 2016 Aids conference, the UN International Telecommunications Conference 2018, the BRICS Business Council 2018, the World Economic Forum on Africa 2017 as well as the Forbes Women Leadership Summit and many others.

Through these events, Sonto was able to expose the province to over 20 000 delegates collectively and contributing immensely to the economy of the Province through hosting these major international MICE events.

At her current job at the Durban KZN Convention Bureau which was established to promote the meeting of business tourism services of KwaZulu-Natal, Sonto is tasked with orchestrating and spearheading four avenues in order to attract potential visitors to the province. Those avenues are to coordinate:

MEETINGS: primarily promoting KZN as the preferred destination for staging gatherings for the likes of product launches and meetings organised by global organizations and governments;

INCENTIVES: focusing promoting accommodation and corporate travel agencies;

CONFERENCES: whose key focus is on global, regional and local associations

EXHIBITIONS: tasked to look for national and international organisers who are enticed to host events or exhibitions in KZN.

She has taken these tasks in her stride…Sonto is a high energetic, creative thinker and a problem solver, with outstanding relationship development skills and ability to key in on strategic partnership issues.