Bay hailed as top events destination at Meetings Africa

Nelson Mandela Bay came out as tops at the recently concluded Meetings Africa 2012, held at the Sandton Convention Centre, cinching a recommendation from South African Tourism that the city is one of the country’s top events destinations for 2012. Meetings Africa, in general, was celebrated as an incredible success for travel and business tourism in South Africa with the number of international buyers nearly doubling in an increase of 93% of last year’s numbers.

Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) joined a host of exhibitors from around the country, showcasing Nelson Mandela Bay’s incredible conference and meetings offerings in a city characterized by a seamless integration of environment and infrastructure perfect for business and leisure tourism.

NMBT marketing manager Titus Chuene said Meetings Africa was a true reflection of the potential of South Africa as a leading business and meetings destination, adding that Nelson Mandela Bay was well positioned for both business and leisure tourism.

“We had the privilege of being hailed by South Africa Tourism (SAT) as one of South Africa’s top events destinations for 2012. This is a huge endorsement for Nelson Mandela Bay. We have shown ourselves as a city with a great balance of world class conference and events facilities, while at the same time offering unmatched leisure travel,” said Chuene. “The integration of these two assets makes our city a prime destination for the meetings industry.”

With more than 3 450 industry buyers taking part in the exhibition, a 20% increase on last year’s Meetings Africa, NMBT representatives had the opportunity to meet with international and local buyers, association representatives as well as industry stakeholders from the National Convention Bureau of South Africa Tourism, the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), and the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI).

Just a week before Meetings Africa commenced, NMBT hosted a group of select meetings industry buyers from the United Kingdom, taking them on a tour of some of the city’s best attractions and meetings facilities. This was aimed at building strong relationships with overseas events organizers and to attract them to the friendly city.

NMBT was joined by The Boardwalk Convention Centre, Hotel and Spa which is due to open in December 2012. The joint stand was put up under the theme of “a seamless combination of business and leisure across the green spectrum” and showcased Nelson Mandela Bay’s range of services and products for the meetings industry and also The Boardwalk’s development plans for the city’s tourism and meetings sector.

“We chose the green angle because the city has a growing number of meetings and conference locations that are committed to responsible tourism – for both business and leisure,” said Chuene.

“As we move forward as an industry we have to incorporate responsible tourism both in reaction to the demands set by responsible tourists from across the world and our own loyal commitment to protecting people, the environment, prized tourism products and activities like the beach, nature reserves and promoting energy consciousness across the tourism industry.”

NMBT Visit and Reservations coordinator Done Louw said there were lots of opportunities for networking with industry buyers from around the world through a speed dating arrangement with select corporate buyer, in which Nelson Mandela Bay had the opportunity to market the city to over 60 buyers for three minutes each.