Polish connection for NMBT

NELSON Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT), charged with marketing Nelson Mandela Bay as a vibrant tourism destination, has embarked on a mission to stimulate the city’s conference and events industry by networking with international convention organisers.

A recent visit to Poland by two NMBT delegates aimed at doing just this. NMBT recently sent two staff members – Done Louw and Sadie Isaacs – to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) research, sales and marketing program in Gdansk, Poland.

“Conferences are an integral part of tourism around the world forming a crucial backbone to the social and economic development of metropolitan cities,” said Isaacs, business tourism coordinator at NMBT.  “The vision for Nelson Mandela Bay is to have the city as a key role player in the conference and meetings circuit.

“Membership of associations like ICCA enables NMBT to market Nelson Mandela Bay and outcompete other events-hosting contenders in an international plethora of events destinations.”

ICCA has a membership of over 850 organisations in 80 countries worldwide that have access to expert conferencing advice and a database of over 8 000 international events associations and more than 13 000 meetings, allowing members access to bid for these events. 

Conferences and events in Nelson Mandela Bay in the first quarter of 2011 saw the participation of more than 9 000 delegates and contributed more than R7-million to the local economy. 

“It’s easy to see the potential value in this industry. Adventure tourism is seasonal, therefore we as a city have to build our capacity and become competitive with year-round tourism. This means we have to market our destination as a host city for big conferences and conventions,” said Titus Chuene, NMBT marketing manager.

Sports events and international celebrations of art and culture are also great avenues for attracting sports fans and cultural tourists, added Chuene.

Isaacs and Louw reported that the ICCA meeting provided expert training in bidding for International association meetings and conferences. It also dealt with selling and branding destinations, bidding for international association events, building successful client relationships, social media and PR, presentation skills and career development within the international meetings industry.

“The meeting was a great opportunity for Nelson Mandela Bay to engage potential partners in the conferencing and meetings industry. Our interactions with a wide range of experts and key industry players will be extremely beneficial to NMBT in marketing our city as an events host,” said Isaacs.

Speakers at the ICCA meeting are drawn from all regions of the world, with top international corporate experts to ensure that there are opportunities for delegates to gain new insights into the conferencing and events industry.