2 May 2007
Figures released by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) in April show that South Africa held 64 international congresses in 2006, with the country moving up to 31st spot on the international rankings.
This places the country ahead of Hong Kong, Ireland and India. The US claimed the first spot, hosting 414 meetings in the year.
According to the Association Meetings Market 2006 Statistics Report, the leading destinations in the county were Cape Town, which hosted 42 congresses, Durban with seven and Pretoria with five congresses.
Vital to Cape Town's allure has been the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), which was constructed in 2003. Since then, the city has risen in the world rankings from 47th in 2003, to 30th in 2004, 36th in 2005 and to 29th in 2006.
On global rankings, Durban comes in at 168 and Pretoria at number 209. The top-ranking city was Vienna, which held 147 meetings in 2006, followed by Paris, with 130, and Singapore with 127.
"We have always said that Cape Town could in time achieve a Top-10 position on this important ranking list. We are on our way. Conference initiators around the world watch these statistics, and being identified as one of the most successful destinations of the year, will have a positive effect on our marketing results for the future," said CTICC managing director Dirk Elzinga in a company statement issued in April.
According Elzinga, it was not only up to the tourism industry to attract international congresses, but also for universities to attract scholars connected to their programmes and research.
"We have four universities in Cape Town and that puts us in a privileged position in our ability to contribute to the scientific content of any international conference programme," he said in a company statement issued in April.
According to the CTICC, international surveys have shown that the ability of a destination to host scientific programmes are a main attraction to decision-makers.
However Elzinga warned that while Cape Town had every reason to continue to do well as many major congress bookings had been made for the years ahead, the rest of the world would not be sitting idle.
"It's much easier to come from nowhere. We really have to make a collective effort with Cape Town Routes Unlimited and hospitality centres across the region to reinforce our position for the years to come," he said.
According to the CTICC, bookings for congresses with more than 10 000 delegates have already been made for 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2014.
SouthAfrica.info reporter
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