Cape Town cashes in on MICE
15 May 2003
The meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry is booming in South Africa, and Cape Town is grabbing its slice of the pie.
Approximately R231-million worth of convention business has already been secured for Cape Town between now and 2010, according to the Cape Town Convention Bureau - excluding conferences still being bid for, or any that have been booked independently of the Bureau.
Rick Taylor, CEO of the Bureau, said: "Those conferences which have already been won by Cape Town amount to an economic impact of some R231.6-million. This means that over 34 000 conventions delegates will spend a total of 136 000 bed nights in Cape Town between now and 2010.
"Conferences for which we are still awaiting confirmation amount to an additional R199-million. Should Cape Town win those for which we have bid, the economic impact would amount to an impressive R430.6-million."
The Bureau calculates the economic impact of a
conference or convention taking into account strictly the number of delegates, the number of days they spend on conference, and the average spend of each delegate while they are in Cape Town.
Not taken into account are the estimated 19% of conference delegates who typically travel with a spouse or partner, or any pre- or post-conference tourism stays.
While most conventions attract between 400 and 1 500 delegates, some, like the International Congress of Radiology, will see up to 4 000 convention delegates descending on Cape Town in 2006.
"While many of the larger international conferences are taking advantage of the new international convention centre, many others are making use of the other 200 conference venues available in the greater Cape Town area," Taylor said.
Recent research shows that the total MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) industry contributes an estimated R20-billion
annually to South Africa's gross domestic product. This represents some 246 000 jobs, with R6-billion being paid in salaries annually and not less than R4-billion in taxes accruing to the government, proving that the meetings tourism market is a highly profitable one.
"When tourism is generally discussed, the mindset of too many role-players is still very much leisure-focused", says Talor. "This must change in the coming months and years, both in Cape Town and the rest of the country. The MICE industry is a lucrative tourism node.
"It is important that we recognise the value of this market and gear ourselves to providing world-class goods and services that go beyond the industry's expectations. In this way, Cape Town will prove its status as a top international all-year-round destination."
Source: Cape Town Convention Bureau
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