Meetings Africa got off to a flying start today with Business Opportunities Networking Day (BONDay), bringing together meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry leaders and entrepreneurs to discuss ideas around reviving the sector and rebuilding relationships after a two-year hiatus.
The theme “Shared Minds, Shared Economies” is a call to all industry stakeholders in Africa to open its borders to each other so as to allow free cross-pollination of goods, people and ideas.
The 16th edition of Meetings Africa, a South African National Conventions Bureau (SANCB) flagship trade show, was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on Monday, 28th February. It continues in Advancing Africa Together through collaborative growth.
A new addition to BONDay was the Africa Business Tourism & MICE Masterclass, which were a series of educational talks concerning business events industry matters addressed to youth, small, medium and micro enterprises (SMMEs) and MICE practitioners. Industry leaders shared powerful insights on how to remain flexible in tough times and collectively grow the intra-Africa MICE industry.
Deputy Minister of Tourism, Fish Mahlalela, said collaboration is going to be key to uplifting and ensuring a viable future for the MICE sector. “Your presence shows you want to restore the tourism sector. BONDay as a platform is where serendipitous encounters may take place, where you may just find your ideal partner in business growth.”
He addressed the government’s obligation to support tourism entrepreneurs. “We have implemented a number of programmes that look to provide SMMEs with an enabling environment in which to do business.”
These programmes include the Tourism Transformation Fund, Enterprise Development Support Programme, Enterprise Development and Transformation Programme and Enterprise Development Directorate. “All of these incentives are with the intention to recover the tourism industry. We recognise that SMMEs such as you bring agility and fresh ideas to the game. It is in this space that we will see transformation occurring,” said Mahlalela.
Covid-19 has had a devastating effect on the business events industry. According to the business advisory firm, BDO, the global MICE sector was worth $916-billion (R14.1-trillion) in 2019. By the end of 2021, it had dropped to $500-billion (R7.7-trillion).
Before the advent of Covid-19, the major drivers of the global MICE trade were, among many factors, exponential economic growth, global trade, the rise in per capita disposable income, continuous scientific and technological innovations, and an increase in global tourism. Currently, science and technology innovations remain the only drivers.
