South Africa jumps in business events appeal
South Africa’s global ranking as a business event destination of choice has been bumped up yet again.
The ICCA rankings list saw South Africa rise two places, from 34th position in 2013 to 32nd position in 2014.
The International Congress and Conventions Association (ICCA) rankings are held in high regard in the business events industry, and are compiled by careful tabulation of the number of global and regional association conferences and meetings a destination hosts in a year.
The ICCA rankings are the yardstick by which international associations and corporates measure a destination’s business event hosting capability.
“This is brilliant news for South Africa,” South African Tourism’s chief executive officer Thulani Nzima said.
“It is an empirical reflection of growing confidence in South Africa and a confident indication that we may expect our share of the global market to grow. In 2013, South Africa hosted 118 international and regional business events. That number rose to 124 in 2014.”
South Africa’s 2014 ICCA ranking places the destination ahead of Hong Kong, the UAE, New Zealand and Morocco.
The USA was ranked highest, followed by Germany, Spain, the UK and France. South Africa is the highest ranked destination in Africa and the Middle East, however other African destinations also pulled rank, with Kenya coming in at 68, Egypt ranked 75th and Senegal placing in the 79th spot.
The 2014 ICCA rankings also saw South Africa’s cities rise in the stakes as business event destinations, with Cape Town remaining the most successful at 41 on the 2014 ICCA list.
Cape Town has improved its ranking from 52nd in 2013 to its present position, having hosted 58 international and regional association events in the year.
Johannesburg, ranked at 136 in 2013, has also bumped up a few spots to be ranked 101st in 2014.Durban is ranked 125th in 2014, tied with the cities of Auckland, Basel, Bordeaux and Montpellier.
BestCities is also celebrating a trifecta of number one rankings with Cape Town with 58 meetings, Vancouver number one in North America and Singapore ranked first in Asia Pacific & Middle East.
Consistently ranking in the top ten worldwide, Singapore hosted 142 meetings last year to again secure top spot. Dubai jumped to 44 overall with 56 meetings and Melbourne, also a high achiever in this region, increased their global position to 37 – up from 44 last year and had its highest attendance for 10 years.
“With footholds in both established and emerging markets, BestCities covers the full gamut of convention destinations including Berlin which remains BestCities’ highest ranked city in 4th position hosting 193 meetings whilst the newest partner, Bogotá, increased their number of meetings to 49, which is an equally outstanding outcome in this young market,” MD Paul Vallee said.
The Gold Coast also scored a neat little spot on the ICCA rankings, now sitting at 152 out of 2,246 cities in over 90 countries worldwide that have reported into ICCA. The City now ranks higher than Las Vegas, Monte Carlo, Honolulu, Osaka and Houston.
The Gold Coast ranks equal 4th in Australia (with Adelaide), ahead of Perth, Canberra and Cairns, and only behind the state capitals of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
“It is extremely difficult, given the volume of competition worldwide to win these prestigious events,” Gold Coast Tourism’s business events director Anna Case said.
“The result is due to the very strong collaboration we have with our local tourism industry, in particular the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre and our wonderful ambassadors who are locally based academic, business and professional leaders.”
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
cape town durban icca johannesburg South AfricaLatest News
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