South African Tourism will also host an "AfricanUnusual" evening for exhibitors, delegates and VIPs at Meetings Africa.
Group managing director Carol Weaving said Meetings Africa had the full support of South African Tourism and was established as the country's foremost business tourism marketing platform. "We believe a unified industry will go a long way towards achieving the goal set by the Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, namely to move up to the top ten ranked business tourism destinations by 2010."
South Africa, ranked at 27 by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), accounts for more than 63 percent of all conference activities in Africa, worth more than R21 billion per year.
According to Weaving, South African Tourism's recent launch of BusinessUnusual in the European market, and its introduction locally at Meetings Africa, were solid building blocks for positioning the industry. "We believe that Thebe Exhibitions and Events can play a vital role in this process," she said.
Meetings Africa will be presented in conjunction with the Gauteng Tourism Authority and in association with the Johannesburg Tourism Company. International hosted buyers will be sponsored by the Department of Trade and Industry.
