SAACI PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM 7 FEBRUARY 2012

SAACI Southern African Association for the Conference Industry Formed in 1987 Members representative of all role players and service providers in business tourism industry 4 Provincial Branches – KZN, NTB, WC & EC

Vision To be the one voice of the business tourism industry To be a recognised partner to the public and private sectors To be the conference / meetings association of choice

Mission To empower people whilst continuously developing sustainable business tourism in Southern Africa

SAACI MEMBERSHIP KZN Members 192 NTB Members 540 Eastern Cape Members 69 Western Cape Members 290 TOTAL1091

SAACI MEMBERSHIP (Continued) 2011/2012 fees Individual members300R per person Company A members277R per company Company B members 14R per company Patrons 7R per company

STRUCTURE National Board= 16 Members Composition/Portfolios: National Chair Vice Chair Treasurer General Manager Secretariat 4 x Branch Chairs 7 x Forum Chairs

SAACI ORGANOGRAM National Chair General Manager Executive Assistant Membership Administrator Marketing/PR Financial Secretariat National vice Chair TreasurerPublic Officer KZN Branch Chair NTB Branch Chair W Cape Branch Chair E Cape Branch Chair C&E Forum Chair Venue Forum Chair Services Forum Chair Technical Forum Chair Transport Forum Chair Destination Marketing Forum Chair Exhibition Forum Chair

1.Conference & Events Forum 2.Venues Forum 3.Exhibition Forum 4.Destination Marketing Forum 5.Technical Forum 6.Transport Forum 7.Services Forum FORUMS

Forum Objectives C&E Accreditation & Professionalism Venues Pricing and Standards Destination Educating provincial bodies and approach Technical Marketing expertise & training Transport Contribution within conference market & importance of relationship Services Small entrepreneurial possibilities & education of market Exhibition Importance of Confex & affect on congress

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation Growth and Development SAACI provided input into the National Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS) SAACI provided input into the Draft Tourism Bill SAACI will provide input into the National Events Strategy draft SAACI is an active member of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) – the umbrella organisation for the travel and tourism private sector in South Africa

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation Quality Assurance Tourism Grading Council of SA (TGCSA) – SAACI reviewed the minimum grading criteria for conference facilities and including universal accessibility SAACI members are encouraged to be graded by TGCSA

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued) People Development National Tourism Careers Exhibition – an initiative of the Department of Tourism – SAACI participated to promote the events/meetings industry as a possible career path for Grade 12 learners SAACI Youth Development through SAACI Branches – annual industry student bursaries SAACI membership supports the employment of interns for practical experience SAACI is involved with SSETA and the development of certification and designations for event co-ordinators and event managers

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued) Service Excellence SAACI hosts educational sessions alongside Meetings Africa : topic to address Service Excellence in the industry - Department of Tourism has been invited to participate Responsible Tourism SAACI is a founding member of the Events Greening Forum and serves on the Board SAACI is a signatory to the Fair Trade in Tourism SA (FTTSA) Code against Child Sex Tourism and Trafficking in South Africa

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued) Business and events tourism SAACI members continuously bid to attract international events / meetings SAACI members are encouraged to work in a coordinated manner to attract international business, eg. cities should not compete against one another Support of the newly formed National Convention Bureau – Executive Manager serves on the SAACI Board Strengthening and encouragement of the accreditation of SAACI PCO members

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued) Business and events tourism (Continued) Future accreditation for members of the Forums representing these sectors

Tourism Development, Growth and Transformation (Continued) Transformation SAACI promotes that all SAACI company members become B-BBEE compliant – membership application form requests B-BBEE certificate Tourism BEE Charter – SAACI participation and input Mentoring of new entrants into the industry to create an environment of nurturing to serve on SAACI structures

ACCURATE STATISTICS Lack of accurate statistics for Business Tourism Fragmented and quality of business tourism research International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) rankings (2010): * SA ranked 36 out of 93 countries Total of 345 cities: * CT ranked 46 with 41 meetings * DBN ranked 181 with 10 meetings * JHB ranked 206 with 9 meetings CHALLENGES

B-BBEE B-BBEE – skills, education & training Services Seta – slow processes for funding applications and no feedback Current punitive regulatory environment is not conducive for small businesses CHALLENGES (Continued)

B-BBEE Establish an education fund to be used for the development of identified students / graduates in the industry Associations could be effectively used as channels for transformation and job creation CHALLENGES (Continued)

COMPETITIVENESS Competitiveness of tourism products & services Bridging fund to bring international events / meetings to SA Visa waiver Closer working relationship with SAA for competitive group fares Impact of excessive transport costs, eg. road tolls Value of experience and in-service training not understood or appreciated CHALLENGES (Continued)

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR DIVIDE Business tourism is not fully recognised by all Government departments as a bona fide GDP contributing sector of tourism Draft Tourism Bill and Draft Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy excludes business tourism Public and private sector divide when bidding and hosting CHALLENGES (Continued)

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR DIVIDE Lack of collaboration within all Government Departments, tourism authorities and agencies and SAACI Short lead-times for meetings and feedback into Government documents CHALLENGES (Continued)

Thank You