Building on South Africa’s Group of 20 (G20) legacy, the Meetings Africa 2025 conference will showcase Africa’s leadership on the global business events stage, empower local businesses and highlight innovation in the sector.

To be held from February 24 to 26 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Meetings Africa 2025 aims to provide a platform for exhibitors to showcase their offerings to international and local buyers, African associations and corporate planners.

Hosted in conjunction with the Johannesburg Tourism Authority, Gauteng Tourism and the Sandton Convention Centre, the two-day trade show will include a dedicated educational day, hosted with global, continental and national industry associations.

Speaking at the media briefing on January 28, Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille noted that South Africa generated about R145-million in total direct expenditure from last year’s Meetings Africa conference, a 13% increase compared with 2023.

“Meetings Africa 2025 aims to continue to put the spotlight on Africa and our diverse destinations and unique offering for business events by unlocking Africa's opportunities through quality connections,” said De Lille.

With 192 exhibitors confirmed so far, the Minister noted that this year's event aims to promote the continent's diversity through a new entrance of exhibitors, making it an attractive choice for business event buyers looking for a diversity of products from the African continent.

“The event serves as a platform for business deals, knowledge sharing and cross sector partnerships with a strong emphasis on enabling meaningful network opportunities in the sector.

“In line with driving economic impact through access, one of my favourite of the Meetings Africa remains the educational arm of the event, which plays an extraordinary role in empowering emerging small, medium-sized and microenterprises (SMMEs), providing crucial network opportunities for SMMEs, locally and abroad,” she added.

The Department of Tourism noted in a separate statement that the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB) invested R14.6-million on 81 business events bid submissions that have an estimated economic impact value of over R975-million and can potentially attract about 37 900 international and regional delegates to South Africa between 2024 and 2029.

South Africa has secured 53 of the bids submitted for business events and conferences, and the department noted that these secured business events would contribute around R616-million to South Africa's economy and will attract over 24 000 international and regional delegates.

G20 SUMMIT

Highlighting the importance of the G20 Summit for South Africa’s tourism sector, De Lille noted said the summit promises significant benefits for local business, events and the broader tourism sector.

“[The summit] allows South Africa to showcase its capacity to host a safe and successful global event, further boosting our country's international reputation, and that is an opportunity that we openly welcome.”

The Minister noted that the G20 Summit would include a Tourism Investment Summit hosted in partnership with Saudi Arabia, in Mpumalanga, in September, with a focus on investment opportunities for the local tourism sector.

“The work has already started. We are putting together investment opportunities across South Africa, and those investment opportunities will be shared with potential investors before the Summit to give the potential investors to our country an opportunity to even come and look at the various investment projects before the time,” she expressed.

“I'm very excited with all the opportunities that I've already seen existing in our country,” she added.

VISA PROGRESS

Further, De Lille also highlighted improvements in South Africa’s Visa regime and its implications for the tourism sector.

De Lille discussed the introduction of the Trusted Tour Operating Scheme for India and China that aims to simplify the Visa application system for tourism or business events for visitors from these countries.

“That is very good news for the tourism sector as we ease the barriers of travel to our country,” she said.

The Minister also highlighted other Visa improvements including the recently announced Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) and the Digitial Nomad Visa.

Regarding leisure tourism, De Lille pointed out that South Africa welcomed 7.9-million visitors between January and November 2024, a 5% increase year-on-year.

De Lille said the National Development Plan aims to reach 15-million arrivals a year by 2029, adding that the Air Route Development Strategy has been approved by Cabinet to drive air access and travel to South Africa.

“By working together, we can advance a thriving and inclusive tourism sector that supports the economic prosperities of our country,” said De Lille.