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Johannesburg - Business events are a key contributor to tourism growth, Tourism Minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk said on Monday.
"As government continues to focus on tourism as one of the key job-creating sectors, we continue to recognise business events tourism as an area with significant growth potential," he said.
Van Schalkwyk said international tourist arrivals grew by 10.2% last year, surpassing the global average of 4%.
"The business events industry has been an important contributor to this success."
The country had managed to secure 88 events from 2013 to 2017 with the help of the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB).
"Jointly, these bids will attract no less than R2.6bn to the tourism economy. These meetings will bring an estimated 200 000 delegates to the country."
Among these events, was the International Aids Conference, which would be held in Durban in 2016, Van Schalkwyk said.
Although it seems to be business as usual for the South African tourism industry, there seems to be some uncertainty on the horizon, according to the latest TBCSA FNB Tourism Business Index (TBI).
The TBI for the second quarter of 2013 indicates it's business as usual for the travel and tourism sector with comfortable trading overall.
"We are keeping a watching brief that there isn't a negative trend developing," said Gillian Saunders of Grant Thornton.
"Although the industry is less optimistic than before, the fact is that operations are close to normal levels."
- Fin24
