It is very important for SA to participate in the IMEX Frankfurt global show as meetings, investment conferences and exhibitions are critical for the country, according to Deputy Minister of Tourism Elizabeth Thabethe.
She said IMEX Frankfurt brings together a lot of buyers and sellers.
She would like them to come to SA to have their meetings.
"We have proven we can hold such large events in SA. For instance, Cop17 was hosted successfully in Durban and the Fifa Soccer World Cup in 2010 also showed what we can do as a developing country with our infrastructure," she said.
"It made people come back as tourists and to have meetings."
She said praised the tourism assistance programme which enabled a number of small businesses to take part in IMEX Frankfurt. In her view, SMEs have a big role to play in the tourism industry and in SA's economy.
"A lot of people just need a kick-start and in this way we can deal with unemployment in SA," she said.
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