International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), has crowned Cape Town as the best city in Africa for business tourism events.
This was the fourth consecutive year and the city has hosted over 50 meetings to date and has won the award ahead of others such as Johannesburg, Marrakech and Nairobi, largely due to conference bids secured by the Cape Town and the Western Cape Convention Bureau, a strategic division of Wesgro. Cape Town climbed 15 places to be ranked in the ‘Top 40’ destinations for business tourism in the world.
Of the 54 meetings held in Cape Town, 13 meetings had a delegate attendance of over 1,000 attendees, with 24 of the 54 meetings held in a conference or exhibition venue, and 16 in meeting facilities within hotels.
“Cape Town has year-on-year been confirmed as the events capital of Africa and the latest rankings are further proof that our efforts to become the business events capital on the continent are paying off,” said Patricia de Lille, Mayor of Cape Town. She revealed that the city will now work even harder to leverage off the events to be among top 10 business tourism cities in the world.
“Cape Town boasts a diverse annual events calendar and we provide city funding to make sure we bring events that position Cape Town globally as a competitive business destination. Since 2012, it has been part of our economic growth strategy to build the city’s reputation as a place that is open for businesses by creating an enabling environment for economic growth and to create much-needed jobs for the people of our city,” said de Lille.
By launching Invest Cape Town initiative, we aim to change the perception that Cape Town is not the most ideal leisure destination but also a strong destination for business tourism, pointed out de Lille.
Source: travelnewsdigest.in
