South African Tourism Spotlights MICE Potential at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai 2024 Corporate Think Tank.
Reaffirming its focus on India’s business and MICE travel sector, South African Tourism kicked off its 5-city Corporate MICE Think Tank Series at Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai on 2 February 2024.
From Mumbai on February 2nd, The Corporate MICE Think Tank Series will continue to Delhi on February 23rd, and onto Bengaluru, India’s IT hub, on March 7th.
The next Corporate MICE Think Tank events are scheduled for Chennai on March 15th and Hyderabad on March 22nd, 2024.
The Corporate MICE activation series now in its third iteration, has significantly succeeded in establishing itself as an essential platform for fostering business connections and exploring corporate event opportunities within South Africa.
Such engagement programs, including the Corporate Think Tank sessions, lay the foundation for immediate brand recall, targeting the burgeoning demand for Corporate MICE tourism.
These initiatives complement the South African Tourism Board‘s comprehensive strategy, enabling direct engagement with key corporate travel decision-makers to meet their specific needs.
India ranks as a key market for South Africa’s inbound incentive travel, demonstrating notable growth following previous events. The Corporate Think Tank sessions have become critical for South African Tourism to gauge and cater to the corporate travel requirements of Indian businesses effectively. These events facilitate direct communication with corporate decision-makers, helping to strengthen existing relationships.
With favourable exchange rates compared to the USD and GBP, South Africa offers affordability and accessibility, positioning itself as a cost-effective international destination. The tourism board has noted a growing interest among Indian corporations in choosing South Africa for incentive travel, against a backdrop of increased corporate focus on such programs.
Organized by OptiMICE Events Pvt Ltd, these Corporate MICE Think Tank sessions are designed to engage and promote an open exchange of ideas between participants and South African Tourism.
Led by Neliswa Nkani, Hub Head – Middle East, India and South-East Asia, South African Tourism, the Corporate Think Tanks are created to be interactive, encouraging participation and discussion among attendees.
These sessions are particularly relevant as outbound tourism from India surges, focusing on the expanding MICE travel sector. Discussions addressed various topics, including South Africa’s capabilities to accommodate corporate travellers and its unique selling points for incentive travel.
Neliswa Nkani, said, “India has been a long-standing ally to South Africa, and it is heartening to witness the friendship materialising in an economically beneficial partnership for both the nations. The country has been fast climbing up the ladder of outbound tourism and emerged among the leading contributors to the travel and tourism sector from Asia. On the back of strengthening demand, we hope to continue building on the MICE travel momentum from India in 2024.”
The Corporate Think Tank 2024 in Mumbai offers a wonderful opportunity for South African tourism officials to directly interact with top MICE buyers from the Mumbai area.
Neliswa Nkani’s keynote address emphasized South Africa’s vast potential as a MICE destination. The event encouraged fruitful discussions between South African tourism representatives and corporate buyers on key issues like visa procedures, flight expenses, and the range of MICE venues in South Africa, including hotels and convention centres, fostering deeper understanding and opportunities for business partnerships.
South Africa is renowned for its diverse landscapes, adventure activities, and wildlife, offering a broad spectrum of experiences for incentive trip attendees, from surfing and safaris to road trips and natural beauty, all achievable within a week. Recognizing the need for quick visa processing, South African Tourism ensures corporate visa applications are processed swiftly. The country has a proven track record in meeting the MICE travel needs of leading Indian corporations.
Moderated by Kamal Gill, Managing Director OptiMICE Events Pvt Ltd, the discussions broadened to cover upcoming employee engagement strategies, South Africa’s appeal to MICE groups, support from the tourism board, and potential activities for MICE groups in the new era.
India remains a pivotal market for South African Tourism, ranking among the top three for growth. Mumbai is India’s commercial capital and plays a crucial role in achieving the tourism board’s MICE arrival goals from India.
Last year, South Africa saw 79,774 visitors from India, a 43% rise from the previous year. Out of these, 46% travelled for business, with 21% attending meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE), highlighting its potential.
To keep this growth going, South African Tourism is working to improve access and encourage talks for direct flights, aiming to increase tourism and trade between the two countries.
About South African Tourism:
South African Tourism is the tourism marketing arm of the South African government. Simply put, their job is to promote the country domestically and internationally, whether for leisure, business, or events tourism. As a government body, they are committed to meaningfully contributing to the South African government’s objectives of inclusive economic growth, sustainable job creation, and redistribution and transformation of the industry.
Read more: News
