Meetings Africa officially slung its doors open early today with a flurry of activities that gave the impression a lot of business deals was to be had before the continental event winds up late tomorrow.
Only at lunch time did most of the delegates seem to have a break from a combination of meetings, dishing out information, and networking, chatting to old and new acquaintances.
For a writer who experienced this event for the first time, the high standards where equally unmatchable though it remains to be seen what the actual outcomes with regards to figures of the deals struck would be.
The busiest stands included Southern Sun Maputo, Rwanda Tourism Board, O & l Leisure Hotels / Lodges, Eswatini Tourism Authority, Zimbabwe Tourism Authority, Tanzania Tourism Board, Tourism Kwazulu-Natal, Botswana Tourism, Kenya National Convention Bureau and Zambia Tourism Agency.
Given that stands of boards housed private operators from respective African countries, it perhaps explains why they were so busy. This must not negate the fact that a lot of invaluable input went into the planning and execution of Africa’s premier MICE event, therefore a lot buyers trooped in.
South African Minister of Tourism Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane, opened Africa’s biggest tourism lekgoltla in style, chiming the bell symbolizing the event was open for business. And it seems this was a good omen!
On the other half of the day, the SACCI Press Conference was a juicy presentation taking the lid off to what’s expected at the forthcoming congress.
Watch this space for more details tomorrow.
