SAMIF explores joint business tourism congress

A sub-committee with a representative of each SAMIF member was formed that will report back on the issue and present a position statement before the end of August 2007.

SAMIF member associations are the Exhibition Association of Southern Africa (EXSA), the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI), the Society of Incentive and Travel Executives (SITE), the Technical Production Services Association (TPSA), the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa (FEDHASA), The International Special Events Society (ISES), the Southern African Tourism Services Association (SATSA), The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE).

Informally discussed

SAMIF chairman Eddy Khosa says the concept of a joint annual congress has already been discussed informally in industry circles. “I believe the principle agreement of our members to consider the detailed implications of this is a concrete, positive step.
“The reasoning behind the notion of a single congress includes cost savings for individuals who are members of a number of associations in the business tourism industry and avoiding the current duplication in terms of actual conference content. It will definitely help increase the productivity of the leadership in business tourism, as they will be able to spend more time in the workplace.

“It should also increase the congress revenue stream through staging a huge annual event, including delegates from more remote areas, that will draw significant sponsorships and help to correct the current fragmentation in the industry.

“We are aware of the implications of this, as annual conferences usually include annual general meetings and some associations may have to change their constitutions to allow for the time factor, and arrangements will have to be completely democratic and transparent so that each association benefits from the process,” he says. “A joint congress will also have to include break-away sessions with special interest topics catering for the interests and business areas of the entire sector.”

Opportunity welcomed

SAACI national chairman Denise Kemp says she welcomes the opportunity of working together with the other associations to determine whether a joint congress will be to the benefit of all the industry associations. “This sector of the tourism market is facing unprecedented growth in South Africa and we need to ensure that we capitalise on this growth for the benefit of all our members.”

SAMIF, an umbrella federation for the business tourism industry, is involved in strategic issues such as research coordination, marketing, skills development and security and works closely with the business tourism unit of South African Tourism.