THE ongoing coronavirus pandemic, and the subsequent lockdown regulations implemented worldwide, has caused unmitigated impacts on the global economy which have had a major impact on the tourism and events industry. Relying heavily on international travel and gatherings, tourism and event restrictions have led to significant revenue losses and industry-wide employment risks. However, as countries reduce measures and economies begin to open up again, a unique and strategic opportunity has emerged in which the African energy sector, in particular oil and gas events, can revive the tourism and events industry, breathing life into African markets.
South Africa is considered one of the top tourism destinations in Africa, ranking sixth out of the world’s seventeen megadiverse countries. Tourism’s contribution to Gross Domestic Product in 2019 was 8.7%, demonstrating an average annual increase of 1.21% since 2000. One of the primary tourism sub-sectors in South Africa is the events industry, with the country ranked number one in Africa in the International Congress and Convention Association in the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report. According to Research and Markets Event Management in the South Africa 2020 report, in 2019, 11.4% of foreign tourism was attributed to the events industry with an estimated one million delegates hosted annually. In addition to attracting tourists to South Africa, the events industry is responsible for job creation, business expansion, investment, and increasing revenue across multiple support service sectors such as the food, health and infrastructure industries.
However, when COVID-19 hit, the tourism and events industry experienced significant impacts including loss of income, job redundancies – in April 2020 11% of tourism businesses made some or all of their staff redundant – as well as tax losses for the economy. According to the Tourism 2020 report released by Statistics South Africa, foreign arrivals dropped by 71% from over 15.8 million in 2019 to less than 5 million in 2020. Additionally, the business events sub-sector saw international delegate arrivals decline by 78%.
Despite these impacts, the easing of restrictions in South Africa, coupled with expected COVID-19 case declines in summer, has created the opportunity for oil and gas events like the upcoming African Energy Week (AEW) 2021 to revive South Africa’s tourism industry. AEW 2021, an interactive networking event that unites global energy stakeholders on the 9th-12th of November, is expected to set a new standard for Africa-focused conferences, presenting a multi-platform, community-oriented approach to energy events. Ironically, at a time when the oil and gas industry has taken a strong move towards the energy transition, an oil and gas event has the potential to revive a myriad of sectors in Africa.
AEW 2021 will take place at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town and ensure that all COVID-19 regulations are adhered to in order to present a safe and productive event. The event’s strategic design, comprising the utilization of multiple venues over a four-day period, not only complies with COVID-19 social gathering limitations, but ensures that multiple venues and event companies benefit from this one event. With on-the-day rapid testing facilities and sanitizing stations, AEW 2021 is demonstrating that Africa-focused events can and should take place in Africa in 2021.
