The Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau, a division of Wesgro, secured nine new bids during the first quarter (April – June 2018) with an estimated economic impact of R336m and an estimated attendance of 9,300 delegates.
A highlight for the quarter was the securing of the Asian Racing Conference, secured for January 2020. The bid, submitted in conjunction with the National Horseracing Association, will attract an estimated 1,000 delegates over seven days. The conference alone is estimated to have an economic impact of R44,8m, emphasising the economic value of the horse racing sector within the Province.
Another key win for the unit was the securing of the World Congress of the International Health Economics Association, secured for 2021. The congress is expected to attract approximately 1,500 delegates over a four day period with an estimated economic impact of R38,4m.
Commenting on the value of securing conferences of this nature, Wesgro’s Head of the Convention Bureau, Corne Koch, commented: “Health care systems and public health is a much debated topic in Southern Africa and an international congress of this nature will provide a platform for practitioners to share knowledge. The mission of the association is to increase communication amongst health economists, foster a higher standard of debate in the application of economics to health and health care systems and to assist young researchers at the start of their careers.”
The team also participated in the delegate boosting activations for SpaceOps 2020 and World Opthamology Congress 2020.
Executive Mayor Patricia de Lille said: “This achievement is proof that we are serious about taking our City to the next level and that the world sees us as a globally competitive business destination. Year on year we have affirmed our status as the events capital of Africa and the numbers are truly impressive which translates into immense benefits for the residents of our city. Cape Town offers a range of attractive locations for conferences and with the latest being the new CTICC 2 building which offers more space and more flexibility for conference organisers and delegates. I want to congratulate all the teams involved in the bids and those who work tirelessly to make all events and conferences a huge success”.
Minister of Economic Opportunities, Alan Winde congratulated the Convention Bureau on their excellent work, adding: “Every new conference that is secured and every delegate who arrives in our province has the potential to grow our economy and contribute to job creation. Business tourists and conference delegates tend to have a higher daily spend while visiting the city, and also have the potential to turn into leisure tourists later on, returning to the province with their friends and family to explore further. These results show that the Western Cape is indeed open for business.”
Commenting on the units successes, Wesgro CEO, Tim Harris, commented: “The Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau has set off to a stellar start. Playing host to such quality conferences and congress’s boosts academic stimulus and brings unsurmountable knowledge sharing into the province.”
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