Registrations have opened for the Attractions Management in Southern Africa 2014 inaugural conference, which will take place at the Old Mutual Conference and Exhibition Centre at Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, from June 4-5.
Topics that will be discussed include trends such as staffing, seasonality and online ticket sales. The event is modelled on the US’s attraction conference, which attracts 30 000 people to Orlando each year.
“Some Southern African attractions are capturing record visitor numbers, while others are slowing or stagnating in popularity,” says Sabine Lehmann, MD of Table Mountain Aerial Cableway Company and the driving force behind the conference. “The conference is an opportunity for us as an industry to share our knowledge so we realise South Africa’s full tourism potential.”
Speakers include Tony Rubin, Maropeng GM, who will present a talk on ‘Creating magic: the link between employees and the visitor experience’; and Craig Saunders, Aerial Cableway Hartbeespoort Co-owner, who will give insights into small visitor numbers and how to make them work. Other speakers include Carla White, V&A Waterfront PR and Communications Manager, and Avinesh Pillay from Google.
“This conference will give attraction managers from theme parks, aquariums, game parks, botanical gardens, museums and wine estates the opportunity to discuss challenges and solutions specific to attractions – things like managing the flow of visitors, the seasonal nature of the industry and how to retain good staff despite seasonal demands,” says Lehmann.
For more information, visit www.attractionsafrica.co.za.
