Government’s phased approach to reopening conferences and meetings has been met with hesitant optimism due to the restrictions limiting the numbers to 50 people.
Ceo of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI), Glenton de Kock, says the country’s collective readiness for conferencing will continue to be challenged in an environment where the pandemic will be here for some time.
While SAACI commends government for its decision to approve business meetings and conferences, the number of 50 people allowed to gather is small.
“We believe that, by demonstrating that the sector can deal with all the legislative requirements, the numbers can increase beyond 100 in the coming months. The [current] number is restrictive, but we knew that we would need to work with government on the gradual reopening. In some instances, it may not be viable,” says Glenton.
Clare Neall, professional conference organiser and managing editor of Event Stuff, thinks the corporate community won’t be so eager to start conferencing again for a number of reasons.
The first is the issue of safety, and the second, she says, is that companies may not have the budget to do so straight away. “Every company has had to retrench staff or cut salaries and introduce reduced hours. The last thing money will be spent on soon is conferencing,” says Clare.
She is also concerned that the small size of conferences permitted by government puts organisers like herself in a difficult position with regard to securing work. “Companies may start to bypass event conferencing managers because small events can easily be planned by a PA and they can avoid the cost of our fees.”
One of Africa’s largest international conferencing centres, the Durban ICC, says it is ready to welcome events again, even on this relatively small scale, but agree that offering 50-person conferences as the stand-alone source of business would not be financially viable.
As a result, the centre is developing virtual event solutions for its clients.
Nonetheless, Durban ICC ceo, Lindiwe Rakharebe, says she has already seen interest from clients for events of 50 people at the centre. “Companies recognise that small events like road-shows and workshops are still very effective ways of achieving their business objectives.”
