‘There’s an urgent need for industry standards’

INDUSTRY standardisation
was a hot topic at
the annual Southern
African Association for
the Conference Industry
conference that took place
in Cape Town in August,
with stakeholders and
role-players agreeing it
was imperative to have
a recognition system in
place that requires proven
competency of members
while at the same time
ensuring a strict code of
conduct and ethics.
“A professional
conference organiser is
not a lady with a bakkie,
17 chairs and a marquee,”
said Gill Martini of
Phambili African Events.
“We are not party planners.
We contribute over 3% of
the GDP of this country.
Business tourism is a
massive income stream
and we are fundamental
role-players in that.”
She said the events
industry in the country had
seen a meteoric rise in the
past twenty years and had
proved itself capable of
hosting world-class events.
“We should be extremely
proud of what we have
achieved in such a short
time but we also have to
continue focusing on what
we can still achieve.”
Nina Freysen-Pretorius,
chairman of the
International Congress &
Convention Association
(ICCA), said: “There
has to be some form
of accreditation for
membership – a standard
of practice, ethics and
credibility to adhere to.
As ICCA, we are quite
strict about who becomes
a member, taking into
account how they operate
and what they do. This
is essential because we
have to maintain the level
of professionalism in our
sector.”
The same is required for
South Africa. “There needs
to be a database of some
sort that is kept up to date
and guarantees that a PCO
is in good standing,” she
said.
Delegates attending the
conference agreed, saying
such a database or record
established through an
accreditation system could
even include a framework
of costs and fees.
“In other words, a
sort of guideline for
clients wanting to hire a
professional conference
organiser that gives them a
range of what is available
in our industry from the
bottom to the top,” said
one delegate.
Nina said it was extremely
important to take into
account the importance
of collaboration and
relationships in the sector
throughout such a process.
“By fostering partnerships
that optimise our strengths
and grow the global pool
of knowledge and expertise
we will make excellence
an industry standard,”
she said.
Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo,
ceo of the National
Convention Bureau, said
the role of collaboration
could not be stressed
enough. “There is a
growing global market
looking for destinations.
The business events
industry of South Africa
has a story to tell. We
have the potential to
attract more association
conferences, corporate
meetings and events,”
she said. “But we need to
streamline our efforts, work
smarter and work harder.
We have to work together
to achieve those goals.”
A professionalised
business events industry
would be to the advantage
of the entire industry.
“South Africa delivers
world-class business
events. We have a proven
track record and we can
attract more of these
events if we collaborate
as an industry,” she said.
“The destination offers
value for money, there is no
doubt about that. We have
incredible infrastructure to
deliver professional events
but it does require working
together if we want to
attract the rest of the world
to our shores.”
According to Lindiwe
Rakharebe, ceo of the
Durban ICC, it also requires
having mature discussion
about the challenges the
country faces, whether
it is the impact of
visa regulations or the
depreciation of the rand.
“We cannot sugar coat
the challenges that our
industry faces and we
cannot underestimate
the impact the various
role-players have in the
business events sector,”
she said.
“I can work as hard
as I want as a venue to
attract an international
conference but I am not
going to be able to sustain
it if the price of hotels
and air tickets shoot up
every time an international
conference is set to be
hosted in the country. We
have to add value to each
other’s businesses that will
ultimately allow everyone
to benefit, whether it
is the organisers, the
suppliers or the venues.
If we collaborate we share
the profits and it is a winwin
for everyone,” Lindiwe
commented.
Gwynneth Matthews,
director at Southern
Cross Conferences, said
taking into account that
more and more corporate
clients were decreasing
their MICE spend (up to
60% in some companies)
while at the same time
choosing to employ internal
event teams rather than
outsourcing to an external
PCO, the pressure was
on the industry to up its
game.
“It might not feel like
a threat as yet but the
impact of this on our
industry is going to grow.
We need to work toward
not only becoming better
event managers but
extraordinary events people
that deliver a service that
no one else can,” she said.
“With recognised standards
in place and a collaborative
approach, we are one
step closer to achieving
that goal.”