Industry initiative for Associations a great success

South Africa is still a relatively new player in this arena, but this affords the country great potential to develop this area of business tourism through partnerships between conference centres, conference organisers and the city officials, with the Associations.In an effort to provide them with the necessary tools at their disposal to bid for and host international Association meetings, Sandton Convention Centre, together with leading conference organiser GoGirl Events, hosted the first Associations workshop at the end of February at the convention centre.Attended by 35 delegates representing a variety of Associations ranging from sustainable energy and liquid petroleum gas to essential oils, the educational workshop was extremely well received.  Mati Nyazema, Executive Director of Sandton Convent ion Centre, introduced the workshop and presented an overview of the business tourism industry and how South Africa fares on the international platform.  She outlined what international Associations consider as essential when researching a country and venue to host their conferences – infrastructure, accessibility, location, safety and security, and the stability of the country, a unique destination experience, social and partner programmes, and pre- and post-conference programmes.Bronwyn Gogle, who heads up GoGirl Events, is delighted that the Associations programme has now been kick-started.  “This is the first of many such workshops and events that we envisage hosting for this sector of the industry, together with Sandton Convention Centre.  This initial workshop has been very well received by the associations and, we realise, is something that is way overdue.  ‘’The local Associations often feel overwhelmed when confronted with the task of bidding for and hosting a huge international event.  The idea behind these workshops is to show the Associations that they are not alone, that forming partnerships is the route to go and that together, the opportunities are endless and the returns can be enormous.”Spencer Pillai, newly-appointed head of the Convention Bureau at the Joburg Tourism Company, outlined how the city could assist the Associations with the formulation of the bid document, funding, logistics and the hosting of the international meeting.Bronwyn outlined the services that the conference organiser can bring to the event including travel, transport and transfers, registration, destination marketing, partners’ programme, social events and pre- and post-conference tours.A specialist in conference organisation for various Government departments for the past 20 years, Adriaan Woudstra of Ama-Conference, gave a most informative presentation on securing seed-funding and sourcing sponsorship for international conferences.   Attendees at the workshop found the presentations to be innovative, informative and user-friendly.  Jon Adams of the Sustainable Energy Society of SA found the workshop to be extremely useful in light of the fact that the society’s international conference for 2009 will be staged in South Africa at Sandton Convention Centre.The National Productivity Institute, represented by Laetitia van As, was also extremely positive about the workshop citing relevant content and the insight into the capacity and resources available as the main outcomes.  “It was encouraging to note that the needs of the associations are understood and were addressed.”Erna Mare of the LP Gas Safety Association of South Africa has been in the business of organising conferences for 14 years but said it was the first time she had attended a workshop that provided her with so much relevant content.  “The level of speakers was excellent and the information imparted to us was to the point and insightful.”The presentations were excellent and informative, according to Willie Alberts and Karen Swanepoel of the SA Essential Oils Producers Association (SAEOPA), who have been encouraged to put in a bid to host an international conference in South Africa.  “This initial workshop is the beginning of a process for us, in partnership with Go-Girl Events, to educate the Associations market and encourage them to bid to host their international associations’ conferences here in South Africa and more specifically, at our premier venue - Sandton Convention Centre.  We have the expertise, the infrastructure and the proven capability to host major international conferences, conventions and events – and Africa’s time is now!” concludes Mati.Contact Details:Janet de Kretser Baird’s Renaissance(011) 504-4000 Cell : 083 973 3531 janet@bairds.co.zaEditor’s note: Sandton Convention Centre is located in the heart of Sandton’s hotel, business and entertainment district.  The centre offers easy access to more than 5 000 hotel rooms (ranging from economy to deluxe), is adjacent to some of the country’s premium shopping and entertainment complexes (Sandton City and Nelson Mandela Square), and provides 10 600 secure parking bays. Sandton Convention Centre offers unlimited potential with over 22 000m² of state-of-the-art meeting, exhibition and special event space.  Purpose-built to international standards, the convention centre is able to host meetings, conferences, exhibitions and special events of virtually any size and nature.  It offers some of the most advanced technology available for convention and exhibition centres anywhere in the world.  Multiple events can be staged simultaneously on four main levels, and 10 000 visitors can be accommodated at any one time.  A team of highly-trained staff is on hand to provide support services. Its central position in Sandton provides easy access to Johannesburg International Airport, the Sandton CBD, major hotels and shopping centres. Sandton Convention Centre is managed by Southern Sun Hotel Interests and was developed by Tsogo Sun, a dynamic partnership between Southern Sun, Africa’s leading hotel group, and Tsogo Sun Investments, a leading black empowerment group.