SAACI PRESENTATION TO PARLIAMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON TOURISM 7 FEBRUARY 2012

SAACI PRESENTATION TO

PARLIAMENT PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON

TOURISM

7 FEBRUARY 2012

SAACISouthern African Association

for the Conference Industry

• Formed in 1987

• Members representative of all role players and service providers in business tourism industry

• 4 Provincial Branches – KZN, NTB, WC & EC

Vision•To be the one voice of the

business tourism industry

•To be a recognised partner to the public and private sectors

•To be the conference / meetings association of choice

Mission

To empower people whilst continuously developing

sustainable business tourism in Southern Africa

SAACI MEMBERSHIP

KZN Members 192

NTB Members 540

Eastern Cape Members 69

Western Cape Members 290

TOTAL 1091

SAACI MEMBERSHIP (Continued)

2011/2012 fees

Individual members 300 R1 360.00 per person

Company A members 277 R3 580.00 per

company

Company B members 14 R10 650.00per

company

Patrons 7 R27 450.00per

company

STRUCTURE

• National Board = 16 Members

Composition/Portfolios:National ChairVice ChairTreasurerGeneral ManagerSecretariat4 x Branch Chairs7 x Forum Chairs

SAACI ORGANOGRAM

SAACI ORGANOGRAM

National Chair National vice Chair

Treasurer Public Officer

KZN Branch Chair NTB Branch Chair

W Cape Branch Chair E Cape Branch Chair

C&E Forum Chair Venue Forum Chair

Services Forum Chair Technical Forum Chair

Transport Forum ChairDestination Marketing Forum

Chair

Exhibition Forum Chair

General Manager

Executive Assistant Membership Administrator

Marketing/PR Financial Secretariat

1. Conference & Events Forum2. Venues Forum 3. Exhibition Forum4. Destination Marketing Forum5. Technical Forum6. Transport Forum7. Services Forum

FORUMS

Forum Objectives

• C&E Accreditation & Professionalism

• Venues Pricing and Standards

• Destination Educating provincial bodies and

approach

• Technical Marketing expertise & training

• Transport Contribution within conference market & importance of relationship

• Services Small entrepreneurial possibilities & education of market

• Exhibition Importance of Confex & affect on congress

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation

Growth and Development• SAACI provided input into the National

Tourism Sector Strategy (NTSS)• SAACI provided input into the Draft Tourism

Bill• SAACI will provide input into the National

Events Strategy draft• SAACI is an active member of the Tourism

Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) – the umbrella organisation for the travel and tourism private sector in South Africa

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation

Quality Assurance• Tourism Grading Council of SA (TGCSA) –

SAACI reviewed the minimum grading criteria for conference facilities and including universal accessibility

• SAACI members are encouraged to be graded by TGCSA

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued)

People Development• National Tourism Careers Exhibition – an

initiative of the Department of Tourism – SAACI participated to promote the events/meetings industry as a possible career path for Grade 12 learners

• SAACI Youth Development through SAACI Branches – annual industry student bursaries

• SAACI membership supports the employment of interns for practical experience

• SAACI is involved with SSETA and the development of certification and designations for event co-ordinators and event managers

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued)

Service Excellence• SAACI hosts educational sessions alongside

Meetings Africa : topic to address Service Excellence in the industry - Department of Tourism has been invited to participate

Responsible Tourism• SAACI is a founding member of the Events

Greening Forum and serves on the Board• SAACI is a signatory to the Fair Trade in

Tourism SA (FTTSA) Code against Child Sex Tourism and Trafficking in South Africa

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued)

Business and events tourism• SAACI members continuously bid to attract

international events / meetings• SAACI members are encouraged to work in

a coordinated manner to attract international business, eg. cities should not compete against one another

• Support of the newly formed National Convention Bureau – Executive Manager serves on the SAACI Board

• Strengthening and encouragement of the accreditation of SAACI PCO members

Tourism Growth, Development and Transformation (Continued)

Business and events tourism (Continued)• Future accreditation for members of the

Forums representing these sectors

Tourism Development, Growth and Transformation (Continued)

Transformation• SAACI promotes that all SAACI company

members become B-BBEE compliant – membership application form requests B-BBEE certificate

• Tourism BEE Charter – SAACI participation and input

• Mentoring of new entrants into the industry to create an environment of nurturing to serve on SAACI structures

ACCURATE STATISTICS• Lack of accurate statistics for Business

Tourism• Fragmented and quality of business

tourism research• International Congress and Convention

Association (ICCA) rankings (2010):* SA ranked 36 out of 93 countries

Total of 345 cities:* CT ranked 46 with 41 meetings* DBN ranked 181 with 10 meetings* JHB ranked 206 with 9 meetings

CHALLENGES

B-BBEE

• B-BBEE – skills, education & training

• Services Seta – slow processes for funding applications and no feedback

• Current punitive regulatory environment is not conducive for small businesses

CHALLENGES (Continued)

B-BBEE

• Establish an education fund to be used for the development of identified students / graduates in the industry

• Associations could be effectively used as channels for transformation and job creation

CHALLENGES (Continued)

COMPETITIVENESS• Competitiveness of tourism products &

services• Bridging fund to bring international

events / meetings to SA• Visa waiver• Closer working relationship with SAA

for competitive group fares• Impact of excessive transport costs,

eg. road tolls• Value of experience and in-service

training not understood or appreciated

CHALLENGES (Continued)

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR DIVIDE

• Business tourism is not fully recognised by all Government departments as a bona fide GDP contributing sector of tourism

• Draft Tourism Bill and Draft Domestic Tourism Growth Strategy excludes business tourism

• Public and private sector divide when bidding and hosting

CHALLENGES (Continued)

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SECTOR DIVIDE

• Lack of collaboration within all Government Departments, tourism authorities and agencies and SAACI

• Short lead-times for meetings and feedback into Government documents

CHALLENGES (Continued)

Thank You