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Tourism Conference

Sports and tourism conference to promote South Africa

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 13:53

With the 2010 World Cup a thing of the past, South Africa’s tourism players are setting their sights forward with the aim of promoting the country as a world-class host for future large scale, international events.

The 2010 World Cup had left an indelible mark on the South African landscape, with the country now boasting a number of world-class stadia that are available for use, said Carol Weaving, managing director of Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group (TEPG).

“Right now, the key is to ensure that we continue to steamroll onto the world’s agenda and further position South Africa’s providers and product owners as top of mind in the international community,” she added.

To achieve this, TEPG will host a Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) conference and exhibition in July at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town.

Funded by the Department of Trade and Industry and South African Tourism, SETE will offer a comprehensive International Hosted Buyer programme.

This will give international buyers the opportunity to visit the exhibition and interact with exhibitors through pre-scheduled meetings, conference sessions and networking events.

The key objective of the programme is to connect international buyers with local service providers and product owners.

“SETE is a first in South Africa, and will provide exhibitors and visitors with a unique platform to network and interact with both local and international industry leaders.

“The aim is to promote South Africa as the beautiful and prosperous country that international organisers and tourists fell in love with during the FIFA World Cup and encourage them to host their future events on South African soil,” said Weaving.

South African Tourism believes SETE will encourage collaboration between the tourism and sports industry, while creating awareness on sports and tourist attractions in the country.

“South Africa has a culture of never backing down, and I believe that SETE will motivate our country and its people to assume this die-hard approach when it comes to the bidding process for large-scale, international events,” said Sugen Pillay, global manager for events at South African Tourism. BuaNews