Record-breaking Meetings Africa 2019

Meetings Africa 2019 is promising to be the biggest one yet. Since the first Meetings Africa took place in 2004, the event has grown year on year with more registered buyers and exhibitors attending this year’s event than ever before.

This year’s edition of Meetings Africa will take place from 25th to 27th February 2019 at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg. The event promises to build on last year’s “Shared Economies” theme with a specific focus on regionalisation as a continental strategy, and how this enhances the positioning and value offering for the business events industry in Africa.

This year, 338 exhibitors will be showcasing their services and products to potential buyers. This is 32 more than last year.  It has been confirmed that 102 exhibitors from 15 African countries will join their South African counterparts. African countries that will be newly represented include Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania and Mauritius.

This year saw 721 hosted buyers applying for spots at Meetings Africa, with a whopping 462 from 65 countries accepted to attend surpassing last year’s total of 392.

Last year’s statistics showed that the majority of buyers (43%) thought Meetings Africa’s value lied in the quality of products on show. Other buyers thought Meetings Africa was valuable for the networking opportunities and the number of products and appointments.

Hosted buyers have been pre-selected and given focused time with their desired suppliers. The sessions allow the buyer to become more aware of what the suppliers have to offer.

This year, the bar has been raised and the quality is expected to be even better, in line with global technological innovative trends.

Buyers and exhibitors can also make connections on Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDay) on 25 February. This special event will bring together an array of experts and renowned speakers. These speakers will be imparting knowledge on topics affecting the business events industry.

This increased interest from buyers is testament to the exponential growth of Africa’s meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) industry in recent years. International buyers are turning to the continent for new and innovative travel packages and they recognise that Meetings Africa is the best place to find them.

With South Africa being the entry point for doing business in Africa the South Africa National Conventions Bureau’s ultimate objective is to get more people to want to organize and attend business events in South Africa.

Further information on Meetings Africa can be found on www.meetingsafrica.co.za

Want to learn more about Africa for association congresses? Read our exclusive report on Africa in our February edition of HQ or meet the HQ team during Meetings Africa and get the latest news from the leading global Association Magazine.