Industry leaders have cautioned that current seismic shifts in global politics – including withdrawal of US funding for NGOs – present a new set of challenges for Africa’s MICE sector.
“These major decisions may sound political but they have an impact on our work,” said Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, on the sidelines of Meetings Africa in Sandton on Wednesday (February 26), referring to the loss of more than US$450 million in United States Agency for International Development aid for the country.
Nico Vivier, Minor Hotels Africa’s Regional Director of Operations and Development, said that reduced budgets for non-profits will leave many businesses “reeling” in the conferencing space.
“The business from NGOs accounts for a lot of room nights, travel income and conferences so it has a massive impact on Africa, including Southern Africa, particularly smaller countries that rely heavily on local and regional MICE business,” Vivier said, stressing that tourism businesses must find ways to plug the gaps.
Sven Bossu, CEO of the International Association of Convention Centres, highlighted the need for event organisers and tourism business leaders to keep up with the breakneck pace of change in global economies.
“When you compare GDP with the revenue generated by events, there’s a clear correlation – the more GDP, the more events revenue. Anything that impacts the economic environment, nationally and internationally, impacts the businesses and industries that drive major global business events,” Bossu said during the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry Morning Memo breakfast at Meetings Africa on Wednesday.
Tshivhengwa further highlighted the need for industry to be futureproof against potential drops in government travel budgets. This follows the postponement of South Africa’s Budget Speech on February 19 due to disagreements about the implementation of a 2% value-added tax (VAT) hike.
