SAACI PRESENTATION TO
PARLIAMENT
PORTFOLIO COMMITTEE ON
TOURISM
7 FEBRUARY 2012
SAACI
Southern 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)
Individual members
300
2011/2012 fees
R1 360.00
per person
Company A members 277
R3 580.00
per company
Company B members
14
R10 650.00
per company
7
R27 450.00
per company
Patrons
STRUCTURE
• National Board =
16 Members
Composition/Portfolios:
National Chair
Vice Chair
Treasurer
General Manager
Secretariat
4 x Branch Chairs
7 x Forum Chairs
SAACI ORGANOGRAM
SAACI ORGANOGRAM
National Chair
National vice Chair
General Manager
Executive Assistant
Membership Administrator
Marketing/PR
Financial Secretariat
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 Chair
Destination Marketing Forum
Chair
Exhibition Forum Chair
FORUMS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Conference & Events Forum
Venues Forum
Exhibition Forum
Destination Marketing Forum
Technical Forum
Transport Forum
Services Forum
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
CHALLENGES
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 (Continued)
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
Thank You