First speakers confirmed for EXSA Conference

Cliff Wallace, CEO of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, is the first international speaker to confirm. Last year, Wallace became both the first venue manager and the first Asian-based president of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry. Dirk Elzinga, managing director of the Cape Town International Convention Centre, says, “UFI is the most important trade organisation in the world for our industry, with headquarters in Paris, France.”

Although Wallace has just stepped down as president of UFI, he will present global trends emerging from the 75th UFI Congress, which takes place from 12-15 November 2008 in Istanbul, Turkey. Wallace's presence is expected to lead to an even closer relationship between EXSA and UFI, in many ways their global counterpart.

National speakers include Ravi Naidoo, founder of Design Indaba, which was named the Best Conference in the World at EIBTM in 2005 and Mansoor Mohamed from the City of Cape Town, who will discuss the City's permitting policies for events.

There will be a number of social programmes as part of the conference, including a welcome function at Bikini Beach, a gala dinner at Blaauwklippen Wine Estate, and a golf day at Stellenbosch Golf Club. This year, EXSA's moved away from its traditional dress up gala event. Elzinga explains, “We believe it is also nice now and then to just be yourself.”

Exhibitions and events are increasingly hot topics in the lead up to the Confederations Cup next year and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. According to the UNWTO, the global events industry is worth an estimated $743 billion annually, with an expected growth rate of 3.7% per annum between 2008 and 2017. Events can play a significant role in meeting South Africa's economic growth targets: recent research from EXSA suggests that the exhibition industry alone generates R74.3 billion in direct expenditure annually.

EXSA's AGM will take place on the Monday afternoon. Elzinga says, “The formation of the new board will be finalised in the evening, so that the presentation can take place first thing on the Tuesday morning, so there is no time being wasted.”

The conference is being sponsored by EXSA Members and various sponsorship opportunities are still available. Platinum Sponsors include: Exhibition & Event Services, Springbok Atlas, Thebe Conferences, Oasys Innovations and SCAN Display.

Registrations for the conference is open, online registration and more information on the conference is available on www.exsaconference2009.co.za.