World's leading exhibition organisers descend on Johannesburg for EXSA's Annual Conference

UBM; Reeds Exhibitions; Clarion Events, UK; Montgomery; Fiera Milano S.p.A, Italy; Messe Frankfurt; and Manch Communications, India are just some of the international companies that will be attending the Summit and sharing their insight on 'Developing Africa as the Global Exhibition Destination'.

SA Tourism's new National Convention Bureau has ear-marked business events and tourism as a key-sector with excellent potential for growth. The department aims to increase the number of foreign tourist arrivals from seven million in 2009 to 15 million by 2020 and the number of domestic tourists from 14, 6 million to 18 million. It is expected to create some 225 000 new jobs by 2020. The National Convention Bureau of South Africa is an entity that will give the larger industry a strategic and operational platform from which to boost the country's business tourism global competitiveness.

EXSA, the Exhibition and Event Association of Southern Africa, has organised the Expo Summit Africa in partnership with Manch Communications from India. The EXSA Conference and AGM will take place during the course of the conference.

Nigel Walker, EXSA Chairperson: 'This is very exciting for the industry. The more exhibitions that are generated in South Africa, the more jobs will be created throughout the industry. '

The Centre for Exhibition Industry Research (CEIR) reports that 20, 000 exhibitions happen on a global scale, and that 11, 000 of those exhibitions occur in the United States. South Africa represents a small percentage of that, but that is steadily increasing as South Africa becomes a top location for business events and a gateway into Africa. According to the country rankings by the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), including both long and short haul destinations, South Africa currently ranks 37th in the world.

More information on the Expo Summit can be found at: www.exposummitafrica.com.
More information on EXSA can be found at: www.exsa.co.za.