Meetings industry benefits from MOU

SAACI and SAT will co-brand all marketing and communications related to the two events.

Nina Freysen-Pretorius, national chairperson of SAACI says the association, as the voice of the business tourism industry in South Africa, believes this partnership with SAT, representing the public sector, will go a long way towards improving communication and deliverables in the industry. “We are proud to be SAT's official business tourism industry partner and fully support its efforts to market the country as a meetings destination of choice.”

Nomasonto Ndlovu, global manager: business tourism at SAT says it is encouraging that industry partners have recognised the need to play a strategic role in Meetings Africa. “To this end, SAT is very pleased with the SAACI partnership for quality educational sessions.

“If we are to grow our expertise and global competitiveness, ongoing education for our meetings professionals remains important. Educational sessions are therefore a strategic part of Meetings Africa and the next few years will see further developments to take this part of the event to the next level. Topics will address current business tourism trends and issues affecting the global meetings industry today, delivered by a combination of international and local speakers.”

Meetings Africa

The organisations' Meetings Africa 2010 will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre from 24-26 February 2010 and the 2010 SAACI national conference from 14-17 August in Durban.

In terms of the agreement, SAACI is pro-actively encouraging its members to participate in Meetings Africa and will manage two educational sessions during the event. It will also invite its association members to the association day conference and networking evening and promote Meetings Africa at every opportunity. In turn, SAT will visibly communicate SAACI's involvement in Meetings Africa when appropriate.

SAACI Conference

At the 2010 SAACI national conference, SAT will be an anchor sponsor and will become a patron member of the association. It will have an exhibition stand to market Meetings Africa 2011 and will host a breakfast event that will form part of the formal conference programme. It will also have a number of conference-specific sponsorship opportunities.

SAACI and SAT will jointly host 40 delegates from the local association and event management community at the conference, who will form the core of the local hosted buyers programme at Meetings Africa 2011.

For more visit www.saaciconf2010.co.za and www.meetingsafrica.co.za.