Innovative 2013 Indaba in numbers

A total of 240,693 electronic connections (over 60,000 per day) were made by 11,458 "Indaba Connect" users, who shared over 14,258 documents.

"This was a deliberate eco-friendly initiative, a 'Go Green' approach at Indaba that led to the potential saving of a small forest of 374 trees by minimising the need for piles of printed collateral and business cards," said Thulani Nzima, Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism in a statement.

A total of 26,000m² of carpets were laid for the 1,386 exhibitors at the show this year, as the Indaba again proved to be the biggest and most relevant tourism trade show on the African continent. Of the 14,970m² of sell-able space available throughout the venue, a total of 14,712 m² (98%) was sold and occupied at Indaba 2013.

"Indaba was again a chance for major global trade buyers to engage with their pan-African suppliers, tailor-make holiday packages and be exposed to new tourism products," said Nzima.

A total of 2,341 local and international buyers attended the show, up 3% on the numbers who attended last year. The number of independent international buyers attending Indaba 2013 was up 6.86% on last year's figures, with 1,464 international buyers attending the show this year, up from the 1,370 in 2012.

Top international buyer numbers up

In addition, South African Tourism hosted a further 249 top international buyers at Indaba 2013, significantly up by nearly 20% on the 208 international buyers hosted in 2012.

As yet unaudited figures indicate that well over 10,000 delegates passed through the show's turnstiles over the course of its four days.

Media interest in Indaba 2013 surged this year, with 802 media covering the show, 11% more than the 721 who registered to cover the show in 2012. Nearly 200 of them were leading international media, with international media numbers up 23% this year to 190.

Indaba was covered by international broadcast networks such as BBC World, China Central Television and CNBC Africa, while there was also continuous live coverage from the Durban ICC by the eNews Channel Africa, as well as a number of SABC current affairs and lifestyle television and radio shows.

"What was noteworthy at Indaba this year was the impressive quality of the stands and the considerable investment by exhibitors. This was a significant vote of confidence, and added considerably to the quality of the show," said Nzima.