Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lile said in her address at Meetings Africa on Tuesday that the economic impact over the past three years alone of Meetings Africa has nearly doubled, from R371 million in 2023 to R690 million in 2025.
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Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille said in her address at Meetings Africa on Tuesday that the economic impact over the past three years alone of Meetings Africa has nearly doubled, from R371 million in 2023 to R690m in 2025.
De Lille said that during this period, Meetings Africa has created and sustained over 2,600 jobs. "This year, we are joined by buyers from 53 different countries, who continue to show confidence in our continent. In total, 375 hosted buyers are here, 325 exhibiting companies, with more than 6,440 confirmed business meetings that will be taking place over the next two days. Each of these meetings represents a connection."
De Lille added that each connection represents possibility. "And each possibility represents progress. For Meetings Africa 2026, we have 21 African countries represented. Africa, our continent, is also an anchor of South Africa’s record-breaking 10.5 million inbound arrivals in 2025."
De Lille said that she would like to congratulate Rwanda, which has been announced as the host of The International Congress and Convention Association Congress in 2027. "Just last year, for the first time on the continent, South Africa hosted the G20 leaders’ summit with over 135 other G20-related meetings. Through the success of the summit, South Africa also secured the World Economic Forum’s Special Meeting, which will be taking place next year. This is confidence that’s being demonstrated in our capabilities."
De Lille added that meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions are aggregators of economic growth and job creation. "Since the start of the 2025/26 financial year, the South African National Convention Bureau supported 100 bids for international business events to be hosted in South Africa between 2025 and 2030. Overall, South Africa has secured 52 bids for international and regional business events supported through the Bid Support Programme."
De Lille said that these confirmed business events are expected to contribute nearly R1 billion to the South African economy and will attract over 33,000 international and regional delegates. "These business events will be hosted in a range of cities and towns, including Johannesburg, Tshwane, Durban, Cape Town, Hermanus, Mbombela, Grabouw, Bela-Bela, Skukuza, and Sun City. The SANCB invested R21.3 million through its Bid Support Programme to secure these MICE events, which are central to the Tourism Growth Partnership Plan."
De Lille added that equally important to this plan is diversifying our tourism offerings. "In response, last year we launched the Tourism Infrastructure Investment Summit, where we unveiled eight bankable projects valued at around R1 billion from both the public and private sectors. We continue to build the pipeline ahead of our second investment summit later this year in September."
De Lille said that before that, South Africa has Africa’s Travel Indaba in May in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
"Next month, another first on the continent, is LIVGolf, where over 74,000 tickets have already been sold. The tee-off is a stone’s throw away, at Steyn City, and each of the four days will end off with a concert, featuring among other Grammy award winners, Black Coffee and Calvin Harris," she said.
De Lille said that she has no doubt that the trade floor is beaming with products that you are guaranteed to forge mutually beneficial business transactions with.
"I wish all the exhibitors and buyers the very best for the next two days. It makes me so proud to announce that amongst our exhibitors, all of South Africa’s nine provinces are represented. Thank you to our partners Johannesburg Tourism Company and the Sandton Convention Centre for partnering with us to execute this all-important trade show. It is a purpose-designed ecosystem where high-quality connections drive concrete deals, unlocking Africa’s opportunities through quality connection," she said.
BUSINESS REPORT