From Tuesday, February 28, to Thursday, March 1, several Flowstars were deployed to cover Meetings Africa 2012 – Africa’s largest business tourism lekgotla.
This was a particularly exciting event for Flow, as a host of some of our favourite clients were in attendance, namely South African Tourism (SAT) – the primary host of the event – Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA), South African Breweries (SAB), Cape Town Tourism (CTT) and Maropeng, Visitor Centre for the Cradle of Humankind.
As Meetings Africa unfolded, Flow was also excited to officially launch GTA’s brand new business tourism website, the culmination of many hours of hard work and lots of careful planning.
With so much on the go, Flowstars Kate Rau, Stuart Dickinson, Bianca Bothma, Zintle Mtyeku and Laura Maggs had their game-faces on, and spent time covering each event, interviewing delegates and representatives from the incredible stands on display in the exhibition hall, taking photos, getting video footage, writing and uploading blogs, tweeting and posting updates to Facebook. Flow project managers, Roshni Nana and Kevin Collins, were in the wings to ensure that everything went smoothly.
Says Flowstar Kate Rau, “For me, the most interesting part of the event was the BRICS panel discussion. It gave me a greater insight into how global economic partnerships can be used to drive tourism. The statistics of business travellers that come from those five source markets were pretty astounding.”
Meetings Africa was very well organised, and the Flowstars were delighted to be met with a fully equipped media centre and helpful fleet of staff on their arrival each day. Delicious snacks, refreshments and lunches were also served, which helped to make the overall experience so pleasant.
“I think SAT outdid themselves this year in providing for all of the people who came to the event,” says Rau. “There was a fantastic media centre, lunch served daily, meeting rooms, a hosted buyers section – they truly facilitated people doing business and really accommodated the media.”
All of the stands on display were beautifully put together, and there were some wonderful representations of South Africa’s tourism offerings. Popular hot air ballooning company, Bill Harrop’s “Original” Balloon Safaris, had a particularly eye-catching stand, with an authentic hot air balloon basket placed at the entrance, while Maropeng’s hairy mascot, Harry the Hominid, proudly stood guard at the entrance to the Maropeng stand.
GTA’s exquisite stand stood at the entrance to the exhibition hall, a spacious and welcoming zone and a thrum of activity as people settled back into comfortable chairs to network, sip delicious coffee and flip through information booklets. SAT also rose to the occasion with a splendidly organised and interactive stand.
Says Flowstar Zintle Mtyeku, “Covering Meetings Africa was an awesome experience for me. Not only did I leave feeling humbled by the amazing country we have, but I was proud of the many perceptions that the conference changed. All the hosted buyers I met had nothing but positive comments and experiences to share, with the intention to come back and visit in their personal capacity. That’s something we as South Africans should be proud of. Well done South African Tourism!”