GEORGE NEWS - The George municipal tourism manager, Joan Shaw, attended Meetings Africa 2023 from 27 February to 2 March at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Business meetings were pre-arranged with more than 30 buyers and business event organisers. 

At the meetings, George, Wilderness and Uniondale were presented as the perfect destination to host small, medium, and large business events.

This is part of the strategy that George Tourism has adopted since the Covid pandemic, to attract more business through groups and events, and it has paid off as George's recovery has been phenomenal with many events taking place every month.

Shaw met event and conference organisers, as well as tour operators that deal in group and leisure travellers in the foreign individual travel (FIT) markets. 

Although the objective was to focus on Germany and the United Kingdom, the Garden Route's traditional markets, buyers from more than 10 countries sought appointments with George, including the United States, France, Turkey, Kenya, Saudi Arabia, Spain and Russia. 

The keen interest from the United States can be ascribed to the direct flights from that continent now flying to Cape Town.

Meetings Africa, owned by South African Tourism, is the primary platform to enable the growth of the business events industry on the continent. George attended on the Wesgro platform, making it more cost-effective for the destination to participate. 

Shaw said it is a formidable platform to meet face-to-face with the most influential buyers in the world, and to be part of South Africa and ultimately George's tourism and economic growth.

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