Meetings Africa's economic impact worth emulating

Meetings Africa, an annual business event designed to showcase African business tourism products and services, and create networking opportunities, has been held in Johannesburg, South Africa, with a lot of lessons to be learnt from the event. 

Indeed, per the statistics presented by the Minister of Tourism of South Africa, Patricia de Lille, Meetings Africa has been a game-changer and is impacting the South African economy positively. Indeed, the picture she painted about the event was worth examining.  

This year’s Meetings Africa was held on the theme: “20 Years of Connecting Africa to the rest of the World” and at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Meetings Africa was organised on behalf of South Africa Tourism (SAT) by Synergy Business Events.
 

Statistics 

Ms Lille raised concern about how African governments had underestimated the value of tourism, seeing it as just leisure, adding that in South Africa, one permanent job was created for every 13 tourist arrivals, along with three indirect jobs.

She went on to say that for instance, the country sustained 1.3 million jobs in the sector last year.

Again, she said, since its launch in 2005, Meetings Africa had served as a bridge, connecting African suppliers with global buyers, connecting destinations with investors, connecting policy with partnership and connecting opportunity with execution.

“Over the past three years alone, the economic impact of Meetings Africa on our own GDP has nearly doubled, from 371 million Rand in 2023 to 690 million Rand in 2025.

During this period, Meeting Africa has created and sustained over 2, 600 jobs,” she emphasised.

Buyers

In total, she said 375 hosted buyers were participating, 325 exhibiting companies, with more than 6,440 confirmed business meetings scheduled for the event over two days.

“Each of these meetings represents a connection.

Each connection represents a 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,” she said.

Since the start of the 2025/26 financial year, the South African National Convention Bureau has 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,” she said.

Efforts

The facts and figures by the Minister of Tourism speak for themselves and show the deliberate efforts by SAT to boost the tourism sector, leveraging business events and opportunities.

Significantly, data are crucial to making key decisions aimed at achieving particular objectives.

They serve as a guide to plan and execute programmes and policies.

It is crucial that in planning our programmes and policies, we take note of the data and fashion them in line with that.

The reliance on international aid has been a problem on the continent and it is time we use our local resources to generate money for our development and also create employment opportunities for the thousands of youngsters that graduate from our tertiary institutions every year.

In embarking on such initiatives, the role of the private sector is very important, and it is important that members of the sector are brought on board, have a conversation and see how it can benefit them.

As a way of attracting them, there should be some tax reliefs that would encourage them and serve as an attraction to others.

Let’s look within ourselves and see what we can tap and leverage for our benefit.

On embarking on business tourism, among other things, and whatever we decide to do to rake in revenue and create jobs, we look at areas that include festivals, traditional attire such as the Fugu and kente. 

Meetings Africa was preceded by Business Opportunity Networking Day (BONDay), an avenue for dialogue on Africa’s place in the global business events landscape and how it can strengthen its collective positioning.

It was dedicated to thought leadership, learning, and meaningful access to industry experts.

BONDay offered a valuable platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and engagement designed to help industry players maximise their participation and business opportunities.

Platform

Aside from the two-day exhibition that came with it, the platform was created for various engagements with the media to showcase other events and activities to boost the hospitality sector.

Owned by South Africa Tourism, Meetings Africa has, for two decades, been the definitive market access platform for African business events, connecting the continent to the world. Celebrating 20 Years of Connecting Africa to the World, Meetings Africa continues to champion the growth of Africa’s business events industry, playing a vital role in driving economic impact and showcasing the continent’s innovation, diversity, and spirit of collaboration.

For exhibitors, buyers, and media, Meetings Africa 2026 offered an unparalleled opportunity to engage with Africa’s business events community.

Exhibitors showcased products and services to international and local buyers, African associations, and corporate planners, while media gained direct access to the stories shaping the continent’s industry. 

It is the most formidable platform to connect face-to-face with the world’s most influential stakeholders – and to be part of Africa’s growth journey into the next 20 years. It is something worth looking at.