South Africa: A place for global meetings

We need to get serious in Ghana. I am not the only one who thinks this way, many Ghanaians do in fact. The other day, a notable preacher made remarks to the effect that we ought to be more serious minded and cut out the frivolities because nation building is serious business.

Well, some disagreed but I did not. We seem to have lost the plot and do not know how to lift ourselves off the ground. 

I say this because in spite of the economic downturn that affected most parts of the world some years ago, there are countries that still remained committed to go the extra mile to pull themselves through. 

Take South Africa for example, it has suffered a currency crisis like Ghana but they have not taken to the air waves  to rave and rant like we are doing in Ghana. 

Instead, they have stoically found new ways of doing things and are working hard at it. Some of the things they are doing took years of planning. And with time, they are reaping the benefits.

Anytime there is talk of South Africa, what readily comes to mind is not their gold or diamonds  but their tourism offerings, especially the wildlife species.  

Tourism in South Africa is a booming enterprise such that it is easy to imagine that they could just 'lock the door' and go to sleep. 

But the South African Tourism organisation (SAT) is not conceited and is rather working hard to increase visitor inflows into the country through the hosting of international meetings, conferences, conventions and exhibitions.

I returned from South Africa not too long ago and was amazed at the kind of zeal with which industry players from the lowest worker to the highest are putting their shoulders to the wheel to succeed on that front.

The SAT has seen a niche it can carve by taking advantage of the rapid rise in global business meetings which have sprung up over the last decade. 

Through the meetings, SAT expects to sell South Africa as a business destination with the aim of achieving 51 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product by the year 2020.

In this direction, the SAT with the support of the South African National Bureau of Conventions (SANBC), instituted a programme in 2005 called Meetings Africa. These meetings bring global businesses and associations to South Africa to interact and while doing so, take in the sights of the country and to also look more closely at the rest of Africa.

From having no convention centres in 1994, South Africa currently boasts of numerous and varied world-class facilities in almost every province. 

The first to be opened was the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, also called the Durban ICC built in 1997, followed by the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg in 2000 and the Cape Town International Convention Centre put up in 2003.

In the last couple of years, the Eastern Cape Province has added two international convention centres to South Africa's tally, namely the East London International Convention Centre, the Board Walk International Convention Centre and the Mittah Seperepere International Convention Centre in Kimberley in the Northern Cape Province.

The country also has the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)  Centre in Pretoria and Gallagher Estate in Midrand.

I am cataloging all these to draw the attention of the authorities in Ghana, particularly those in  the tourism sector, to look beyond our forts and castles and begin to forge new ways in new territories. 

Business events do more than just contribute to the economy. They create a platform to develop the country’s intellectual capital and showcase fields and sectors where the country can demonstrate global leadership that money cannot buy. 

The FIFA World Cup, which was hosted by South Africa in 2010, brought over 300,000 visitors to South Africa during the tournament, and it proved an excellent catalyst for improvements in infrastructure. 

The major sporting event left a lasting legacy for the leisure tourism and business events industries.

South Africa has made giant strides as a business events host in the 20 years since democracy and today, it is the single most popular business events destination on the continent.

As a result  thousands of delegates have been hosted, thousands of indirect decent jobs have been created and billions have been contributed to the economy.

Ghana must learn a thing or two from the South African experience. In his State of the Nation address last year, President John Mahama, promised to revamp existing cultural centres spread across the country and build new ones in areas that do not have them. That was a laudable move. 

It is important that the decision is given the needed support by all, especially those who control the purse strings of this country. 

While commodity prices keep fluctuating and not exceptionally dependable, tourism could well be where our strength could lie.

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) and the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Arts, must get to the table and see how best Ghana with its generally peaceful atmosphere, excellent human resource and strong democratic credentials can also take advantage of the multi-billion dollar global meetings phenomena.