More than 300 exhibitors representing 15 African countries have been confirmed for the 17^th edition of Meetings Africa, which takes place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 27 February to 01 March 2023.

Meetings Africa, a gathering of Africa’s various stakeholders in the Meeting Incentives Conferences/Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) sector of the burgeoning tourism industry, will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre and this year, for the first time, will host the International Association of Convention Centres (AIPC) Summit.

Speaking at the Meetings Africa 2023 media launch, South African Tourism Acting Chief Executive Officer, Themba Khumalo said: “The entire global tourism sector has been through a really rough time in the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic but we are back with a renewed energy and we are motivated to build and grow our sector to pre-pandemic levels and beyond.

“Meetings Africa aims to contribute to helping African business events players restart and grow. We want to create opportunities for Africa’s business events sector so that we can all grow back more vital than ever before.”

Stressing that Meetings Africa’s single objective is to contribute to Africa’s economic success and be part of continent’s growth story, Khumalo said South Africa seeks to use Meetings Africa as “a tool to forge even more partnerships by offering various opportunities to meet face-to-face with the most influential buyers in the world.”

Meetings Africa has a global, hosted buyer programme for optimal interaction between buyers and exhibitors, with 275 buyers already approved to attend this year’s event. In addition to this, South African Tourism has partnered with all nine provinces to host Meetings Africa familiarization pre and post tours for hosted buyers and media to experience South Africa’s business events facilities and establishments.