Maropeng networks at Meetings Africa 2012
As delegates and visitors walked the blue-carpeted alleys of stands and displays at Meetings Africa 2012, they were likely to bump into the Cradle of Humankind’s hairy ambassador, Harry the Hominid, who was stationed front and centre at the entrance to Maropeng’s brightly coloured station.
Maropeng’s marketing assistant, Ntlotleng Kobue, manned the stand since day one of Meetings Africa 2012 – Africa’s official business lekgotla – greeting delegates eager to learn more about what Maropeng has to offer.
“There have been lots of photos taken with Harry,” Kobue says with a smile, as she straightens Harry’s tawny tufts of hair. “He’s a popular guy.”
Meetings Africa 2012 is a chance for business tourism product offerers to interact, learn and network, and Maropeng will take away a lot from the experience.
“There has been lots more traffic to the Maropeng stand than there was last year,” says Karen Nicholls of Southern Spoor Marketing, Maropeng’s travel trade partner.
The Maropeng team was kept busy this year and everyone says they feel inspired and enriched by the overall Meetings Africa experience.
“We’ve made some good contacts and enjoyed some quality and relevant presentations, such as the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) panel discussion,” says Kobue. “There are a few things we will take away from this experience.
“We know there is interest in South Africa – people have done game drives and seen the Big Five and now they want to explore more of what South Africa has to offer.
“We are on our way as an industry, but there is still quite s distance to go. We need to make sure we’re addressing the right markets, whether business or leisure, at the right times.”
The Maropeng stand, kitted out with comprehensive information guides and brochures, attracted a lot of visitors this year and the team enjoyed a number of valuable meetings during the event.
“We were kept busy by a number of appointments,” explains Kobue, “as well as several walk-in visitors.”
Aside from telling interested parties more about Maropeng, the team also made a point of asking these visitors what they wanted out of the Maropeng experience.
“There has been a huge amount of growth with Meetings Africa,” says Karen. “Although we felt a lack of corporate attendees, we still met a lot of quality buyers and the event was very professionally run.”
Maropeng is looking forward to continued growth and learning within the business tourism sector and the South African tourism sector as a whole.
