ECONOMIC SYMPOSIUM: TOURISM 22 August 2012

Julie-May Ellingson Chief Executive Officer

ARENA

ICC

ICCEC

ICC Durban Complex

The Inkosi Albert Luthuli Complex is made up of three integrated venues: o ICC Convention centre

o
o

ICC Arena
ICC Exhibition Centre

The ICC Durban was opened on the 08th August 1997 by former State President Nelson Mandela and the Arena extension was opened in March 2007 The ICC offers the largest flat floor, column free multi-purpose space in Africa. The ICC and Arena are graded Five Star venues by the Tourism Grading Council of South Africa. Voted Africas Leading Meetings and Conference Centre by World Travel Awards for Ten Years The ICC is also ISO certified

ICC DURBAN COMPLEX

The ICC Durban has hosted some of the worlds most prestigious conferences and events which has enabled Durban to be showcased to the World. These include: o XII Non-Aligned Movement Summit o Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting o XIII International AIDS Conference o World Conference on Racism, Racial Discrimination Xenophobia & Related Intolerances o African Union Summit 2002 o 5th World Parks Congress 2003 o International Surgical Week o International Sociological Association Congress o International Federation of Fertility Societies Conference o World Library & Information Congress o 123rd International Olympic Session o COP17/CMP7 Ranked among the Worlds Top Twenty Convention Centres by AIPC (International Association of Convention Centres).

INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURE
The Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC Complex is operated and managed by a private company namely ICC Durban (Pty) Limited. The company is wholly owned by the eThekwini Municipality being the only shareholder. As such we are regarded as a municipal entity or state owned enterprise The Company has a Board consisting of seven Directors that meet on a quarterly basis. The current Board of Directors are: Ms Mato Madlala (Chairperson), Ms Bulelwa Paledi, Mr Themba Ngcobo, Mr John van Rooyen, Mr Ashok Sewnarain and Ms Linda Pampallis.
The CEO reports to the Board

WHY IS THE ICC IMPORTANT ?

SOCIO - ECONOMIC IMPACT
The ICC makes a significant contribution to the economic development and job creation goals of the eThekwini Municipality and the Province of KwaZulu-Natal. 2012 financial year Contributed R2.90bn to national GDP R2.77bn to KwaZulu-Natal GGP. Created R1.47bn in indirect household income Generated R262m in tax revenue Net generator of R657m in foreign exchange earnings for the country. Generated a total of 1 410 839 delegate and visitor days in Durban. Job creation: ICC is a significant job creator Almost 8500 jobs in the city/province in 2012 3 633 direct 4 462 indirect jobs Over the past 6 financial years the ICC has made a cumulative contribution of R14.3bn to Gross Domestic Profit (GDP)

WHY IS THE ICC IMPORTANT ?

KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY
Strategic approach - targeting conferences in those economic sectors which the city wishes to grow and which we may, or have the potential to have, a comparative or competitive advantage in. Show-case existing expertise but also to increase the citys knowledge base and networks within these key economic sectors. From our analysis the key economic sectors would be: Medical Maritime Logistics IT Built Environment (eg. Energy, Water, Sanitation, Housing, etc.)

FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
The ICC Durban has performed well above target in terms of revenue generation for the 2011 & 2012 financial years. A noticeable improvement in sales revenue together with a strong control over labour and operating costs has driven improvement in the bottom line with ICC Durban achieving record revenues of R129.4-million in 2011 and R237.6m in 2012 We have to accept that 2012 was an exceptional year with the IOC 123rd Session and COP17/CMP7 and as such revenues generated in 2012 are unlikely to be repeated year on year.

International Challenges
Poor global economic conditions and the likely decline in performance of the international associations meetings sector is of concern. Changes in corporate governance , pharmacodes, etc. impacting on conference industry Resulting in following trends: Preference for short haul conferencing ie. Associations remaining in Europe or rotating out of European markets less frequently. Reduction in number of delegates attending international conferences resulting in less profitable association conference events & reduction in the economic multiplier effect of these events (eg. Wild life conference initially expected 1500 delegates, dropped to 1000, 500 and actual number was 290) Increasing tendency from international association buyers demanding complimentary venue hire particularly with regard to large association meetings Drop in spend no longer large banquets, lunches etc.

Perceptions of South African as a business tourism destination

Lack of knowledge of Durban & perception that : Not safe Hotels expensive relative to other South African cities Not much to do....!

National Challenges
Strong competition from Cape Town in the international association meetings sector Cape Town as a city is better known internationally and easier to sell Expansion of CTICC will make it possible for them to host larger conferences which they have been unable to do to date. Growing domestic competition with the opening and upgrading of new convention centres in East London, Kimberley and Gauteng Increasing price competitiveness to the detriment of the entire industry with the potential for unsustainable price war to start Confusion in the market in respect of the role of the national vs the city/provincial convention bureaus vs the venues resulting in clients playing us up against each other.

Local Challenges

City centre unattractive for delegates which impacts on our ability to sell the Durban as a business tourism destination Durban ICC is almost 15 years old and there is a need to reinvest in the business so as to ensure that the ICC remains competitive (refurbishment, upgrade of technology etc.) particularly given Cape Increasing competition within Durban and the region from hotels with convention facilities with regard to smaller events

Increasing trend to short-lead times: conferences for 1000-2000 delegates being booked less than 7 days before the event.
SCM: Citys procurement committees are too slow and non- responsive to the needs of the business. Revenue generating entities need to be responsive to their clients and ensure compliance with legislation. Financial sustainability no opportunities to cross-subsidise

What can we do?

Better collaboration between local role players in the industry, competition is good but without collaboration we will not retain our market share let alone grow business tourism. Reintroduce the events committee but driven by the private sector. Differentiate between strategic & operational Establishment of Bid funds / subvention to secure major events is required. We are currently losing out to other local and international cities which offer such funds. Clear criteria for allocation of funds agreed to by all parties

What can we do?

Be positive about our city.....engage with all stakeholders to achieve this (taxi drivers, etc). Pro-active packaging around events (pre-post tours) particularly during off-peak periods and encourage link to weekends

Improved messaging ito roles and responsibilities of various parties

Be visionary : 5 10 year plans ........ Close off Walnut Road, creating a single ICC precinct, redevelopment of the DEC with hotel, retail, etc. linked to Centrum site; pedestrianise the upper end of Pixley Kaseme avenue; etc Proactive market into Africa

Conclusion
We all understand the benefits of business tourism As a city we have two choices Sit back and wait and see what happens Take action and build on Durbans successes of having hosted some of the largest and most prestigious events in the world What we need now is collective action to ensure that Durban not only retains but secures additional business events in the future Perhaps we can start with the Events Committee........ Who would like to join??

Thank-You

Where

AFRICA and the WORLD meet