Conference & Meetings World Issue 117 | Page 30

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WTM Africa

CMW TALKS WITH MEGAN OBERHOLZER , PORTFOLIO DIRECTOR AT REED EXHIBITIONS , ABOUT THE UPCOMING WTM AFRICA , 11-13 APRIL 2022 , AND THE CURRENT SHAPE OF THE AFRICAN MICE INDUSTRY

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orld Travel Market Africa ( WTM Africa ), 11-13 April 2022 , is set to take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre , South Africa , with the objective of creating an international platform for travel and MICE professionals to connect , network and do business .
Over the three days , WTM Africa will hold plenty of associated events that will look to provide wide-ranging content and opportunities for quality knowledge exchanges . Megan Oberholzer , portfolio director at RX Global ( formerly Reed Exhibitions ), which organises WTM Africa , states that the primary focus of the show is “ all about recovery and stimulating travel on the African continent . Whether it be inbound or outbound .”
Oberholzer stresses the importance of “ bringing in key speakers that are very well versed in the industry and providing them with the platform to look at future ways to recover and learn from the pandemic .”
Associated events held at WTM Africa include : The Africa Tourism Investment Summit ( ATIS ), Business Market Africa , EQUAL Africa , IBTM Africa , Travel Forward , and Sports and Events Tourism Exchange ( SETE ).
Oberholzer also says that it ’ s not just about creating a platform to generate revenue but emphasises the significance of data collection during the show . As the event physically brings together experts and stakeholders throughout the industry “ for the first time in almost three years , it ’ s important to identify travel trends and create trend reports .”
Virtual and ATW365 While the majority of the show ’ s content is back in-person , WTM Africa will also be offering hybrid elements . “ Before our live event , 4-5 April 2022 , we ’ re going to be hosting virtual meetings and speed networking ,” says Oberholzer . “ We ’ re going to have different buyers attending the virtual meetings to the buyers that are attending the physical event . The reason for this is that we have buyers that are outside of the African continent .”
As some of these international buyers are not able to attend , Oberholzer still believes it ’ s WTM Africa ’ s responsibility to equally assist them in providing a platform for conducting business . For exhibitors , this is seen as a bonus : “ They ’ re actually benefiting from 22 % more meetings than they would have had at our live event in 2019 . It ’ s all about
Above : Megan
Oberholzer
writing business ,” adds Oberholzer . In addition to meetings and networking , the conclusion of the WTM World Responsible Tourism Awards will also take place at the virtual event . The six award categories focus on highlighting the achievements of organisations who are striving for global sustainability .
After the virtual show , WTM Africa
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