South Africa To Host Mega Events Summit
Monday, 17 Nov, 2009
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SEE VIDEO INTERVIEW Sindiswa Nhlumayo, Deputy Director General of South Africa Tourism talks to Valere Tjolle about Fair Trade Tourism, The World Cup 2010, tourism for economic regeneration and the opportunities for South Africa tourism in general www.travelmole.tv/watch_vdo.php
Summit to provide forum for discussion to capitalize on mega events massive multimedia opportunities for growth, economic prosperity, sustainable tourism and nation branding.
The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the South African Government have announced that the T&T world’s first international Tourism, Sport and Mega-events Summit will be held in Sandton, South Africa from February 24th – 26th 2010.
South Africa’s Department of Tourism and Department of Sport, as well as CNN International as global media partner, will be working with the UNWTO to provide a forum for active discussion, debate and direction around the leverage of mega-events as a vital force for sector growth and advancement in national development strategies.
A number of major global events will be held in 2010, including the FIFA World Cup in South Africa; the Commonwealth Games in India; the World Exhibition in Shanghai, China; and the Winter Games in Canada.
The UNWTO’s intention is to “Align the global T&T sector’s leadership to create a framework for leveraging sport and other mega-events (including cultural and entertainment events, exhibitions and business conventions) for economic growth. This process must take into account the economic, social and environmental consequences for host nations, and the massive multimedia opportunities for nation branding and export promotion.”
Said Marthinus van Schalkwyk, South African Minister of Tourism “South Africa is proud to be working with the UNWTO in the creation and hosting of the UNWTO’s inaugural Tourism, Sport and Mega-events Summit in 2010 “We know that we, as a developing country, cannot afford to have underutilised infrastructure after the World Cup, and we understand that we must plan ahead to make sure our infrastructure and skills investments do not go to waste.”
Dr Taleb Rifai, Secretary General of the UNWTO said: “This important meeting reflects the increasing economic and social impacts of sport, mega-events and tourism. It will establish new lines of thinking on operations, economics and sustainability. We are delighted to be working with South Africa – particularly in 2010 which will see a great sporting megaevent in the FIFA World Cup, which promises so much for Africa.”
The summit will be held parallel to the annual Meetings Africa, Africa’s top business tourism exhibition hosted annually by South African Tourism.
Valere Tjolle
Valere
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