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Meetings Africa 2025 to Boost South Africa's Tourism Economy

Chidozie Uzoezie

Jan 31, 2025

2 min read

The countdown to Meetings Africa 2025 has begun! With less than a month to go, excitement is building. Today, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange was busy with the Meetings Africa 2025 media launch event.

Hosted by South African Tourism, in partnership with the Gauteng Tourism Authority, Johannesburg Tourism Company and the Sandton Convention Centre, this proudly Pan African event will take place from 24 to 26 February 2025, at the Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg in the Gauteng Province.

This year’s event holds even greater significance as it sets the stage for the G20 Summit, which will be hosted on African soil for the first time in November this year.

An Economic Boost

In 2024, Meetings Africa had a direct economic impact of R145 million, with an additional indirect impact of R275 million, bringing the total contribution to South Africa’s economy to R420 million. This builds on 2023’s success, when the event contributed R388.5 million, with R133.9 million directly and R254.5 million indirectly injected into the economy.

In her keynote address during the launch event, South Africa’s Minister of Tourism Honourable Patricia de Lille highlighted the event's role in linking Africa business events product owners with influential international buyers.

“Meetings Africa 2025 aims to continue to spotlight Africa’s diverse destinations and unique offerings for business events by unlocking Africa’s Opportunities Through Quality Connections. The event serves as a platform for business deals, knowledge sharing, and cross-sector partnerships, with a strong emphasis on enabling meaningful networking opportunities to support industry growth,” Minister de Lille said.

“As a city of a thousand hellos, we are the beating heart of business connections for South Africa and the continent. Events like Meetings Africa not only attract visitors to our shores, but they also help the residents of our city and country by creating economic opportunities that generate jobs, boost our township economy, and grow our already solid reputation as a premier business hub for the continent,” said Mlungisi Mabaso, Acting Mayor of the City of Johannesburg during his welcome address.

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