A feature of next month’s Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) conference (12-13 September) that is sure to garner much interest will be the National Sports Tourism Steering committee’s presentation of its 17 year strategy. Shaping and advancing South Africa’s development as a sports tourism destination, this plan will identify the key international events that South Africa should bid for, as well as the domestic events that need governmental support, in order to grow the country’s sports tourism industry. The SETE conference is sponsored by CATHSSETA (Culture, Arts, Tourism, Hospitality, Sports Sector Education and Training Authority), and is being held at the ICC Durban alongside the 2nd annual SETE exhibition (12-14 September).

Appointed by SASCOC (South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee) at last year’s inaugural SETE conference, Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group brought together the National Sports Tourism Steering Committee, which was tasked with developing and implementing a national strategy that would outline the key sports events which SASCOC, as well as its federations and partners, will be bidding for between 2013 and 2030. Almost a year of research and careful planning and preparation is set to come to fruition when the recommendations of the strategy are discussed and adopted at the upcoming SETE conference.

According to Director for Business Development at TEPG and SETE Conference Director Sugen Pillay, “the process of forming the strategy first involved the analysis of case studies of global destinations that have successful sports tourism industries. Here, countries such as Australia, Brazil, Spain, Scotland and the United Kingdom were studied and key success indicators were identified, which applied locally may contribute to situating South Africa as an internationally competitive sports tourism destination”.

Working within and developing existing governmental frameworks, the genesis of the strategy understandably took into account all policies and strategies of South Africa’s government institutions relevant to sports and tourism. “The outcome of this analysis resulted in the identification of criteria that will inform government’s decision to invest in and support bids for local events, ensuring that domestic sports events are supported” said Pillay. Triangulating the information gathered by the case studies and the analysis of governmental policy and practice, “the next phase involved consultation with key role-players identified by SASCOC, including a sample of national sports federations and tourism stakeholders, who provided information on the principal international events that South Africa should aim to host, as well as the key domestic events that need government support should it wish to bolster the local sports and tourism industries”.

Both the SETE conference and exhibition (12-14 September) will look to facilitate relationships between South Africa’s tourism, sport and event industries and promote the country as a popular sports and events destination. To this end, the SETE exhibition will feature an estimated 100 exhibitors as well as over 60 international hosted buyers (IHB’s), whilst the conference programme will include presentations and panel discussions anchored by keynote speakers who are all specialists within their respective fields.

For more information, visit www.sportsandevents.co.za, like www.Facebook.com/SETE.ZA on Facebook, follow @SETE_ZA on Twitter. SETE support the inaugural South African Travel and Tourism Industry Conference (SATTIC, 2 – 4 September), a combined initiative of member associations of the Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA).

The Sports and Events Tourism Exchange is hosted by the Department of Economic Development and Tourism KZN, and partnered by CATHSSETA, SASCOC and Tourism KZN.

Exhibition Details:
For those companies wishing to book a stand for this exciting event, please contact Trish on . Stands are limited!
Sports and Events Tourism Exchange 2012
12 – 14 September
ICC Durban
Entrance: FREE
Times: Wed 12 September & Thurs 13 September 09h00 – 17h00, Fri 14 September 09h00 – 14h00

Conference Details:
The two day SETE conference (12-13 September) which runs alongside the exhibition has attracted a line-up of high profile international and local speakers.
12 – 13 September 2012
Registration: Open on www.sportsandevents.co.za
Fee:      R3500.00 excl VAT full package
R2000.00 excl VAT Day 1 Only
R1500.00 excl VAT Day 2 Only
Contact: Rene Staack on or Jenna Harper on