The show was good, stratigic and focused which is what we as exhibitors and sharing exhibitors need.
I do feel that there is still much work to be done though. I feel the quality of the international buyers was mixed. I dont feel that there were nearly enough A list UK buyers. In fact the number known UK buyers with proven sales track records has been dwindeling for the past couple of years. I would love to see more hosted buyer investment from SA tourism for Indaba 2019. Also the USA hosted buyer program this year was made up of mainly unknown to Southern Africa retail agents who had never before sold South Africa. So trying to discuss a product with them was challenging because a geography lesson was first needed before the finer details of the product could be discussed and this was almost not possible in the 20 minute meeting slots.
I also think that some investment needs to go into the business match making program. Although it does work, its massively time consuming to fill diaries in its current form. I would love to see it improved so that exhibitors and international buyers are paired and meetings confirmed by the organizers (much like the system currently in place with We Are Africa), or at the very least the system needs to be improved and streamlined to make it more user friendly and less time consuming for exhibitors and buyers alike.
The show was good, stratigic and focused which is what we as exhibitors and sharing exhibitors need.
I do feel that there is still much work to be done though. I feel the quality of the international buyers was mixed. I dont feel that there were nearly enough A list UK buyers. In fact the number known UK buyers with proven sales track records has been dwindeling for the past couple of years. I would love to see more hosted buyer investment from SA tourism for Indaba 2019. Also the USA hosted buyer program this year was made up of mainly unknown to Southern Africa retail agents who had never before sold South Africa. So trying to discuss a product with them was challenging because a geography lesson was first needed before the finer details of the product could be discussed and this was almost not possible in the 20 minute meeting slots.
I also think that some investment needs to go into the business match making program. Although it does work, its massively time consuming to fill diaries in its current form. I would love to see it improved so that exhibitors and international buyers are paired and meetings confirmed by the organizers (much like the system currently in place with We Are Africa), or at the very least the system needs to be improved and streamlined to make it more user friendly and less time consuming for exhibitors and buyers alike.