Profitable financial year. The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) celebrated a successful financial year amidst a challenging economic climate at its Annual General Meeting Results Press Conference held on 16 October. Speaking at the event, CTICC Chief Executive Officer Rashid Toefy said that the centre achieved profits before tax of R11-million for the past fiscal, a 163% increase over last year. “More importantly, the centre continued to make a valuable contribution to the national and regional economy, adding R2.55-billion to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product and R902-million to the Gross Geographic Product of the Western Cape,” he added.
Toefy went on to explain that the CTICC’s role in creating sustainable jobs in the Cape region cannot be underestimated. “As a result of the centre’s activities more than 7 000 employment opportunities were created in the Western Cape and across South Africa. We will continue to build on this success and aim to create 8 000 jobs per year by 2014.” Over the past nine years of its existence, the CTICC has contributed nearly R20 billion to the country’s Gross Domestic Product. “It is our goal to add another R18-billion to the country’s coffers over the next five years, and so realise our vision of becoming the best long-haul international convention centre by 2020,” explains Toefy.
The CTICC also built on its financial sustainability by posting a bumper meetings and events year. The number of events hosted by the centre has increased from 501 in 2010/2011 to 514 in the last financial year.
The CTICC has secured 150 international conferences until 2018, including the 6th World Congress of Paediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery in 2013, the World Congress of Nephrology in 2015 and, in 2016, the 35th International Geological Congress, which is expected to lure 10 000 international delegates to Cape Town. In addition, 79 exhibitions, 70 national conferences, 44 trade fairs and 67 special events have been booked at the centre until 2018.
“The sustainability of the CTICC’s events book is further bolstered by the success it achieved by partnering with numerous local and national clients to grow the scope and success of several repeat world-famous events which have Cape Town as their base. These include the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, the Design Indaba, and the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba. These events bring in billions in combined revenue for the Western Cape and South African economy and has helped position Cape Town as a leading international meetings destination,” said Toefy.
Last year the centre announced an ambitious expansion project that would double the CTICC’s meetings and exhibition capacity.
In addition to the award-winning architectural design team, comprised of a consortium of architects from Stauch Vorster Architects, Van der Merwe Miszewski Architects, and Makeka Design Lab, the full professional team has been appointed. The project is already at the design development stage, where the seamless integration of the expanded facility with the existing CTICC is being developed in order to ensure that the expansion meets the growing needs and demands of local and international exhibition and conference organisers.
The expansion is also poised to take full advantage of the expanded public transport system that the City of Cape Town is implementing with its MyCiti bus service, making it a central node for locals and visitors to the city, and will play a pivotal role in raising Cape Town’s profile as a leading global meetings and events destination.
Toefy concluded by saying that despite the pending outcomes of various legislative processes that fall outside the CTICC’s sphere of influence, should the centre receive the necessary “green light” in the next few months, the expansion is on track for completion by 2015.
