Everyone has heard of at least one association, whether they are related to the business events industry or not. But these are not organisations that simply aggregate members. Associations are a vital part of the events industry, helping to create better working standards and encouraging both international and local trade in the industry. Numbers in South Africa alone are proof of this. Addressing members of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry at the SAACI Congress in August, Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo, Head of the National Convention Bureau, said that the country had hosted 94,000 business events in 2013, generating business with an estimated ZAR 2.1 billion economic impact. 

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