JOBURG TOURISM CONVENTION BUREAU SEES IN THE NEW YEAR WITH SUPPORT FOR THE ENTER23 e-TOURISM CONFERENCE IN SANDTON
17 January 2023

#Welcome2Joburg

The Joburg Tourism Convention Bureau is getting down to business this year by supporting the ENTER23 e-Tourism Conference taking place at the Hilton Hotel Sandton, from 17 – 20 January 2023.

Bringing together the Tourism and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) industry, academia, government and other organisations under one roof, the conference offers a global and unique forum to actively exchange, share and challenge state-of-the-art research and industrial case studies on the application of ICTs in travel and tourism.

The ENTER23 conference theme is “Inclusive power of e-Tourism: connecting culture, technology and sustainability”. The conference is designed to generate engagement and impact of the research which works towards the International Federation for IT and Travel & Tourism (IFITT) mission of sharing knowledge, experience and passion for ICT in travel and tourism. Returning to the African continent after 18 years, the conference is expected to attract 400 diverse global delegates.

“The Conference will provide an opportunity for Johannesburg to showcase its extensive tourism offerings to an international audience,” says Councillor Nkululeko Mbundu, MMC for Economic Development, at the City of Johannesburg. “Furthermore, the ENTER23 e-Tourism Conference will afford Joburg Tourism an opportunity to engage with Tourism and IT businesses, representatives of DMOs and other NGOs regarding discussions on various cases, issues, solutions and innovations for Tourism & IT.”

The projected economic impact of hosting the ENTER23 e-Tourism Conference in Johannesburg will be R10,24 million. The ENTER23 e-Tourism Conference attracts academics, students, as well as tourism industry and government representatives from all over the world, including Europe, Asia, South and North America, Africa and Australia.

“As the Joburg Convention Bureau, our fundamental mandate is to create an enabling environment for business events to take place in Joburg while increasing the destination’s market share,” says Mbundu, MMC for Economic Development.

“Our primary role is to bid for and support business events which are intended to contribute towards achieving economic growth and reducing unemployment in the City. Attracting Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions/Events (MICE) to the City contributes towards achieving this milestone”.

For more information about the ENTER23 e-Tourism Conference, please visit:
https://enter-conference.org

EDITORIAL NOTES:

To watch the Welcome to Joburg - A City Reimagined campaign, click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/VisitJoburg/videos/299209221138418

ABOUT JOBURG’S ACCOLADES:

· Johannesburg, Egoli, Jozi or Joburg - Africa’s Most Visited City since 2013 [according to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index, released in December 2018] - is a vibrant, diverse, global, all year round destination for business, leisure and lifestyle, sports, the arts, fashion and design. And so the list goes on.

· Our extraordinary city boasts plenty of accolades as a destination, including making it onto TripAdvisor’s top ten list in the Travelers’ Choice Awards for Best Destinations in Africa [May 2018].

· In June 2021, 7th Street in Melville emerged as the one of the World’s Coolest Cities, by global Time Out magazine, ranking 12th and taking Africa’s top spot among the world's coolest top 30 streets. This, after making it to the international digital magazine’s list of the world’s 40 coolest and kindest neighbourhoods in 2020, ranking 33rd.

· In February 2022, Joburg was named as one of the world’s best cities for Arts and Culture, achieving 38th place (ahead of Cape Town at number 43). This is according to the global publication Big 7 Travel. This is not only testament to the City’s 76 art galleries (which comprise the largest art collection in the country), but also to its iconic signature events which include several annual arts and culture festivals, as well as events like the Africa Rising Film Festival and the Festival of Lights at the Joburg Zoo.

Joburg Tourism Company is a destination marketing entity within the City’s Department of Economic Development, dedicated to promoting tourism growth in Johannesburg. Its primary function is to promote Johannesburg as a business, lifestyle, sport and leisure destination, both locally and internationally. Its operations include running a Convention Bureau, a Visitor Services Bureau, as well as co-ordinating city-wide tourism marketing programmes, tourism information gathering and analysis.