The Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban is hoping to turn its winning streak in the World MICE Awards into a phenomenal hat-trick.
The Durban ICC has been nominated for South Africa's Best Convention Centre 2022, and if it wins, will be entered in the Africa category.
The iconic venue was chosen Africa’s Best Convention Centre in 2020 and 2021 at the World MICE Awards.
One of the greatest legacies Nelson Mandela gifted to Durban – and even KwaZulu-Natal and South Africa – was when he cut the ribbon in the late afternoon of Friday 8 August 1997 to officially open the Durban ICC.
The World MICE Awards is a global initiative to recognise and reward excellence in the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions industry and the results follow a year-long search for the world’s leading MICE brands. Votes are cast by MICE industry professionals and the public in 100 countries, with the nominee gaining the most votes in a category named as the winner.
The Durban ICC has also been nominated as Africa’s Leading Meetings & Conference Destination for the 29th World Travel Awards™ (WTA).
The annual World MICE Awards programme - a sister event of the prestigious WTA - was launched in 2020 and aims to drive up standards within the MICE industry by rewarding the organisations that are leaders in their field.
The awards event was developed in reaction to overwhelming demand from the MICE sector for a programme that was fair and transparent; a programme with a mission to serve as the definitive benchmark of excellence, and help to foster a new era of growth, innovations and best practice on a global scale.
The MICE market is among the top targets in the South African government's tourism development strategy, and has grown rapidly in recent years. Lindiwe Rakharebe, Chief Executive Officer, Durban ICC, said: “Having won Africa’s Best Convention Centre in 2020 and 2021 at the World MICE Awards, we are confident of bringing home the trophy to Durban for South Africa's Best Convention Centre, for the third year in a row.
“While we are thrilled beyond measure, the accolades are also testament to the Durban ICC’s team working hard to deliver exceptional event experiences to each and every client.
“Hosting two successful major events back-to-back - Africa’s Travel Indaba and the Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour – affirms our commitment to world-class service excellence and has cemented our reputation as the best convention centre on the African continent.”
She said the convention centre had worked diligently to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain business continuity as far as was possible under the dire circumstances.
“Winning awards is a visible demonstration of all the behind-the-scenes hard work from the Durban ICC teams and people whose principal focus is to continuously provide world-class customer service to clients, both local and international.
“It is for this reason that the close-knit team strives to maintain the Durban ICC strong inherent culture of warmth and hospitality that we are known for and strives to ensure that each guest leaves the Durban ICC happy and satisfied with the service received,” said Rakharebe.
Voting for South Africa's Best Convention Centre 2022 will run from 1 June – 26 August 2022. Members of the MICE community or MICE consumers can vote for who they consider to be the best in the industry. Votes can be cast online.
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