It was an nail-biting moment in May 2002, when we stood amongst other conference delegates at the 2002 IFWTO Convention in Bangkok, awaiting for the hosts of the 2004 IFWTO Annual Convention to be announced.  You could have sliced through the air with a knife the tension was so thick and all consuming.  A whole year of hard work, preparation, and promoting the tapestry that makes South Africa unique and an undeniable winner had come down to this, a vote by the IFWTO Executive Committee.  We were contending with the bright colourful Turkey and Sweden, the competition was fierce.

We watched on, too excited to draw our next breath.  ‘Envelope please’ . . . . . . said MC Marilyn Byfield, Chairperson of IFTWO . . . . ‘ and the winner is . . . . . SOUTH AFRICA’.  We went wild, we were shouting and screaming and there was a crazed, jubilant look in our eyes as we gazed around the room to see all the other members getting caught up in our excitement.  It was infectious!  The vibe was electric and the party and champagne carried us through to the early hours of the next morning. 

Returning home to South Africa and sharing the news with all our members as well as the other parties that contributed to our success put us on a natural high for a few months at least.  Our special thanks go to Sandton Convention Centre, South African Tourism and South African Airways, who all put an enormous amount of effort in to the presentation of our country, and have been an integral and vital part of securing this bid.

Of course there is the obvious benefit for us all in that we will have the opportunity to wow over 100 travel industry persons from around the world – marketing our country as a destination does not get more direct than that!  We also expect our members to benefit in that we will have a five-day convention plus pre and post tours to prepare for.  So, not only are we bringing in some excellent business opportunities for locals, but also we also gain the long-term benefit of having travel agents from around the world returning home to share their experience with all the members of their travel industry clubs, their clients, friends and family.  A win-win situation that keeps on winning for South Africa.

The Convention site is now on line at www.ifwto.org - click on Convention - it is a great website and does South Africa proud. Bookings are now open and you can register to attend the convention on-line. Our Pre and Post Tours are also there for you to see. The programme has now been approved so preparations are full steam ahead. The bookings from our sister clubs around the world are coming in steadily - this would be a great opportunity for you, our members, to attend an international travel convention and make some good business contacts and new friends. We have had several calls from you about sponsorship opportunities; these details will be released to you all shortly.

For information on convention costs, registration etc. Click Here (members only)