Thebe Exhibitions and Events Group – promoting the ultimate form of communication – direct personal contact
“Highlighting the important role that exhibitions play in the marketing mix, we render a quality and professional service and is well positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities that face the industry in South Africa.”
Carol Weaving, Managing Director, Thebe Exhibitions and Events Group
At the cutting edge of the exhibition and events business in Africa, Thebe Exhibitions and Events is one of the continent’s most forward thinking and successful exhibition and events organisers.
Part of the dynamic Thebe Investment Group – South Africa’s oldest empowerment group, established in 1992 by the Batho Batho Trust - it is the realisation of a dream to liberate South Africa’s people through economic empowerment. This dream continues to be fulfilled by providing individuals with financial security through accessibility to affordable products that enhance their quality of life.
The 70 percent acquisition of Thebe Exhibitions and Events – formerly South Africa RAI - by the Thebe Tourism Group in 2005 as a well matched BEE partnership, opened many doors of opportunity for clients. The group is now better positioned to offer additional services such as ground arrangements, pre and post tours, transfers, car hire and accommodation.
Thebe Exhibitions and Events has dramatically increased market share and promotes the ultimate form of communication – direct personal contact. It conceptualises and delivers successful and sustainable venue, hospitality and event products, while events management offers creative turnkey services, from concept to delivery, for 50 to 50 000 people.
Today the group owns 17 exhibition titles including show portfolios of the strongest exhibition brands in Southern Africa like Decorex, MediaTech Africa, Meetings Africa and the Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo.
Its business partners include the International Convention Centre in Durban that accommodates conferences of up to 15 000 delegates, the Sandton Convention Centre that provides over 22 000m² of convention, exhibition and special event space, the Cape Town International Conference Centre that will add two million tourist days by 2009 and Gallagher Estate in Gauteng, home of the Pan African Parliament, and capable of handling up to 12 000 delegates at a time.
The group also manages Southern Africa’s most definitive multi-purpose indoor entertainment arena, the Coca Cola dome in Johannesburg. The management contract with the Sasol Pension Fund – owners of the dome – has just been renewed until 2014. Shortly after concluding the initial management contract with the fund in 2004, Thebe Events landed an exclusive five-year branding rights deal for the dome with the Coca-Cola Company, Southern Africa. Part of the branding rights deal was the renaming of the venue to the Coca-Cola dome.
Aligning oneself with the biggest international brand undoubtedly holds vast benefits. Today the dome is Southern Africa’s most definitive multi-purpose indoor entertainment arena. It offers a perfect combination of capacity and capability, hosting a variety of different events from consumer and trade exhibitions to international and local concerts to corporate banquets and launches to large conventions, as well as indoor sporting events. The success is mutually beneficial for all parties.
The group’s portfolio includes various service offerings.
Thebe Exhibitions provides the best platform for showcasing industries and nurturing business and networking opportunities in South Africa and surrounding regions. Highlighting the important role that exhibitions play in the marketing mix, the section renders a quality and professional service and is well positioned to meet the challenges and opportunities that face the industry in South Africa.
Thebe Events offers creative, technical and functional event management services as well as fresh and exciting ideas to help realise the expectations of event owners. The section develops and grows its businesses by networking, making contacts and meeting key people.
Thebe Productions offers an exciting, forward-thinking and dynamic perspective of the production industry. The section’s menu of services include AV production, pre- and postproduction, scripting, graphic design, format transfer, voice over recording, camera work – both video and still - nonlinear editing, capturing and rendering and DVD authoring.
Add to this professional, specialised, full time personnel, guidance and hands-on assistance from concept to launch and beyond, this high quality exhibition and event management leads to a true turnkey experience.
Simply speaking, Thebe Exhibitions and Events offers a one-stop service, all at a very reasonable and competitive rate.
The Thebe Exhibitions and Events Group also fully endorses and operates on the next tourism level - business tourism. As business tourism contributes some R21bn to South Africa’s economy and sustains nearly 260 000 jobs, South African business tourism accounts for about 63 percent of all conference and meetings activity in Africa and annually provides over R6 billion in salaries and R4 billion to the central fiscal in the form of taxes, it needs to receive full-time attention.
Add to this that the International Congress and Convention Association ranks South Africa as the 32nd most popular conference destination in the world, it becomes evident why the group is actively assisting in raising South Africa’s ranking into the top ten position.
The group fully endorses the empowerment philosophy of creating an empowered society, a society where people of all races, colour and gender compete and collaborate among themselves and with the world. Such an approach is the key to a winning society with empowered people, empowered institutions and empowered organisations. |
