Cape Town once again played host to the International Society for Infectious Diseases (ISID), when it hosted the 16th International Congress on Infectious Diseases last month. The conference was last held on the continent in 1992, when it took place in Kenya.
This event attracted over 1800 delegates to the shores of Cape Town and focused on the global burden of infectious diseases, in particular major infectious causes of death in Africa and globally such as AIDS, malaria, TB and pneumonia amongst others.
“With CTICC playing host to 33 international association conferences since June last year, the city continues to remain one of the most sought after destinations on the African continent”, says General Manager for Commercial and Business Development, Megan Arendse.
“Since inception the CTICC has primarily targeted the international associations market as this sector is fairly recession proof and has the largest economic impact for the region”, she adds. According to Arendse the centre has already secured over 54 international conferences up until 2020.
International conferences on the cards for the latter part of the year include the International Association for Dental Research Conference in June and the 17th World Congress on Basic and Clinical Pharmacology in July, which is expected to attract over 4000 and 5000 delegates respectively. The 19th World Congress of the Federation of Automatic Control in August and the World Small Veterinary Conference 2014 in September combined is expected to attract in excess of 7000 delegates. The centre will also host the Third Global Symposium on Health Systems Research 2014 in September and the HIV Research for Prevention 2014: Microbicide and ARV-based Prevention Science (HIV R4P) in October. In December the centre will play host to the 4th UNI World Conference, which is expected to attract over 4000 delegates.
“As the CTICC gears up to double its exhibition capacity, it becomes pivotal that we up the ante in terms of pitching for more international conferences”, says Arendse. By 2017 the CTICC aims to host almost 45 international conferences per annum. “The hosting of such prestigious events will ensure that Cape Town cements its position as one of the world’s top long-haul conference destinations”, she concludes.
