Indaba 2015 was a rather sentimental affair for me. It was my 25th and final Indaba. I spent much of my time walking the corridors looking for faces from the good old days. I saw a few but so much has changed over 25 years.
Travel exhibitions have been an important part of my work life. I have attended more than 180 International Exhibitions in 26 countries over 25 years. (Both as an exhibitor, a buyer and a hosted buyer) None of these ever came close to Indaba during the nineties. When SATOUR ran the show it was an example of what a Travel Trade Exhibition should be all about. The social networking events were outstanding and I made so many lifelong business friendships. The corridors were humming.
I can still remember my official Indaba appointment diary for 1991. It shows I was 100% fully booked with International Tour Operators appointments plus an additional five to six daily squeezed in during lunch or after the close of business. In my last Indaba, as an exhibitor, I had seven appointments in four days from genuine buyers. The rest were all trying to sell me advertising.
Appointments are not the only changes that have taken place. Indaba is now about selling as much floor space as possible and making as much money as possible. The social networking aspect is history. Companies that used to be there every year are gone. The level of information available from provincial stands and regional stands is appalling. We are told each year of the X thousands of visiting delegates. Name them. I don’t see them. A few hundred perhaps but not thousands. The corridors are empty now.
Being from Knysna I can recall the Kysna stand of years back. The stand was dishing out Oysters and Mitchels beer and was a major hub on the Western Cape floor. This year it comprised of a tiny table, not one Knysna brochure on the table and not a sole in sight manning the table. A giant leap backwards for the Garden Route.
I have so many wonderful memories of the time when John Barton and his team ran the show. Who will forget that Beach Party in front of the Elangeni or when Madiba came to visit? Can you remember Jimmy from Face to Face, Bill Harrop, Chris Oliver with his Mampoer suitcase at the Limpopo Stand, the Darwas at Recreation Africa, the budget parties and sneaking out to watch the Stormers beat the Sharks at Kings Park. I miss Hylton Ross banging on the keyboards and everyone gathering in the Beer Garden after work. (I made some good contacts there.) Yes Indaba was surely the finest travel trade exhibition in the world. But now it’s gone pearshaped.
The South African Exhibition Travel Trade is now at a cross roads. We are sitting with two travel trade shows - a situation we do not want and do not need. Exhibitors at WTM Africa are extremely satisfied with what is a “growing trade show”. Exhibitors at Indaba are voting with their feet.
There is a solution. A good start would be to round up those who have been involved for decades and come up with some positive suggestions. There is a solution but it will take a number of role players to buy into it.
There is a solution but will SA tourism pay any attention?
