South Africa arrived at IMEX Frankfurt 2026 today with immense structural momentum, officially locking in its position as the undisputed heavyweight of the African business events landscape.
According to the freshly unveiled ICCA GlobeWatch: Business Analytics 2025 Report, released on day one of Europe’s premier MICE trade show, South Africa secured the number-one country ranking on the continent by hosting 115 qualifying international association meetings over the past year.
Further cementing this national triumph, Cape Town comfortably retained its multi-year crown as Africa’s leading host city for international association congresses. The data reinforces South Africa’s deep global competitiveness at a time when international secretariats are looking for high-yield, secure, and operationally seamless rotation destinations.
A Platform for Future-Focused Growth
For the delegation representing “Team South Africa” in Frankfurt from 19–21 May, the stellar ICCA scorecard serves as a powerful validation of the country’s long-term investments in destination marketing, specialised sector expertise, and venue infrastructure.
Speaking on the opening day of the exhibition, Corné Koch, Chief Convention Bureau Officer of the South African National Convention Bureau (SANCB), noted that the ranking is far more than a vanity metric — it is a reflection of international trust.
“South Africa’s continued leadership in the ICCA rankings is a strong reflection of our country’s ability to compete globally while leading continentally,” Koch stated. “It demonstrates the confidence international associations place in our infrastructure, our people, our professional excellence, and our ability to deliver meaningful, world-class events.”
Koch added that entering IMEX Frankfurt 2026 as Africa’s top-ranked destination allows the country to command a unique position on the show floor to secure future business. “We do so proudly… ready to strengthen global partnerships, showcase our diverse national offering, and position South Africa as a connected, innovative, and future-focused destination where business events drive tourism growth, knowledge exchange, and long-term economic impact.”
Pushing Into the Regions: The 360° Approach
While legacy powerhouses like Cape Town, Johannesburg, Durban carried a massive share of the volume — each hosting between 8 and 55 international meetings — the true analytical breakthrough of the 2025 report lies in South Africa’s successful geographic dispersal strategy.
For the first time, regional hubs and smaller destinations such as Stellenbosch, Tshwane, Sun City, Paarl, and Pilanesberg feature prominently in the verified ICCA data.
In an exclusive sit-down with Africa Meets on the sidelines of the Frankfurt show, Koch expanded on how the SANCB is intentionally using targeted financial subventions to push lucrative association business outside of traditional metropolitan boundaries and directly into localised communities.
“We do a deliberate strategy to push out and incentivise if there are international meetings that wish to be outside of the city centre,” Koch told Africa Meets. “We have an incentive programme that we support for those event planners to actually move a business event outside of the main centre into what we call the villages, or the townships, or the smaller sort of places so that we support and stimulate the economic activity through that program into those regions.”
Koch emphasised that this economic injection forms the backbone of a broader philosophy: “Sustainability in my mind is not only just environmental sustainability — we’re talking about business sustainability. Because you can’t invest and then you don’t check. Then you need to be careful, because you’ll be out of business.”
Legacies Beyond the Ledger
As global buyers congregate at the South African pavilion this week, the core message being driven home is that the value proposition of an African event goes far beyond immediate hotel room nights and delegate spend.
International association meetings leave behind structural, tangible legacies. The SANCB highlighted that recent high-level conferences hosted across South Africa in the fields of climate change, technology, and public healthcare are actively shaping national public policy — accelerating everything from renewable energy adoption to refined provincial healthcare strategies. By focusing heavily on these intellectual pipelines, South Africa is successfully framing business events as major catalysts for broader trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), and pan-African innovation.
With multi-billion-rand infrastructure plays moving forward domestically, alongside massive content alignment for upcoming mega-properties like the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup, South Africa’s showcase at IMEX Frankfurt 2026 makes one thing undeniably clear: the continent’s top MICE destination is fully geared up for the future.
