TTW 15 May 2008 – Indaba 2008: I haven’t had this much fun with my clothes on in ages…

For once the stats might be right: South African Tourism tells us that 13,200 delegates had attended Indaba by the end of the 3rd day of the show. And it certainly felt like it.

I’ve never had a busier Indaba – as the inimitable Louis Harris, owner of the inimitable Point Hotel (on the ocean’s edge in Mossel Bay) said: “I had more appointments in the first two days this year than I did in all four days last year.”

In fact, I only heard one person complaining about Indaba while I was there – and he might have had personal reasons to be less than positive.

So let me share some useful stuff I learned this year:

I arrived a day and a half early, which gave me time to rest and gather myself for the work ahead, and I left the day after, which gave me time to crash for twelve full hours before hitting the road home. It’s definitely the way to go.

And another thing: I learned (again) how friendly the people in Durban all are. In fact I wrote about this in my column in the Indaba Daily News. Sure, you can understand why the people on the exhibition floor would greet you warmly, smiling broadly – after all, they were looking for business or (when they saw someone wearing yellow media lanyards) for good press: but it was the friendliness and helpfulness of the support personnel that got us all talking.

It really stood out.

And it wasn’t as if it was just the people at the convention centre that were great – it was everyone. From Pacificus the careful taxi driver (with whom we struck up a fine business relationship – if you’re going to be in Durban and you want his number, mail me) to Jill Robertson and the friendly staff of the SAA Business Lounge at Durban International Airport; from the waiters in the restaurants (we fell in love with Bean Bag Bohemia and Vintage) to the car guards, policemen and shopkeepers we met along the way.

It’s because of them that Durban’s a fine place to have an Indaba.

Another lesson from this year’s show: carry a little stapler and clip the business cards you collect into a notebook and make notes of your meetings then and there. I didn’t and already six or seven cards make absolutely no sense to me (you make many of your most valuable contacts in the coffee shops or standing in queues or at the parties you attend. And it’s at the parties that you’re particularly susceptible to forgetting. Dunno why, though).

And this, too: no matter how much you know, you never know everything. One of the best things I could have done for myself was to attend the Tourism Enterprises Partnership’s SMMEs Workshop, which took place on the day before the event. It’s an annual occasion designed to introduce newbies to the business of trade shows and covers topics like how to become involved in the travel channel, how to negotiate your contracts with buyers and even how to meet and greet the people who walk past your stands. I particularly enjoyed Gail McCann’s presentation and it was interesting to hear from people at Thompson’s Holidays and Thebe Investments about what they as operators require from product owners.

I learned all kinds of new things – like this: not having worked in it directly, I’m not entirely sure that I properly understood the travel channel before – now, though, I think I’ve got it down pat.

But it was the enthusiasm of the audience that got to me. Man, if that’s the future of travel in South Africa, places like Australia better watch out. When these guys come of age, this country’s going to be unstoppable: because it’s not only our fynbos, our oceans and our Big Five that make South Africa unique – it’s our people (and as a blogger I’m a closet anarchist: I prefer the small and informal to the big and corporate, so I’m rooting for everyone who was there in that room and everyone else who wishes they could’ve been there, too).

This was my 10th Indaba, and after so many years you’d think I might have come away feeling a little jaded. But no – I’m all fired up because the vibe and the excitement and the sense that we’re looking at a bright tourism future was palpable.

I’m really looking forward to the ride.