Minister Alan Winde Welcomes International Congress Delegates

Delegates of the 16^th International Congress on Infectious Diseases are in Cape Town – marking the first time in 22 years the conference is being held in Africa.

The agenda includes research on HIV, TB and malaria. The programme includes a specific focus on health issues affecting Africa.

Alan Winde, Minister of Finance, Economic Development and Tourism, is attending the opening ceremony of the four-day conference this evening.

“Hosting a conference of this scale is a great achievement for the Western Cape as we position this province as a hub of health innovation and research. We continue work on the Cape Health Technology Park, which will be a world-class facility where pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, clinical trial facilities and health-related academic and government programmes are strategically housed in one location,” said Minister Winde.

The conference brings a significant boost to business tourism, which acts as a catalyst for jobs and growth.

“In the last financial year, Wesgro, the Western Cape’s trade, investment and tourism destination promotion agency, secured 19 conference bids worth R347 million, which drew 27 580 delegates to our province. In this year we aim to attract 34 000 conference delegates and bids valued at R360 million. Business tourism is very lucrative as business travellers have a higher spend than leisure tourists, which in turn creates more jobs,” said Minister Winde.

Over the past nine years of its existence, the CTICC has contributed nearly R20 billion to South Africa’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It is projected that the CTICC will add R22 billion to the national GDP over the next five years.

Minister Winde said the CTICC has been recognised as a leading long-haul meetings venue.

“The CTICC is a major economic catalyst and the planned expansion of the venue will double its capacity for meetings and exhibitions. This will increase business travel to the province and create more employment opportunities. In the previous financial year, it is estimated that the CTICC created 7500 jobs,” said Minister Winde.