Colleen Durant, Visit Knysna General Manager, announced on behalf of the Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau, a division of Wesgro, that Knysna has been selected as the town to host the International Adventure Conference in January 2022 at the Premier Hotel.
Offering and array of outdoor activities appealing to adventurous adrenalin seeking tourists, coupled with unforgettable experiences, Knysna is the ideal location to host a conference of this nature.
The event will be hosted by the Tshwane University of Technology’s Department of Tourism Management and the Adventure Tourism Research Association, and aims to attract an expected 150 delegates from across the globe ranging from adventure enthusiasts, practitioners, tourism and outdoor recreational scholars and researchers.
“Promoting the town as an adventure tourist destination is a part of our long-term marketing strategy. With the forum to center around creating and disseminating key research about this sector, we look forward to hosting delegates from around the world in collaboration with Wesgro and Knysna Municipality,” said Durant.
Through hosting the conference, it is envisaged that there will be potential for the creation of short-term employment opportunities, which will provide a welcomed boost the economy of the town.
“The event has the potential to boost the Knysna region’s economy by R3,84 million. A recent ‘Allied Market Research’ report revealed that the global adventure tourism market was valued at $586,3 billion in 2018, and is projected to reach $1,626 billion in 2026 and according to Reuters, the industry will grow at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 45.73% during the period 2018-2022,” said Corné Koch, Head of the Bureau.
With the announcement made at the section 80 Governance and Economic Development Committee meeting, Durant took the opportunity to present the Visit Knysna marketing strategy as well as touch on a few of the new campaigns planned to boost the attractiveness of the town as a tourist destination. Thenew niches include but are not limited to:
- Eco adventure, sports and leisure;
- Events and festivals;
- Wellness, health and fitness; and
- Community, arts and culture.
Chairperson of the committee, Claudine Croutz said the Knysna Municipality is very happy to be part of the initiative. “Playing hosts will create job opportunities and will afford local businesses an opportunity to showcase their businesses and give the world a taste of what the town has to offer.”