Top Local Speakers and Panellists to feature at SETE 2015
13 October 2015
The fifth annual Sports & Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) will take place from 27 to 29 October 2015, at the Protea Hotel Fire and Ice! Menlyn, in the City of Tshwane, the new host city partner.
SETE 2015 local expert moderators and panellists include names such as Professor Kamilla Swart, Mrs Gillian Saunders, Jacques Grobbelaar, Dr Brendon Knott, Carl Reinders, Kyle De Klerk, Mike McNamara and Ivano Ficalbi.
Jacques Grobbelaar, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Stadium Management South Africa, is responsible for the management of various stadia, the backbone of South Africa’s success in hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Grobbelaar’s strategy is to run Stadiums as business entities, focusing on the basics which drive business standards, policies and procedures.
Dr. Brendon Knott is a Senior Lecturer at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Knott holds a PhD from Bournemouth University, UK, with his study focusing on nation branding as a legacy from sport mega-events. He lectures, writes, consults and conducts research into applied areas of sport, branding and tourism. Brendon has been part of global research projects that have focused on the legacies of sport tourism events, including Beijing 2008, South Africa 2010, London 2012 and Brazil 2014, among others.
Carl Reinders is currently the Co-Owner and Company Director of Kiburi Holdings and is predominantly responsible for Sales and Marketing at Kiburi Holdings, which is the holding company for Gecko Africa Safaris, Pro Golf Africa Safaris, Redsands Golf Travel, and exclusive franchise holder for Golf Scotland in South Africa.
Kyle De Klerk is a Director of Marketing Partnerships for Africa at the NBA’s African office in Johannesburg. He is responsible for developing the game of basketball and NBA business on the continent through sustainable partnerships with commercial entities, NGO’s, government bodies and national federations. Most recently, he took the lead in securing commercial partnerships for the historic NBA Africa Game 2015 which took place at Ellis Park Arena in Johannesburg on August 1.
Mike McNamara has spent 22 years in tourism marketing and management throughout Southern Africa, including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Mozambique. Since 2010 McNamara’s focuses on golf tourism and the development thereof, including a contract managing the marketing for a prestigious Golf Estate in Kwazulu-Natal. He authored the bid that won them the World Property Award for Best Golf Development in South Africa as well as a number of awards and accolades for their golf course and Lodge. Mike served for three years as the KZN council member for the South African Golf Tourism Association (SAGTA). And with officials from Tourism KZN he helped establish the Golf Tourism Working Group in 2013.
His company, Tourism Planning Africa, provides consulting services in tourism development planning and marketing throughout Southern Africa, including market research on the potential for inbound golf tourism for SA, and the marketing of South African golf events to the International market.
Ivano Ficalbi grew up in Johannesburg and has played the game of golf since the age of 9. After completing his National Diploma in Mechanical Engineering, Ivano turned professional and competed on the Sunshine Tour from 1998 to 2002. He joined the PGA as an apprentice in March of 2001 and became a full member of the PGA in August of 2004. Ivano has been fortunate enough to open Zebula Golf Club in Limpopo, work as the Head Professional at the Sun City Resort and manage the Dale Hayes Golf Events business. In July of 2011 he was appointed the Chief Executive of the PGA of South Africa and has taken the PGA to another business level under his leadership.
The PGA of South Africa is a member of the PGA World Alliance, a body consisting of the ten biggest PGA’s in the world, who meet annually to share best practise and agree on initiatives.
Professor Kamilla Swart is an Associate Professor in the Department of Tourism & Events Management at CPUT. She is the project lead on the National Department of Tourism projects which includes the development of a national framework to assess events. She also serves as principal investigator for an EU funded project analysing the management & legacy of mega events. Swart was invited as guest speaker/panellist at various international sport & tourism conferences in more than 10 countries and will be chairing the session on “Promoting SA’s Golf Tourism Products.”
Gillian Saunders, Partner & Head of Advisory Services at Grant Thornton, will moderate the session on “Commercial viability of event venues” She is also the Global Leader for Hospitality & Tourism at Grant Thornton and has conducted economic impact assessment studies for numerous major events including the 2010 FIFA World Cup Bid; tourism destination strategies and marketing plans and has presented at numerous tourism industry conferences.
To view the SETE 2015 Conference Programme visit www.thebereed.co.za/sportsandevents/conference/programme.
The annual Sports and Events Tourism Exchange is the only event of its kind in Africa and provides a platform that brings together businesses from the Sports, Events & Tourism industries, and encourages collaboration between these sectors, consisting of a two-day conference, table top exhibition and networking events.
The 2015 Sports and Events Tourism Exchange is proudly hosted by the City of Tshwane. For more information visit www.sportsandevents.co.za or contact Rene Staack on Rene@ThebeReed.co.za.
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