Glenton de Kock, CEO of SAACI, said he expects the events industry in Africa to only recover to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, with Namibia and Ghana dominating the market until 2028.

According to the SAACI, the incentives component of the events industry is expected to show the fastest growth on the continent, a development which presents substantial opportunities for corporate meetings and company incentives.

SAACI, however, said capped venue capacity in South Africa makes hosting events unviable.

"We need to understand that the events industry is the engine room for powering the recovery of the economy," says De Kock. "We still need to get a push from the private sector, which has kept their business or incentive meetings to a minimum,” he told Fin24.

Data from the latest SA Tourism business events industry performance outlook indicates that the value of the South African business events industry dropped from US$6.9 billion in 2019 (therefore, pre-pandemic) to US$1.6 billion in 2020.

However, projections indicate the value could reach US$7.4 billion by 2024 and US$10.2 billion by 2028.