The Senegalese Tourism Promotion Agency (ASPT) organized a workshop on Wednesday July 14 in Dakar to provide feedback on the study on MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences & Events), also called business tourism. This initiative essentially aims to present the results and to set up a national strategy to promote this type of tourism.
During this meeting, tourism professionals, technicians, hoteliers, promoters… discussed the challenges and perspectives of MICE which is gaining ground in Africa.
Coming to present the work of the MICE feasibility study, members of “The Tourism Business Company” stressed that Senegal has considerable potential to develop its MICE offer. The cabinet said the country can become a real business tourism destination if it exploits its potential.
In his speech, the director general of ASPT, Mahawa Diouf, indicated that the objective of this work is to have as soon as possible a national strategy dedicated to the development of MICE in Senegal. This will make it possible, he emphasizes, to set up, for the first time in the country, and even in West Africa, a Convention Bureau, a real catalyst for the entire national ambition in this project.
The boss of the ASPT explained that Senegal very quickly grasped the importance of developing such an industry. On this, the country intends to showcase its strengths in terms of tourism, stability and security, and human capital.
According to official statistics, worldwide, MICE represented in 2019, in the pre-covid period, a volume of more than 1000 billion USD, with a market share for Africa estimated at 3% in which Senegal does not represent than 1.2%.
In the ICCA (International Congress and Conference Associations) ranking which represents the global barometer of destination performance in MICE, Dakar occupies 18th place in Africa in 2019 behind destinations such as South Africa (1st), Morocco (2nd ), Rwanda (3rd).
Despite “these weak results”, Senegal wants to put all the assets on its side to develop its MICE offer.
