The Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) marked its 15th year of operation on the 28th of June, and to celebrate its birthday, and reflect on the phenomenal success of the property, here are 15 facts that you might not know about the CTICC. In its 15 years of operation, the CTICC has:

1. Hosted almost 7 000 events.
2. Contributed over R36 billion to the South Africa GDP.
3. Contributed more than R32 billion to the Western Cape GGP.
4. Created 107 293 direct and indirect jobs.
5. Welcomed an estimated eight million people through its doors.
6. Been a profitable and self-sustaining.
7. Provided local community partners with venue sponsorship worth R5 million.
8. Trained permanent and temporary staff to the value of over R10 000 000.
9. Achieved an average BBBEE spend of R2.4 billion.
10. Procured from small, medium and micro-sized enterprises to the amount of R994-million.
11. Achieved a total number of over 16 million visitor days.
12. To date hosted 557 international events.
13. Played host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup final draw.
14. Hosted the largest number of delegates – 12 300 delegates during the 19^th World Diabetes Congress.
15. Won the bid to host its biggest international conference, the World Ophthalmology Conference in 2022 with 15 000 delegates expected to attend.

“Cape Town has been continuously ranked the number one destination for international conferences in Africa in recent years and this success did not come overnight. It is the culmination of 15 years of consistent hard work, progressive thinking and innovation to make sure that the world’s greatest events and minds choose Cape Town as the place where they share and exchange knowledge.  The success of the CTICC comes on the back of constant efforts to make progress possible. This indeed mirrors the City’s efforts to let the world know that we are open for business as a forward looking, globally competitive business destination,” said Patricia de Lille, Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town.

The Executive Mayor added: “There is no doubt that the CTICC has made a major contribution to this impressive ranking. Each year the CTICC contributes billions of rands to the national GDP but more importantly it contributes to poverty alleviation by providing much needed jobs. It is for this reason the City, as the majority shareholder, invested R550 million into the construction of CTICC 2 as a sign of our confidence in the CTICC’s future.”

Before the CTICC opened in Cape Town, there was no dedicated international convention centre that could play host to the many events it has, and these facilities have led directly to job creation, business tourism and boosting the economy. “The CTICC has established itself as a leader in its field not only in Cape Town and South Africa but in Africa and indeed the world. The contribution that the Centre has made to the local and national economies, coupled with the number of direct and indirect employment opportunities that have been created since our opening have had a positive impacted on our city and country,” said Julie-May Ellingson, Chief Executive Officer at the CTICC.

The CTICC continues to build on its foundation, and with the opening of CTICC 2, the Centre is looking forward to enhancing the city’s economy, as it is now able to host concurrent events across the two buildings. “Congratulations to the CTICC on their 15^th anniversary. The CTICC has played an important role in developing the tourism and events economy of Cape Town and the Western Cape since its inception and has been responsible for the creation of thousands of jobs. With the addition of CTICC 2, we expect to see this economic impact magnified in years to come,” said Alan Winde, Western Cape Provincial Minister of Economic Development.