Once a year, members of SAYTC (South African Youth Travel Confederation), get together for an Annual General Meeting (AGM). A conference is normally combined with this event, to give members time to explore the destination where the meeting is hosted, and to do networking with other members. The destination changes every year, often giving members an opportunity to explore a new region and giving members that are based in that region some exposure.
Activities, trips, tours, culinary experiences, culture, interesting talks and great entertainment goes hand in hand with these conferences. Hosting South Africa’s youth tourism leaders is a great opportunity for the host city to pull out all the stops, to showcase why they are a great travel destination.
As you can imagine, a multi-day event like this is a lot of fun!
Many members in the industry started out over a decade ago, while others have just opened up. Long-lasting friendships and business relationships have been made, and new ones are being made every year.
- Backpacking South Africa
- Education South Africa
- Tours & Transport South Africa
- Volunteering South Africa
- Tourism services
Day 1:
Day 2:
The evening was fun-filled as we were celebrating our industry friends, Baz Bus’s 21st birthday! We were hosted at The Dockside for this get together. An awesome venue, with lots of space for dancing, great music, free shooters and fantastic selection of food trucks for dinner.
Day 3:
The grand finalè, was a dress up party: Unique Film Characters. For a bunch of mostly extroverts, this was a great theme. It gave members a chance to express themselves in the most creative ways. We had Elvis, Marylin Munroe, The Joker, Top Gun…and many more! Wineflies hosted the event, and Francois opened it with a bang when he popped the bubbly with a sword!
We experienced Port Elizabeth in all its glory with a wind still, warm evening at the Rooftop Garden Bar. The highlight of the night was when we all competed in a rap-off! We had to choose a name for our team, write a rap song and then perform it as a group, on stage. Even though it’s no secret that none of us can quit our day jobs to become a rapper, it was great to see the spirit in the room!
Day 4:
Although the conference ended, the party did not… On the Friday, the celebrations started a little ways down the road in Jeffreys Bay. Island Vibe Backpackers is also celebrating their 21 years, this year, so most of us made the trip to go congratulate them in person. Initially, this was NOT part of the plan, but when Togeda and I woke up on Friday morning, we felt like we will miss out too much!
Again, we were treated to great food, amazing local artists performing in the bar area and catching up with our friends. The energy did not fade, and again there was dancing until the wee hours of the morning.
