Dramatic mountains, vast oceans and bush landscapes, scenic beauty and wide-open spaces, safaris and the African big 5, teeming marine life, huge cultural diversity, history, and influence, great weather, stunning winelands, world class wine and food and unbeatable value are just some of the things that make South Africa one of the top destinations in the world for both leisure and corporate travellers.
We asked Richard to introduce us to Concepts Collection and why they are different in supporting event planners.
Read more below.
Richard Holt
CEO, Concepts Collection
How do you facilitate luxury events?
People define luxury in many different ways, but for us luxury comes down to personalisation. When facilitating luxury incentives and MICE events, each one is unique and it’s crucial for us to get to know the personalities behind the event. We spend time understanding our clients’ briefs, getting under the skin of their brand and culture, the purpose behind the event, the people involved and the feelings and emotions the event needs to evoke. The client is always at the centre of what we do, and we make sure to offer exciting, personalised surprise elements across each touch point. These include out-of-the-box ideas, the very best venue choices and much more. It’s really important that we hand pick and build quality relationships with industry partners to ensure that standards and expectations are understood and met.
Why should event planners choose South Africa for their next event?
South Africa is really a world within a country, with so many unique experiences and chances to create lifelong memories. Our famous wildlife and safaris are bucket list adventures for many visitors, but we also offer many other options. From dramatic mountains and landscapes, to vast oceans teeming with marine life and wide-open spaces, South Africa boasts huge cultural diversity, history, and influence. In addition to all that we have great weather, stunning winelands, world class food and unbeatable value. We also have a huge range of hotels, stunning boutique properties and game lodges available for both leisure and corporate travellers. It’s a real visual and emotional experience.
What’s unique about the Concepts Collection?
We started life as an event agency and added on our destination management and travel divisions after spotting an opportunity to integrate and add value to the client. I believe we’re unique in the way we get under the skin of our clients’ needs, understanding their world. In addition we provide an integrated one stop shop with a flexible approach. Our desire to take our clients and their destination experiences way beyond the normal tourism path is really important for our clients. We curate and personalise events, incorporating deeper experiences and off the beaten track activities, all of which offer new insights and challenge perspectives, rather than just offering surface level tourism. We’re also not scared to say no when needed. We know who and what we are and the niche position we have created in the market.
How do you integrate local culture into events?
We always seek to bring the heart and soul of Africa into our experiences and engage guests with local people, personalities, customs and cultural nuances throughout.
For example, the group activities we create may incorporate an African flavour, we often suggest hotels and venues reflective of our local culture, plus combine international food and drink with an African twist. Design and décor, branded items, stationery and gifting are all elements that can involve African art and design.
In terms of entertainment, we incorporate local rhythm, music, dance, jazz, African bands, singers, and internationally famous choirs like the Sowetan gospel choir. We also offer historical and cultural insights through our bespoke experiences to give event guests a chance to understand much more about South African history, its people and multicultural influences. Much of this is done with a focus on social responsibility activities.
What Others Say About COncepts Collecton
South Africa should be on your next pitch list, STAR Your World would be pleased to assist you. For more information or a new event enquiry email sales@staryourworld.com
See more of our destinations for events and inspiration.
Thanks for reading. Events are made easy when working with STAR Your World and their Destination Management Companies.
