AFRICA - The Birchwood Hotel in Johannesburg, South Africa is set to open the doors to its newly-built OR Tambo Conference Centre, 27 July 2012.
 
The Birchwood Hotel and OR Tambo Conference Centre will offer organisers 665 bedrooms and 60 conference rooms catering up to 1,500 delegates at the one time.
 
When the hotel was established in 1998 it just offered one conference space and 80 bedrooms.
 
“The 3,000 capacity convention venue is designed to cater for any event and is fully-equipped with quality conferencing equipment, back-up generators and an in-house décor team, always on hand to guarantee a successful event,” said the Marketing Director for the centre, Jazzman Mahlakgane. “The 164-seater auditorium and several other rooms have vehicle access allowing for heavy machinery and other large equipment to be displayed.”
 
The trip by road to OR Tambo International Airport from Birchwood Hotel is 10 minutes and the hotel is accessible from three major highways. In addition to this, Birchwood Hotel also offers a complimentary scheduled shuttle service to and from the airport, as well as the nearby East Rand Mall shopping centre.
 
Birchwood Hotel is also in partnership with The Ventures Group which offers tailor made teambuilding exercises.
 
Over the past 13 years, Birchwood Hotel has hosted over three million people from varied industries requiring a variety of event solutions.
 
In related news, the Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau has won the right to host the 2017 International Federation of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine.
 
“This conference is expected to attract some 4,000 delegates from all over the world,” said the CEO of the Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau, James Seymour. “The economic impact of this event on our city will be at least R68m (US$8m).”
 
Photo caption: The convention centre breaking ground: (L-R) Greg Dillon (Sales Director), Jazzman Mahlakgane (Marketing Director), Kevin Clarence (CEO), Brian Clarence (Chairman), Andries Brink (Facilities Director) and Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo (Managing Director).
 
Any conference-related news? Email sarah@mashmedia.net