DURBAN – Hosting the 2015 Loeries has had a great economic impact on the city of Durban, and so city management will be hosting it again for the year 2016.
The City earned R117 million within its first year of hosting the Loerie Awards revealed Grant Thornton, an independent company, after an economic impact study.
“This R117 million economic boost was generated through accommodation, meals, and transport. The Loeries did not only create 500 jobs for locals, but also exposed over 150 tertiary students to the advertising industry. About 39 traders also benefited through the I Heart Loeries Market. This is in line with our mandate of creating jobs and ending poverty,” said EThekwini Municipality Speaker, Councillor, Logie Naidoo
Last week, Loeries Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Human spoke at the Westville Town Hall where a meeting was held to share information with local business and individuals who might be interested in participating during the Loeries Creative Week at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre from August 15 to August 16, 2016.
“The City of Durban is looking forward to being the host city to one of the most powerful and influential creative gatherings in the brand communications industry,” said Phillip Sithole, Head of Durban Tourism. He added that the awards would provide a good platforms for local creative industries to showcase emerging talent. The 2016 Loerie awards will extend the experience to the Township Tourism nodes “to keep it authentic, organic and real,” said Sithole.
Of the 4000 delegates attending last year, approximately 60 percent came from Gauteng, 21 percent were from the Western Cape and three percent were international delegates. The statistics generated also showed that 99 percent of the delegates stayed for two or more nights while 43 percent remained for four or more nights. Surveys confirmed that the general consensus was in favour of having Durban as the host for the awards as 94 percent voted for Durban.“…From the bookings that we have received from the agencies, we can confirm that the number of people coming to the event will surpass last year’s figures,” said Human.
