The ICC was originally developed as a catalyst for economic development for the city at a cost of R800 million and is now said to have more than delivered its return on investment for the province.

“The ICC produced revenues of R55.4 million for the 3-month period July to September 2011 performing 46% better than budget, which is an outstanding achievement by the team. This compares with R39.3 million for the same period in 2010.

“This comes on top of achieving record revenues of R129.4 million which was ahead of budget for the 2010/11 financial year,” said Ellingson. 

During this period the ICC hosted a total of 105 events, seven of which were high profile international conferences and 98 national events including corporate and private events. 

In the process, the ICC has created 3 376 direct and 4 462 indirect jobs during the 2010/2011 financial year generating 1 432 866 delegate and visitor days in Durban.

Despite the international economic slowdown, the ICC together with the Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau, has managed to confirm five international conferences from 2012 to 2019. 

These conferences include the Rotary International Congress which will attract in excess of 15 000 delegates in 2019 and the International Congress of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine in 2017.