JOHANNESBURG – Corporate travel budgets are surging across EMEA, with 46% of companies planning to increase spend in 2026. But bigger budgets mean bigger expectations – and conferences are where those investments get their toughest test. Every event now carries heightened scrutiny, with executives under pressure to prove that expanded travel allocations deliver measurable returns that justify the confidence boards are placing in face-to-face engagement.
The only defensible reason to go is to create value you can’t generate from your desk: accelerated deals, stronger relationships across multiple stakeholders, sharper competitive intelligence and content you can use again and again. This demands a ‘portfolio’ mindset and a rigorous selection process.
Start with the three Rs: Reputation, Relationships, Revenue
Before you book, ask three questions:
- Reputation: Will your presence or speaking slot strengthen your brand with the right audience?
- Relationships: Can you make high-value contacts or deepen existing relationships, not just collect cards?
- Revenue: Is there a realistic path to influence your sales pipeline or accelerate existing opportunities in the next two quarters?
If you can’t credibly answer yes to at least two of these, pass on the event.
Quality over quantity
Treat conference selection the way you’d approach choosing your most important customers. Quality trumps volume every time. Start by validating whether the event actually attracts decision-makers in your target industries and regions.
Ask organisers for anonymised breakdowns of attendee mix by role and seniority – you want to know if the right stakeholders will be there, so you can progress real conversations and opportunities.
Then layer in practicality. Does the event platform make scheduling one-on-one meetings straightforward? Meeting density is your leading indicator of return on investment.
Mummy Mafojane, GM FCM Meetings and Events, says you need to consider the logistics too, as visa requirements, flight connections and available accommodation can make or break an event.
“Don’t ignore the impact of long-haul travel on wellbeing or ignore carbon cost for marginal gain,” says Mafojane. “And remember that the best conversations often happen off-programme, so shortlist events with strong satellite dinners, peer gatherings and partner receptions.”
To this point, Mafojane uses Mining Indaba 2026 as an example.
“Mining Indaba 2026 will bring 10,500+ decision-makers to Cape Town from 9 to 12 February next year. But central accommodation goes quickly. Chat to your travel management company (TMC) about booking flights, accommodation and ground transport as soon as possible – before rates rise and rooms disappear. You want to be close to the action.”}
Design success before you board
Go in with concrete objectives at two levels. First, identify the organisations, roles or people you want to engage with, and what qualifies as success – perhaps a follow-up involving multiple stakeholders, agreement on a pilot scope, or an invitation to run a workshop with their executive team. Second, set personal metrics: meetings held with target accounts, opportunities touched, strategic learnings, or any content assets you’ll create.
Believe it or not, the real work starts two weeks before you fly. Use the event app and your network to pre-book meetings, aiming to fill sixty to seventy percent of your schedule with pre-qualified conversations while leaving purposeful white space for unexpected opportunities. Consider being proactive and convening a small roundtable with peers in your industry as intimate forums often deliver more value than keynotes for senior relationships.
Once again, don’t underestimate the commercial impact of being well-rested and relaxed before the events starts, so book smart, book early, stay near the venue, plan for disruptions and have the event programme close to hand.
Convert sessions into conversations
Once you’re onsite, every action should create momentum. Choose your seat strategically to enable quick access to speakers and target contacts. Ask one sharp question that earns you follow-ups. Pay attention to polls, Q&A sessions and booth traffic – these reveal real market pain points. Capture verbatim comments and photos, tagging them to specific accounts for tailored follow-ups later. Even respectfully engaging attendees around competitor stands helps you understand their narrative and the objections you’ll need to overcome. Throughout it all, protect your energy: build in recovery time, stay hydrated, and use quiet spaces to prepare between meetings.
Strike while the iron’s hot
The event doesn’t end when you take off your lanyard for the last time. Within seventy-two hours, send personalised emails to those you’d like to connect with again, route warm introductions to your account teams with clear expectations, and log everything so nothing dies in your notebook.
Finally, atomise what you learned. Turn panel discussions and corridor debates into a point of view you can share with accounts, internal training notes for your team, and short video clips or LinkedIn posts. Invite your highest-value contacts into a continuing peer forum to keep momentum between major events. Share the patterns you observed with marketing and product – the buyer questions, pain points and emerging competitors – so your whole organisation benefits from your investment.
The bottom line
Making every conference count means ruthless selection and disciplined execution. Choose events where your target customers gather, where you can orchestrate dense, high-quality meetings, and where the environment supports both your wellbeing and your commercial momentum. Measure what matters: meetings with the right people, pipeline influence, and deal acceleration. Then recycle the insights and content across your teams.
As Mafojane explains, if you do this well, conferences stop being line items on your travel budget.
“Conferences and events are an important part of your growth strategy,” says Mafojane. “But they do require thought and a strategic approach. Make sure every event delivers – and you never regret a trip again.”
**ends**
For more information about FCM Travel call Sonnette Fourie on 081 072 2869 or email sonnette@bigambitions.co.za.
About FCM Travel:
FCM Travel, the flagship corporate travel brand at Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG), is the business travel partner of choice for large national, multinational and global corporations. We are an award-winning global corporate travel management company ranking as one of the top five by size around the world. We operate a global network which spans more than 100 countries, employing over 6000 people.
FCM are transforming the business of travel through our empowered and accountable people who deliver 24/7 service and are available either online or offline. Leveraging FCM’s negotiating strength and supplier relationships in conjunction with our tailored business travel programs, our expertise delivers more for our clients where it matters most to them.
Visit us at www.fcmtravel.co.za
Issued by: Big Ambitions
Contact: Lori Cohen
Tel: +27 79 641 4965
Email: Lori@bigambitions.co.za
