World Routes Heads to Africa for First Time in 2015

Manchester, England (ots/PRNewswire) -

- Durban, KwaZulu-Natal announced as official host destination of
21st World Route Development Forum

It was announced today at the BRICS Summit, which is currently
taking place in Durban, South Africa that KwaZulu-Natal Province
(KZN) will play host to the 21st World Route Development Forum (World
Routes) at ICC Durban from 20th -22nd September 2015. This marks the
first time in its history that the event has been held in Africa.

World Routes is the global meeting place for every airline,
airport, tourism board and government stakeholder and attracts
attendees from over 110 countries. The event is focused around the
development of the world's air services and hosting World Routes
provides a unique opportunity for a destination to showcase its
airport, its city and its country to the air service decision-makers
of the world.

The announcement of Durban, KZN as the Host for World Routes 2015
represents the culmination of a successful bid to host the event
driven by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and
Tourism in which all of the region's key stakeholders were involved
in supporting the proposal. These stakeholders included; Tourism
KwaZulu-Natal; Trade & Investment KwaZulu-Natal; Airports Company
South Africa; King Shaka International Airport; Dube TradePort
Corporation; South Africa National Convention Bureau; Durban
KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau and South African Airways.

"I'm delighted that World Routes will be taking place in Africa in
2015 and it is fitting, with such a focus on the development of
international trade, that we are bringing it to Durban and the region
of KwaZulu-Natal," said David Stroud, Executive Vice President,
Routes UBM Live continuing: "I'd like to thank all the team in
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal for all the hard work that's been done
throughout the host bidding process, you've done a fantastic job, and
I know it's going to be a great success. Congratulations, we look
forward to working with you."

Commenting on the successful bid, the Provincial Minister for
Economic Development and Tourism, Mr. Michael Mabuyakhulu said: "The
announcement by UBM Live to award KwaZulu-Natal the rights to host
World Routes 2015 in Durban is a significant achievement for our
country in particular and Africa in general, given the fact that this
event will be hosted on the continent for the very first time."

"World Routes 2015 will position our flagship development,
southern Africa's premier air logistics platform and the home of the
continent's first purpose built aerotropolis, the Dube Trade Port,
which incorporates the King Shaka International Airport for a major
growth in air services. At the official opening of Dube Trade Port
last year, our president His Excellency President Jacob Zuma
challenged us to grow King Shaka International Airport into becoming
an alternative aviation hub. Bringing World Routes 2015 to
KwaZulu-Natal is our response to this challenge, amongst our other
strategic initiatives. The KwaZulu-Natal province has participated in
past World Routes events and based on our analysis we have seen how
air services have improved in airports that have hosted these events.
It is, therefore, our plan to leverage on the hosting of World Routes
2015 to help grow air lift out of King Shaka International Airport,
the host airport for this event." he said.

"I would like to thank the Bid Committee led by our Head of
Department, Mr Desmond Golding, our partners in this bid: ACSA, SAA,
Ministry for Public Enterprises and City of Durban for the support
they gave us in bidding for this event. Above all we thank UBM Live
for showing confidence not only in KwaZulu-Natal, but also in our
beautiful country. We will work hard to help UBM Live deliver the
best event in 2015," he added.

KwaZulu-Natal Province is the country's most popular domestic
leisure tourism destination and is home to Africa's busiest
sea-ports: Durban - the busiest in Africa and Richards Bay - the
deepest in Africa. The city of Durban is a vibrant city overflowing
with cultural diversity and is the second largest in South Africa
with a population of around 4 million.

King Shaka International Airport is a multi-billion Rand
international airport which opened in May 2010 ahead of the FIFA
World Cup Championships. The Airport, along with its adjacent trade
port "Dube TradePort" provides world-class facilities for
intercontinental passenger travel and freight transfer.

The city of Durban and KwaZulu-Natal Province have embarked upon a
development strategy to grow the regional tourism economy and to
increase the number of international tourists to KZN by 2030. The
plan is to grow passenger and cargo airlift out of King Shaka
International Airport and hosting World Routes 2015 will assist in
improving the air services potential of the airport, coupled with the
trade gateway operations of the two sea ports. In addition, bringing
the event to the growing aviation market of Africa, which also has
significant potential, will be of huge benefit to the region.

Notes to Editors

About Routes

- Routes organises world-renowned airline and airport networking events
through its regional and global Route Development Forums. Each year, there is one
global event and one regional event in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Americas and CIS
respectively. http://www.routesonline.com
- Routes was founded in 1995 as part of the Manchester UK-based ASM Ltd., a
consultancy specialising in the field of route development for airports.
http://www.asm-global.com
- Routes and ASM were acquired by UBM Aviation Worldwide Ltd in August 2010.
From 1st August 2012 Routes, ASM and the Airport Cities Conference and Exhibition
become part of the UBM Live division of UBM plc.
- UBM Live connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five
continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote their
brands and expand their markets. Through premiere brands such as MD&M, CPhI, IFSEC,
TFM&A, Cruise Shipping Miami, the Concrete Show, the Routes portfolio of events,
Airport Cities and many others, UBM Live exhibitions, conferences, awards programs,
publications, websites and training and certification programs are an integral part of
the marketing plans of companies across more than 20 industry sectors.
http://www.ubmlive.com

Follow us on twitter: @Routesonline, @TheHUBRoutes, @airlineroute,
@VictoriaRoutes, @NLPROU

ots Originaltext: UBM Live Routes Ltd
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
For further press information please contact: Victoria Jones, PR
Executive, Routes, T: +44(0)161-234-2730, E: pr@routesonline.com