I think that for us is going to be an important component as we continuously try to diversify the participants particularly in the conference industry. I'm hoping that many Capetonians will take advantage of the presence of SAACI and what SAACI has to offer through its workshops and many skills development programmes.
One of the threads to a successful industry and what we have been able to see in Cape Town alone and the Western Cape in 2007, nine international association bids were secured, which will bring approximately 24 800 delegates with an estimated economic impact of more than R232 million between 2007 and 2014.
Now its very important that the SAACI conference begins to bring people not just the desire to participate, but the skills to participate. Because I think desire without skills can be detrimental to this industry and the skills without participation by those who desire to be in, will I think isolate those who are making a success of this industry. I am therefore looking forward not only to the direction that this conference will give to the conferencing industries but certainly to the skills that will be imparted.
We are very clear that the job creation aspects of the hospitality industry is significant driver of employment. For example over last year they created over 99 thousand new jobs overall. We thought that construction will be one of the big drivers. It turns out that one of the big beneficiaries of job creation has indeed been that of 99 000 jobs created, the conference industry and the tourism and hospitality in general were also included. So I think that for us, this conference is very important for the future of this province. Because when people begin to feel the presence of tourists, they begin to increasingly feel benefits coming to them.
Cape Town is also joined the Best Cities Global Alliance, an alliance with eight partners on five continents. Besides Cape Town, the member cities are Copenhagen, Dubai, San Juan, Singapore, Melbourne, Edinburgh and Vancouver. I think the importance of joining this alliance is that you join an international conference circle but more importantly, you begin to get bench marks and become part of the global certification program governing the service standards that must be up held.
This becomes another important step at the right time because enthusiasm alone is not enough. The willingness to host global conferences is not going to be enough. We have to be able to bench mark ourselves with the best. There is going to be a time where Table Mountain, the wine routes, Cape Point, Waterfront and Robben Island alone will not be important enough for South Africa draw tourists.
We have got to be able to make a transition very soon to bench mark standards, to be able to compete with the best in the world and compete with the Dubais and the Vancouvers in order for people to not only come for the attractions but to come for attractions as well as the standards that we uphold and that becomes an absolutely critical lesson for all of us here at SAACI.
Probably one of the most important signs that we are getting things right in the Western Cape, Cape Town particularly through the Cape Town international Convention Centre, is the fact that the Convention Center is already bursting at the seams. Already more than 10 of the top corporates internationally have inquired about conference space in 2010 at the Convention Center. 2010 is going to allow us, for the country and for the continent unprecedented marketing and will draw unprecedented attention to us. We have dispatched with our worries about the stadia across the country. We now begin to ask the question are we ready on other key fronts.
For us one of the most important fronts is the public transport front. We want that to be the abiding legacy of the Western Cape and of Cape Town for the world cup. We want ease of transport between the airport and the city center. We are talking to railways about that, particularly to Metrorail about opening up a dedicated line. In addition, inner city transport is going to be important as well as the broader linkages. We have to formerly open on the road that takes us to Agulhas in order to open up the entire hinterland to add other attractions to the existing ones.
We've got to be ready with the infrastructure that will be needed. We have to be ready with the capacity to house a number of people. As we are talking here, one of the key inputs, for World Cup 2010 is the fact that as we speaking here, about 6 new hotels are coming out of the ground in the Western Cape. More importantly we understood and we've learned a lesson from Germany, that five star and six star hotels are not always the things that people want. We must be able to appeal to an entire market.
The very good news that we have is that we have just concluded our negotiations with the Minister of Public Works towards the extension of the Cape Town International Convention Center. Following all of those negotiations, we can now say that Public Works nationally has agreed to cede Custom House to the Cape Town International Convention Centre. There are few conditions but I think within a few months we will be able to commence with the extension of Cape Town international Convention Centre so that it can be ready by 2010.
I think that the sign that a few years after the opening of Cape Town International Convention Centre that we need to expand it and the assurance by the minister that we have Custom House for that purpose I think begins to show exactly what we're here for to celebrate the success of the conference industry in south Africa and I think that if SAACI does what it must do here at this conference not only in sharing ideas but in sharing the skills, then I think that not only is that future bright but that future is shared with more and more people as we go forward.
We match the desire to be part it with the skills. We match the enthusiasm that we have with the capacity to drive us then certainly I think that world cup 2010 is going to be a reputable milestones that will again signify the success that awaits us.
Thank you very much for the opportunity and welcome all of you.
