PORT ELIZABETH’S Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World stacks up against the world’s most exotic tourist destinations. The Association of South African Travel Agents (Asata) has chosen The Boardwalk as the venue for its annual conference. “This is proof that the Boardwalk – and Port Elizabeth – offer world class tourist attractions. Last year Asata met in Bangkok, and the year before in Mauritius,” says Boardwalk and Courtyard Suite Hotel sales manager Karin Fourie. “What is significant is that the choice was made before the September 11 attack on the World Trade Centre, so the choice of Port Elizabeth had nothing to do with fears of international travel,” she says. Asata represents the top management in the South African tourism industry, according to Boardwalk marketing manager Shaun van Eck. The conference will be opened by Cheryl Carolus, the former South African High Commissioner in London, and now Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism. Tourism minister Valli Moosa is also expected to attend. Asata’s decision to use the hotels, restaurants and conference facilities at The Boardwalk follows a highly successful Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (Satsa) conference held at The Boardwalk Casino and Entertainment World in June last year. The Boardwalk pitched successfully against the V & A Waterfront and Spier Wine Estate for the Satsa Congress, which represents the major companies promoting tourism into South Africa. This was followed by the World Wilderness Congress in November, which drew over 700 environmental specialists from around the world and put the Eastern Cape on the map as a region described by founder World Wilderness Foundation founder Dr Ian Player as “the new Wilderness Frontier”. “The message to the travel industry is clear – The Boardwalk is world class,” says Mr van Eck, who is also chairperson of Tourism Port Elizabeth. More than 250 delegates are expected at The Boardwalk for the Asata conference, which takes place from March 14 to 17. Delegates will be staying in the hotels in The Boardwalk complex, while the two-day conference and gala dinner will be hosted in the Tsitsikamma Conference Centre.