At the Indaba 2006 official opening function on May 6, South African Tourism announced that Durban will host Indaba for another three years (until 2009).

The bumper tourism event has been staged in Durban for 14 consecutive years, however this year's event will be a special one for the ICC team as the Indaba delegates are the first group to use and experience the magnitude of the new ICC Arena.

"We held a roof wetting ceremony recently - Halls 4, 5 and 6 were handed over by the contractor (Masinya Consortium), to South African Tourism," commented chief executive officer, Alec Gilbert, who has been actively involved in three Indaba bid processes. “I am proud to say that Durban has met its commitment to SA Tourism to provide even more space for a continually growing Indaba. In addition, the exterior concourse was handed over in an unfinished state on May 2, which is more than was promised at the beginning of the year. Marquees have been erected in the Durban Exhibition Centre plazas and in all there is a total of 30,000 square metres of covered space.

“This is also the first event to be enjoy the benefits of both the ICC and the Durban Exhibition Centre being fully WIFI which means that on the purchase of a card anyone can access the internet from anywhere within the complex!” explained Alec Gilbert.

Indaba 2006 is expected to generate R157 million for the local region.