The Aussie perspective

Despite being isolated for almost two years, business events professionals in Australia simply pressed on and focused on the future. Now, a year after their borders reopened, their positivity has paid off and bookings are booming.

It’s down to that fighting Aussie spirit. Throughout the pandemic, Robin Mack, Tourism Australia’s executive general manager of commercial and business events Australia, was determined that out of reach didn’t mean out of mind: “We maintained visible international presence to continue to stimulate and sustain interest in Australia even when international travel was not possible. This included launching ‘Australia Innovates’, our documentary-style video series which puts the spotlight on Australians delivering world firsts across several sectors and put us at an advantage when it came to ramping up our activities again.

“Once our borders reopened to key markets, we launched our international brand campaign ‘There’s Nothing Like Australia for Business Events’. Our point of difference is that Australian people have fresh perspectives that have been shaped by our unique landscapes and way of life. It helps us deliver our message to our target audience in a tone of voice Australia is known for.”

He adds that Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Program has continued to help secure a pipeline of future business across key priority sectors. Funding is offered to association business events in the bidding stage where Australia is competing against other countries, and which will attract at least 400 overseas visitors.

Inclusive Sydney

The rate Sydney has been winning bids in the past year has been remarkable, with the number of association events secured this year heading towards pre-pandemic levels. There’s more to this achievement than the city’s huge delegate appeal. “Business Events Sydney has had a long-term strategy of drawing from the DNA of Sydney and taking a sector-based approach to target events that align with New South Wales’ existing or aspirational priority sectors,” explains Kristian Nicholls, Business Events Sydney’s executive general manager client engagement.

The state’s rapidly growing Lighthouse Precincts are key to this strategy, clusters of leading businesses and institutions such as the Westmead Health and Innovation District, Western Sydney Aerotropolis and Tech Central. “They are attracting attention around the world. We seek to connect global organisers and their delegates with those precincts, working across government, industry and academia,” says Nicholls.

Sydney also prides itself as a safe and welcoming destination to associations with diverse delegates. The WorldPride Human Rights Conference in the International Convention Centre in March was the largest LGBTQIA and human rights meeting ever held in the southern hemisphere. The event’s CEO Kate Wickett says: “Sydney is an exceptionally diverse, very inclusive city that lends itself to all different types of people or organisations. I think that really does set it apart.”

What’s new

Last August, Cricket Central was opened in the Sydney Olympic Park, offering not only facilities for players but also interesting spaces for meetings and functions for up to 1,000 delegates.

Magnetic Melbourne

When Melbourne hosted the Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Event (AIME) in March last year, Australia’s first international trade show after borders reopened, it heralded the ‘reopening’ for the industry nationally.

“From there we moved from zero to 100, hosting events such as the International Conference on Emergency Medicine, IATA Slot Conference and World Congress on Hair Research,” says Julia Swanson, CEO, Melbourne Convention Bureau. “And, my particular favourite, the World Barista Championship and World Brewers Cup as part of the Melbourne International Coffee Expo.

“That pace has continued well into 2023. Melbourne continues to be a major drawcard for many associations. The city’s expecting to welcome 74,000 delegates across the 122 events confirmed to date before the year’s end.”

Among them, this month’s Rotary International Convention is the most valuable conference ever won for the state of Victoria, bringing some 14,000 delegates to Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

With a robust pipeline of bidding opportunities up to 2029, Swanson says, “Knowledge is undeniably a powerful currency in contemporary economies and in securing events for Melbourne. With institutions and innovators across sectors from health and medical to science and engineering, education, business and technology, it’s easy to see why it has emerged as Australia’s knowledge capital and innovation hub.”

What’s new

Work is beginning this year on a A$340 million events and conference centre in Melbourne’s Docklands. Set to open in 2026, the 1,000-capacity centre will be located on a sky bridge that connects two hotel towers.

Easy Adelaide

While acknowledging the major “bustling” cities of the east coast, Damien Kitto, CEO, Business Events Adelaide, feels that some organisers are looking for added qualities. Among delegates, he senses a lust for ease of movement, effortless high-quality destinations and the general comfort to be found post-Covid in wide boulevards and cities which generally value space in everything.

“It’s not often that delegates can find all this just 15 minutes’ drive from an international/domestic airport with excellent flight schedules,” he says. This has been the South Australia capital’s ethos for decades, enhanced lately with new and improved accommodation. Venues used the lockdown years to continue technology upgrades and BE Adelaide intensified its strategy of highly personalised connections with event organisers.

“Today, Adelaide’s business events are back and more strongly and quickly than had been considered possible,” says Kitto. “AU$650 million of business is now in place through to 2025. Strategically, a number of the wins are aligned to South Australia’s key economic sectors. There is particular interest in defence, space, health sciences, agtech, AI and all areas of advanced manufacturing.”

The bureau was instrumental in winning the global defence event Maritime, Air, Space Technologies (MAST 24) and the International Renewable Energy Conference (IREC) both taking place at Adelaide Convention Centre next year.

What’s new

The ongoing development of Lot Fourteen, a centrally located business and technology precinct, home to the Australian Space Agency among other enterprises. World-recognised precincts such as this, BioMed City and Tonsley Innovation District contribute to Adelaide’s industry strengths.

Visionary Perth

Perth is the capital of Western Australia, the country’s largest state, and the only major city on the west coast. Non-stop flights are available from several European cities and it’s in the same time zone as Beijing, Hong Kong and Singapore.

Business Events Perth focuses on securing events aligned to the state government’s economic blueprint. ‘Diversify WA’ identifies eight priority sectors which present significant growth and diversification opportunities for the state and provide a vision for the business events industry.

Significant wins for next year include the Asia-Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum and 17^th World Congress on Environmental Health, both taking place in Crown Resorts Perth, and the 22^nd  International Workshop on Campylobacters, Helicobacter and Related Organisms (CHRO24).

“Securing major conferences like CHRO24 shines a spotlight on the research-rich state that is Western Australia,” says Gareth Martin, CEO, Business Events Perth. “Our unique natural landscapes and city developments allow us to showcase our destination as the ultimate business event location.”

WA also positions itself as a premier destination for aboriginal cultural experiences where business delegates learn the stories of the land from locals. The World Indigenous Tourism Summit was held in March in Crown Resorts Perth on Whadjuk Noongar Country, the traditional owners of the land where Perth stands.

What’s new

Perth has seen major growth and development in recent years, including an AU$1 billion redevelopment of the airport, a new airport rail link to its central business district and over 30 new hotels.

 

Developing Darwin

Darwin is the tropical Northern Territory (NT) state capital and gateway to natural landscapes with connections to Aboriginal culture over 65,000 years old.

Darwin Convention Centre is the centrepiece of the city’s waterfront precinct, offering some 23,000 sqm of flexible event spaces. GM Peter Savoff says, “Historically, many associations chose iconic international capital cities for their events but we’re now finding they are seeking more exotic, regional destinations. Darwin fits the bill perfectly.”

Dr Mark Newcombe, co-director of the 8^th DevelopingEM healthcare conference last September, agrees that Darwin and the NT provide an amazing setting for international delegates, offering a diverse range of locations and activities in combination with the conference. “Darwin not only correlated with our thematic considerations but the functional advantages of the convention centre were obvious from our first meeting with the staff there.”

Rebecca McCaig, director, Northern Territory Business Events (NTBE), comments, “Our busy international association conference calendar for 2023 indicates that the strategy to increase our profile as a competitive, distinctive and meaningful destination is prospering. Continuing to focus on attracting events of relevance to the NT's’ various industry and business strengths has undoubtedly contributed to that success.”

She explains that NTBE adopts a collaborative approach through strategic national and global partnerships to build awareness in the international associations marketplace. It partners with BE Australia to attend global trade events and leverages Tourism Australia’s Bid Fund Program to enhance its own international bidding activity.

What’s new

A new 250-room hotel is to be integrated with Darwin Convention Centre as part of a major development of the waterfront precinct which also includes restaurants, bars, a man-made lagoon and beach.

Eco-conscious Cairns

Cairns, on the tropical north-east coast of Queensland, is a modern, regional waterfront city where meeting venues, hotels, shopping, dining and nightlife are within easy walking distance of each other.

Cairns Convention Centre is integral to Cairns’ business events success and its newly opened extension has generated interest from many associations, especially those preferring destinations making sustainability and the environment top priority.

The centre works alongside the team at Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) to secure events which align with the region’s key industry sectors, such as tropical health and life sciences, agriculture, education and training, tourism, renewable energy, aviation and marine services.

In addition, in its bid to return business events to pre-pandemic levels, TTNQ has launched a carbon-offset programme for business events and introduced two initiatives designed to make sustainable and accessible travel easy to access.

Cairns’ unique location close to the World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef and Wet Tropics Rainforest means special field trips can be incorporated into convention programmes. For example, delegates at this year’s International Business, Environment & Climate Conference will visit the Great Barrier Reef to experience at first hand the coral restoration projects in place. The Atherton Tablelands wet tropics region is another area perfect for field trips for association groups working in agriculture, renewable energy and forestry.

What’s new

The Reef Connect Program, the first of its kind, offers a selection of eco-friendly immersive activities as an add-on to existing tours of the Great Barrier Reef.

 Unstoppable Brisbane

In the run-up to hosting the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, Brisbane, Queensland, is undergoing transformation as one of the fastest growing state capitals. “Brisbane saw restrictions ease earlier than other Australian cities, enabling us to transition to recovery exceptionally well,” says Lorelle Chittick, general manager - tourism, business and major events - Brisbane Economic Development Agency. “International associations are increasingly considering Brisbane for their events. Our reputation as a hub of health and medical research and history of world-changing innovation is certainly contributing to this growth. We also see advanced manufacturing, business services, logistics, tourism, property and construction as key areas for growth.”

The 12^th International AIDS Society Conference in July in Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, when up to 6,000 delegates are expected, underlines the confidence associations have in the city’s infrastructure and services.

In 2025, Brisbane will host the International Population Conference, its first time ever in Australia. Professor Edith Gray, convenor and chair of the Australian bid committee, says, “Brisbane is an incredible city and from here people can go on to the Great Barrier Reef, outback Australia or other parts of the country.”

What’s new

Opening later this year, Queen’s Wharf Brisbane covers more than 12 hectares of river frontage in the heart of the city. A mix of heritage-listed buildings and integrated resort facilities, it celebrates Brisbane’s sub-tropical, open-air lifestyle and includes 2,000 sqm of space purposely designed to cater for events and providing access to four future luxury hotels.