A ‘swift response’ to the coronavirus pandemic meant Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) was able to reschedule 70 per cent of events affected by health and safety restrictions.
Melbourne hosted 140 business events before the sector was forced to close its doors in March, 47 per cent more than the previous year and attracting almost 100,000 visitors to the city.
CEO Julia Swanson said: “We responded quickly to rapidly changing market conditions with our number one goal to maintain as much future business as possible. This involved significant digital transformation with an active focus on maintaining long-lead business.”
She added: “MCB has worked tirelessly with our clients to reschedule their business events, rather than cancel. We’ve had success here, with 70 per cent of planned events rescheduled into future years, thanks to MCB’s strong client relationships and our partners’ flexibility.”
MCB has secured 117 business events from 2021 to 2026 and said it was working on more than A$532 million worth of bids in what it described as a ‘solid performance’.
“This is significantly more than usual so we feel confident in the long-term outlook for our sector,” Swanson said, acknowledging the support and ‘continued investment’ of the Victorian Government who had put A$9.7 million aside to support the business events sector.
She added: “This year has been one of the most challenging for our industry and this commitment demonstrates that business events will play a large role in recovery efforts for our State and supports a broadened focus of MCB’s business event acquisition into the domestic business events market. It will support us to acquire as much business as possible and funnel the economic impact from these events to MCB stakeholders and partners.”
Written By
James Lancaster
AMI editor James
Lancaster is a familiar face in the meetings industry and international
association community. Since joining AMI in 2010, he has gained a reputation
for asking difficult questions and getting lost in convention centres. Proofer, podcaster, and panellist - in his spare time, James likes to walk,
read, listen to music, and drink beer.
