Business Events Perth is set to receive $15m in funding to attract business events to Western Australia.
The funding was announced as part of a $185m Reconnect WA funding package, a multifaceted package that targets tourists, skilled workers, international students and events, and aligns with WA’s Safe Transition Plan.
Business Events Perth chief executive officer, Gareth Martin said the funding boost would underpin a strong recovery for the business events sector in Western Australia and would have a flow-on effect for a broad range of businesses and the State’s visitor economy as a whole.
“Through the funding of the State Government over the last 15 months, BE Perth has directly supported over 350 local events while securing a pipeline of national and international business events for future years,” Martin said.
“In the face of an increasingly competitive national and international market, this much-needed boost in funding will drive a significant return on investment for WA and support local jobs in one of the most affected sectors.”
Business Events Perth chair, Bradley Woods added that funding would act as a direct and significant boost to WA’s tourism industry. “In 2019, Business Events Perth generated $153 million in confirmed business events with $5.3 million in funding, which is an ROI of 1:29, so we expect that this new funding from the WA State Government will generate significant economic returns for Western Australia and also support Perth’s CBD hotels which have borne the brunt of the pandemic.”
He added: “With business event delegates spending up to five times more than their leisure counterparts and almost two-thirds of delegates choosing to attend a conference in order to extend their trip to take a holiday, the business events sector has a vital role to play in the ongoing recovery of Western Australia’s overall tourism industry.
“The recovery of WA’s visitor economy will have a flow-on effect to a broader range of businesses; while visiting WA, delegates will stay at local hotels, dine at local restaurants, book local tours and shop at local retail outlets.”
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
