Business Events Week to Showcase Australia's Billion Dollar Business Events Industry

Australia's inaugural Business Events Week - a major event that will showcase the nation's billion dollar business events industry - has been officially launched by the Federal Minister for Tourism and Minister for Resources and Energy, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, and the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, the Right Hon Robert Doyle.

Business Events Week, organised by the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) in its first year, will run from today until this Friday, 1 March and will feature more than 50 events, the centrepiece of which will be the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), the Southern Hemisphere's premier event for the meetings and incentives industry, which starts tomorrow.

For the five year period 2010/11 to 2014/15, business events secured by MCB alone are estimated to have a direct expenditure impact for Victoria of $874.6 million and an estimated increase in Gross State Product of $1.6 billion1.

MCB Chief Executive Officer, Karen Bolinger, said the organisation was delighted to be taking the lead on Business Events Week in its first year.

"There is no doubt the business events industry is a quiet achiever, which not only generates economic wealth and export opportunities, but also assists with job creation and encourages research and innovation, raising global awareness about the achievements and capabilities of our scientists, academics and practitioners," said Ms Bolinger.

"Melbourne is the number one city in Australia for conferences and congresses as recognised by the International Congress and Convention Association, and will host seven of the world's largest and most prestigious medical conferences over the next two years, including the 22nd World Diabetes Congress in December for 12,500 delegates and the International AIDS Conference in 2014 for more than 14,000 delegates."

Ms Bolinger also said it was fitting that during Business Events Week, AIME would celebrate its 21st anniversary.

"In 2012, more than 3300 visitors attended AIME, with an estimated $US535 million worth of business booked as a result of the show.

"This year, more than 750 exhibitors will be in attendance, as well as over 500 buyers spanning 31 countries, all here to conduct business over two days."

Melbourne To Host Dreamtime 2013

Melbourne is to host Tourism Australia's largest trade marketing event in December, Dreamtime 2013, helping to further grow the $12 billion plus business events sector.                                                                                           Announced today by the Minister for Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, during the opening of the inaugural Business Events week in Melbourne, Dreamtime 2013 will bring together 125 international business events decision makers (buyers) with the Australian business events industry to experience the destination's capabilities for doing business.                                                                                                                                          Tourism Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said Dreamtime was part of a broader strategy to promote Australia as a business event destination internationally and deliver economic benefits to the sector. "Dreamtime gives the Australian business events industry a platform to do business with well qualified international buyers from key markets such as China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, India, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, North America and the United Kingdom," Mr McEvoy said. "The format of the event provides an opportunity for the Australian industry to demonstrate their expertise in delivering bespoke corporate incentive experiences as well as hosting large scale gala events. "With its combination of state-of-the-art infrastructure, monumental architecture, abundance of green spaces, and a sophisticated dining scene, Melbourne has a strong offering for key business events decision makers looking to achieve real results from their corporate incentive programs," Mr McEvoy said.  During Dreamtime 2013 international business events buyers and media will be hosted in Melbourne where they will participate in a city showcase, business sessions with Australian industry and networking dinner events.  Three days of educational visits will follow, giving buyers and media the opportunity to experience one of many Australian destinations first hand. Melbourne Convention Bureau CEO Karen Bolinger said hosting Dreamtime 2013 was a tremendous business opportunity for the city. "Being the host city for Dreamtime is a major coup for Melbourne, as it will allow us to showcase the city's corporate and incentive offering to key markets from across the globe," Ms Bolinger said. "Melbourne has always had a collaborative approach to bidding for and securing incentive business. We worked closely with our partners to prepare the Dreamtime program which will enable us to highlight Melbourne's unique attributes as an incentive destination. "Melbourne has an impressive track record in hosting large incentive groups, such as the Amway India Leadership Seminar for 4,000 delegates in December, 2012, which is a testament to the diverse range of activities on offer and the ability for the city to cater for groups of any size "The city boasts a huge menu of amazing experiences, which are tailor-made to each individual or group, making the city a planner's and a delegate's dream destination," Ms Bolinger said. Mr McEvoy said that in an intensely competitive global marketplace, Tourism Australia's business events industry partnership approach to securing international business events was delivering strong results. "Business events is one of the key areas of the Tourism 2020 strategy to enhance growth and competitiveness in the tourism sector, with the aim to increase tourism spending to as much as A$140 billion by the end of the decade," Mr McEvoy said. "Specifically the business events industry is looking to grow to A$16 billion annually in value by 2020 and already we are well on track to achieving this goal. "The industry is making strong progress, with overnight expenditure by business events visitors in Australia increasing to A$12.5 billion in 2011, up from A$10.3 billion in 2010," Mr McEvoy said.

(Source: Travmedia.com)

MCVB’s 2012/2013 Strategic Business Plan Revealed

The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau’s (MCVB) Chief Executive Officer Karen Bolinger officially launched the organisation’s 2012/2013 Strategic Business Plan at IMEX this week.

The plan, which centres around the organisation’s vision of Melbourne becoming globally recognised as the world’s premier city for business events, also aims to have MCVB acknowledged as a thought-leader, an innovator and driver of significant economic impact to the city, state and country.

Ms Bolinger said the multi-layered strategic plan had been developed in consultation with clients, stakeholders and staff at all levels of the organisation, which has resulted in a comprehensive, cohesive document that clearly sets the direction for the future.

“We have reassessed who we are as an organisation and what we want to achieve, and in-line with this we have worked hard to establish what we are doing well and what we want to do better,” she said.

“Over the last few years the landscape of business events across the globe has changed significantly, with many cities, governments and countries recognising the value of business events beyond delegate numbers and economic impact.

“As the economic and competitive landscape changes, the strategic direction of MCVB needs to move with it and this new plan has been developed to identify how we can remain competitive on a global stage.

“The six strategic projects provide us with a platform on which to build a focussed organisation with a set direction. We’ve got rid of the clutter and in some instances redirected our resources in order to streamline our activities to deliver us better conversion across the board and ensure our clients, stakeholders and staff are all engaged.”

Ms Bolinger added that the MCVB team was looking forward to achieving the goals they had set for themselves.

“Provided these strategic projects are effectively executed, there’s no doubt MCVB and Melbourne will be positioned extremely well for the future,” she said.

(Source: etravelblackboard.com)

Melbourne to host World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development in 2014

In an important endorsement of Victoria as a leader in social welfare reform, Melbourne has won the right to host 2000 delegates from around the world at the Joint World Conference on Social Work, Education and Social Development in 2014.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events Louise Asher announced the win for Melbourne today.
“This conference will not only deliver valuable tourism dollars to the state, it will also provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the extensive work undertaken in Victoria in the development of social welfare policy and service delivery,” Ms Asher said.

“This important event for Victoria will attract 2000 delegates and inject an estimated AUD $7.6 million into the state’s economy.”

Minister for Community Services Mary Wooldridge said the conference would be of great benefit to Victoria, which is highly regarded across Australia and internationally in the area of social policy.
“It will provide an excellent opportunity to showcase the extensive work undertaken in Australia and more particularly, in Victoria, in the development of social policy, education and service delivery,” Ms Wooldridge said.

“It will also ensure Victorian social workers have the opportunity to learn from their counterparts from across the world.”

Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau Karen Bolinger said the Conference would be jointly hosted by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW), International Council on Social Welfare (ICSW) and International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW).

“The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau worked with Professor James Angus, the Dean of The University of Melbourne, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences to secure the Conference for Melbourne in 2014,” Ms Bolinger said.

“Professor Angus is an Ambassador for Club Melbourne, a program of 134 local leaders in academia, science and business who assist in securing business events for Melbourne, and this bid win demonstrates just how important their role is in this process.”

Professor Angus said the conference in Melbourne would facilitate an in-depth investigation of critical world issues.

“These include social protection, the social impact of natural disasters and economic crises, and all the really important health and social concerns that face us as a society,” Professor Angus said.

Peter King, Chief Executive of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre where the event will be hosted, said, “We look forward to welcoming professionals in the important fields of social work and social development to our facility for this four-day conference.”

(Source: etravelblackboard.com)

New Dates Announced for AIME 2013

Organisers of the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), have announced new show dates for AIME 2013, which will now take place on the 26 and 27 February 2013.

Previously announced March 2013 dates have been revised as exhibition space at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) became available in February when the show is usually held.

Sally de Swart, RTE's Director for AIME, said the change of dates has been well received following collaboration with key buyers.

"February best suits the industry diary and allows AIME to remain the first meetings and incentives event on the year's calendar, so we're really happy with the revised dates for the 2013 show," Ms de Swart said.

Karen Bolinger, Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB), which owns AIME, said she was pleased that space had opened up at the MCEC.

"Over the last two decades, AIME has traditionally been held in February, so we are delighted that the revised dates will ensure the show is consistent with previous years," Ms Bolinger said.

AIME 2013 will bring together exhibitors, Hosted Buyers and visitors from the meetings and incentives industry from around the world to network and do business over the two-day event.

AIME organisers are now taking bookings for exhibitor space, with 50 per cent of the floor space already committed for 2013.  Exhibitors are urged to secure their space early to ensure they do not miss out by contacting Stephanie Rowen, Sales Manager on +61 2 9422 2470 or via email  stephanie.rowen@reedexhibitions.com.au.

For more information on AIME 2013 visit www.aime.com.au.

Business tourism remains strong: BECA

Despite the economic downturn the international business events sector indicated strong growth from its 2009 fall.

According to the Business Events Council of Australia, (BECA) industry report, total expenditure for international and domestic overnight and day business event attendees grew seven percent to 8.5 billion in 2010 compared to 2009.

Overnight business event attendees increased by five percent in 2010, compared to domestic day business events attendees which fell by one percent in 2009.

The report was compiled to assist Tourism Australia seek its goal to ensure Australia’s tourism industry doubles its contribution to the Australian economy by 2020.

Australia’s (ICCA) ranking as a destination for hosting international associations meetings jumped from 16th to 11th and within the Asia Pacific region, Australia was ranked third by ICCA and fourth by UIA.

Despite New Zealand significantly contributing to Australia’s international conference and convention attendees, arrival numbers from New Zealand fell during 2010.

In relation to the incentive market the total yield was down by 19 percent with expenditure per visitor down for both international and domestic markets.

BECA has joined forces with Business Events Australia to monitor and ensure the contribution of business events sector to the economy increases from the present delegate visitor expenditure of AUD8.4billion to AUD16billion by 2020.

BECA recognises the tourism value of business events and has produced a discussion paper on the issue attempting to quantify the ‘beyond tourism’ benefits by the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau and Business Events Sydney.

(Source: etbmice.com)

Creative Innovation 2011 - Melbourne Conferences

The Creative Innovation 2011 conference will be held 16–18 November at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

Be inspired by over 35 world-class thinkers, speakers and innovators helping you to achieve business success in a super-connected world.

The main theme of Ci2011 is "The challenges and opportunities of a super-connected world" and it will be addressed at the personal, organisational and global level across the major sectors of business, industry, community and government. Sessions will allow delegates the opportunity to expand their scope of creative understanding and learn new strategies whilst also leveraging their innate, but sometimes hidden, creative capabilities.

Among the key speakers will be one of the world's best know lateral thinkers Dr Edward de Bono who has written over 82 books. Raymond Kurzweil – who has been referred to as "The Restless Genius" by the Wall Street Journal – will give a keynote address as part of a Deep Conversation.
For more information about Creative Innovation 2011, visit www.ci2011.com.au.

ICMI Showcase First Speaker Announcement - Melbourne Conferences

Be our Guest in Melbourne for ICMI's 25th Year Anniversary Showcase of Australia's Most Successful Speakers and Entertainers.

This is a FREE event with lots of giveaways and surprises on the day. It's a great opportunity to get to know the ICMI team and see exclusive presentations from ICMI Speakers like Amanda Stevens, Col Cameron, Mike Brady, Ralph Plarre, Matina Jewell and many more.

20th October 2011
Crown Conference Centre Melbourne
Starting at 8:00am (registration from 7:30am)

More Speakers on the lineup will be announced soon.

Register now to reserve your place!

New Luxury Travel Show Unwrapped

A new luxury travel show has been launched in Australia – Luxperience.

The event, a three day business exchange for Australasia and the Pacific, will be based in Melbourne and will take place from September 2-5, 2012 at the Crown Entertainment complex.

Luxperience’s founder is Rosemarie Sama, previously exhibition manager for the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME), held annually in Melbourne.

She said, “It's time the travel industry had a year-round community dedicated to the luxury experience, a place where ideas can come to fruition and grow through collaboration.

“We are dedicated to matching high end suppliers with appropriate buyers so the world of the high end experiential travel market can prosper.”

(Source: Travelmole.com, September 2011)

Find Apartment Accommodation at Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne

Melbourne to Host AIME 2012

The 20th anniversary AIME will be held on 21-22 February 2012 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) in Melbourne, Australia.

With approximately 850 international Exhibitors expected, AIME 2012 will present ample opportunity for buyers to make important business connections as well as receive a range of exclusive benefits available only in AIME's VIP Hosted Buyer Program.

Benefits include flights, accommodation, pre-touring itineraries in Victoria and access to AIME's exclusive Hosted Buyer lounge and networking program. To maximise the two day event Hosted Buyers will also receive personalised Pre-Scheduled Appointments (PSAs), which allows them to meet with the Exhibitors they are interested in doing business with.

Sally de Swart, AIME's Event Director, says that AIME's Hosted Buyer Program offers buyers a productive schedule to conduct business over an enjoyable two days.

"Exhibitors and Hosted Buyers come to AIME to make business happen by meeting with existing contacts and making important new ones. Face-to-face meetings are extremely valuable in this industry and AIME presents a perfect forum to meet with a host of contacts in just two days," Ms de Swart said.

"This year's event attracted almost 850 exhibitors, with 200 of these first time exhibitors at AIME, presenting a greater diversity of companies, products and services for buyers to choose from. We ensure that our Hosted Buyers gain value from their attendance and meet with those exhibitors they are really interested in doing business with."

For more information about AIME 20112 visit www.aime.com.au

(Source: Travmedia.com)

If you are attending AIME 2012 and need accommodation then book now at Metro Apartments on Bank Place

Tourism and Events Excellence Conference - Melbourne

The 2011 Tourism and Events Excellence Conference showcases business excellence within the tourism and events industries.

The Conference will bring together industry experts and leaders, business owners and operators, destination managers and visitor service providers, offering a unique opportunity to share knowledge, learn from each other, form new business relationships and discuss the issues that matter most to your business and our industry.

The Tourism & Events Excellence Conference is set to become a key feature of Asia Pacific business events circuit and a leading centre for thought leadership in our industry. Expect new insights, creative solutions and the unexpected from an outstanding range of professional presentations.

Date: Monday 5-7 September
Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
Cost: Registrations start from $595.00