Business Events Australia Industry Update

Welcome to the latest industry news from Business Events Australia, where we share updates on Tourism Australia’s current marketing and distribution activities to support Australia’s business events industry.

We’re always keen to hear about what’s happening in our industry so please continue to share your news and updates and contact us with any questions.

Engaging with customers

The Business Events Australia (BEA) teams – both here in Australia and around the world – have been virtually out and about a lot recently, securing new leads and gauging customer outlooks. Our North America team generated eight leads at the recent Incentive Live virtual trade show; while our China team also generated eight leads at the virtual iteration of IT&CM, the first major incentive trade event to take place in China since the pandemic began; and the Sydney team met with planners from the United Kingdom at C&IT’s virtual Agency Forum last week.

To gain greater depth in our understanding of sentiment, challenges and needs in market, BEA has also been hosting virtual discussions with smaller groups of international planners. A Customer Advisory Panel for UK incentive planners showed face to face events haven’t lost their lustre amongst planners, but times remain tough for agencies, even with live events tentatively scheduled to resume in the UK in October. A series of round tables with New Zealand customers indicated sentiment remains positive for a trans-Tasmin bubble, when the time is right. BEA also recently collaborated with Australian convention bureaux to deliver two webinars in India to inspire and engage with clients there and hosted a fourth and final webinar in China with similar aims.

Business Events Bid Fund Program notches up more wins

Three more events supported by the Business Events Bid Fund Program have been secured for Australia. Business Events Sydney has won the 12th Global Investigative Journalism Conference for Sydney for November 2021, bringing the event to the Asia Pacific region for the first time. Melbourne Convention Bureau will host an estimated 950 international delegates at the International Trade Union Congress in 2022, with the conference expected to deliver A$5.7 million in economic impact for Australia. Business Events Perth has secured the 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals, the world’s largest marine mammal conference, for December 2023, with the event expected to bring over 2,000 delegates to Western Australia and inject an estimated A$10 million into Australia’s economy. Bid Fund Program applications, which offer financial support for international events to take place in Australia, remain open here and are assessed on a rolling basis.

Instagram update

Business Events Australia’s (BEA’s) newly launched Instagram account @businesseventsaustralia, continues to promote Australia’s business events offering to audiences around the world. The platform is averaging over 20 million impressions a month with approximately 75 per cent of followers located within BEA’s key international markets - top markets are India, Indonesia and Malaysia. A targeted spend to grow the account’s international following continues, to ensure the channel remains a tool for keeping Australia top of mind as a destination with international planners while travel is on hold.

We are always looking for event related imagery we can feature on the account – think portrait-oriented event moments or set-ups with unmistakably Australian backdrops. If you have images you think may be suitable, please send them to us or tag them on Instagram with @businesseventsaustralia or #MeetinAus so we can share them.

A continued focus on domestic

Applications are still open for the Business Events Boost Program, which enables industry to access financial support for industry-led marketing and distribution projects that encourage events to resume domestically. See the Prospectus for full details and to apply online. Applications close 30 September 2020.

Business Events Australia’s (BEA’s) domestic campaign continues to progress, with insights from a corporate sentiment research project to inform the campaign direction ahead of the launch of marketing activities in Australia when the time is right. The research will measure sentiment amongst domestic corporate decision-makers to understand their attitudes towards restarting events.