THE Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has had a flying start to the 2013/14 financial year with 10 major international conference wins for the Australian city.
These international conferences, which include International Feng Shui Convention (November 2014), Annual Conference on Global Economic Analysis (June 2015), Annual World Conference on Carbon (July 2017) and World Engineers’ Convention (November 2019), will inject an estimated A$55 million (US$52 million) into the Victorian economy and attract more than 10,500 delegates over the next five years.
MCB’s CEO Karen Bolinger said winning these conferences is testament to the strength of Victoria’s priority sectors of medicine, science and the environment, technology and engineering, and business and education.
“Winning events in these sectors exposes our scientists and industry leaders to international best practice, boosts the skills and experience of our local workforce, and increases access for Victorian industries to international markets,” Bolinger said.
“In addition, business events create positive flow on benefits for small to medium businesses throughout the state by creating significant revenue opportunities for hotels, restaurants and other service providers.
“The competition to attract these valuable international conferences from other states in Australia and countries across the globe is fierce, so it is essential that MCB takes a strategic approach to win these bids; researching, planning and bidding for business events as far out as 2028, and it’s fantastic to see it all pay off.”
Eight out of these 10 meetings will be held at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.
