Melbourne pushes the envelope with fresh products, big and small, that can give corporate programmes a special touch.
There’s movement under the hood of the most livable city in the world.
Melbourne may be known for its expansive sights on the Great Ocean Road, the bustling Victoria Market and a lively theatre scene but the hidden gems are also coming to play to attract corporate visitors.
This can range from a quintessential Australian farm in regional Victoria to a mega international event like the Grand Prix, which surprisingly is far less well-known than the Australian Open in countries like China.
And the key to promoting Melbourne’s offerings seems to be collaboration rather than competition. “There’s a ton of new products and hotels on board,” said Karen Bollinger, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB). “What we’re doing is working with all the major events in Melbourne and figuring out how we can package them together and get them to the market with us.”
Four new hotels have opened just in the city area over the past 18 months, with about 10 more announced for the next three years, including the W and the Ritz Carlton. Also anticipated is the new Hyatt in Essendon which opens in June, next to the newly launched Australian Events Centre, located about six kilometres from Melbourne Airport.
Giving Melbourne’s business events scene extra tools to attract corporate meetings and incentive players are new attractions and services like the state-of-the-art gondola ride at Arthurs Seat overlooking a section of park and ocean views of the Mornington Peninsula and on-trend food truck precincts that will station permanently around the CBD from April this year.
As things are, the city is already doing well for corporate meetings. The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) hosted about 690 corporate meetings last year, representing 66 per cent of their business events pie and bringing in A$12 million (US$9.12 million) in revenue.
“We are on track to have another record year,” said Anne Jamieson, MCEC’s director of customer experience. “We’re looking to do a couple more hundred corporate meetings going into the next financial year and build on that when our new expansion site opens,” she added, referring to MCEC’s A$205 million investment by the Victorian state government to expand its facilities with an opening scheduled for July 2018.
The MCB also had its most successful incentive business year on record in 2015/16, securing the greatest number of delegates for Melbourne annually but the sector appears to be slowing down.
“We’re just noticing that the very large incentive groups aren’t as actively seeking destinations as they were over the last two years,” said Bollinger, who noted the groups that had been coming seem to have halved in size, even though attendance still numbered around 5,000.
To grow the incentives sector, the MCEC is promoting its ability to host a pop-up gala event space that can accommodate 200 to 2000 guests in a highly customisable set-up called Lorem Ipsum, which has only catered to local groups for Christmas events before.
“We found out, in talking with meetings and incentive groups out of Asia that this really appeals to them as well, so we’re in the process of adapting it to be available all year round, not just at Christmas,” said Jamieson. “Asian incentive groups like to show off and make it a unique and fabulous experience. They want to enter the room and go, ‘wow, I wasn’t expecting this!’.”
Bollinger agrees that incentive groups have tailored and bespoke experiences high on their list and catering to that can pay off handsomely.
“They want bragging rights,” she said. “Last year, Amway Taiwan took a large group to Sydney but from that they had 70 people in Melbourne for the Grand Prix and they spent A$1 million, which included helicopter rides to the Great Ocean Road, an amped up bespoke experience to the GP, rides on horses and carriages and meals at some of the best restaurants in Melbourne”.
The MCB has also been reaching out to other tourism players like the Victoria Racing Club (VCR) to join them more actively in overseas trips.
The VRC hosts the annual Melbourne Cup Carnival but has more recently specialised in customised horse racing events for incentive groups which include millinery classes and workshops on how to bet on a horse. “(Our work in Asia) is only now coming to fruition,” remarked Lisa Patroni, head of international tourism for the VRC, which will welcome 200 Mary Kay delegates from China in October.
“We’re quoting a lot more in this space now than ever before, a tenfold increase over the past two years,” she added.
But smaller players are also a significant part of the mix. Green Olive at Red Hill in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula has existed since 2002 but the picturesque farm and vineyard only recently started working with the MCB to attract corporate and incentive groups.
Owner Greg O’Donoghue’s interest in marketing to Asia has brought him to Singapore and China and resulted in his decision to open a new store in the CBD in May and the launch of a body products range.
Other attractions like specialty coffee shops and secret pop up gardens are also in the mix, ensuring that Melbourne remains the city of continual discovery for corporate groups.
