Western Australia’s (WA) official convention bureau, Business Events Perth, has secured 67 national and international business events set to take place in WA from 2022 to 2024, injecting direct expenditure of A$54 million (US$39 million) into the State’s economy.
Business Events Perth chair Bradley Woods said the organisation was extremely proud to have achieved such a strong result, given the significant challenges the industry has faced.
In total, 108 business events are set to take place in Western Australia from now through to 2024, representing more than 200,000 hotel room nights.
Business Events Perth CEO Gareth Martin said the 67 national and international events secured in FY21 were critical to securing the path to recovery for WA’s business events industry, but was not the organisation’s only strategy at play through the ongoing impact of the pandemic.
“…In the 2020-21 financial year, Business Events Perth supported 190 local business events that have brought more than 82,000 delegates together across the State, ensuring our venues and suppliers had a steady stream of bookings generating much-needed revenue to keep their doors open while we wait for the stable return of national and international events,” Martin said.
Business Events Perth also implemented a major content development strategy to enhance its capabilities in marketing Western Australia as a preferred business event destination via digital channels.
“This has included our 3D venue tours, new website and interactive business event planner, as well as our member content creation programme, which has funded the creation of new marketing assets by our member venues and suppliers,” Martin added.
Other efforts include having dedicated staff representation in major national markets; sponsoring events across Australia through the Keynote Speaker Initiative, with the condition that those events book WA for a future year; and implementing a Member Professional Development Program.
Recently, WA was reported to be the last Australian state to open for business events travel, as the government has announced that it will set a date for open borders when the state hits 80 per cent vaccination.
Data forecast indicates this goal will be hit in early December, with the date for border openings expected to be in late-January 2022 or early February 2022.
