Australian event management company Arinex has started their 50th-anniversary celebrations this week in Cairns, kicking off a bumper week of business event activities which will showcase the destination’s capability to host sustainable meetings, conferences and incentives.
Tourism Tropical North Queensland partnership and events general manager Rosie Douglas said: “Hosting Arinex highlights the importance of business events to the Cairns economy and the Arinex passion for sustainability strongly ties in with our destination’s push to reduce the carbon footprint of events.
“As Australia’s first certified carbon neutral event company, Arinex wants to offset their event and delegates will join the first tree planting in critically endangered Mabi rainforest on the Atherton Tablelands as part of our Reforest Carbon Offsetting program for business events.”
Earlier this month, Cairns hosted the Strata Community Association Queensland annual conference. In the coming months, Cairns will be hosting the Australian Society of Sugar Cane Technologists National Convention, and the Australian Banana Industry Congress at the Cairns Convention Centre.
“Strategic conferences like these during the shoulder season help to build the capacity and profile of our local industries while bringing in delegates who tend to spend twice as much as a leisure visitor and often return for a holiday with their family,” said Douglas.
Cairns Convention Centre’s general manager Janet Hamilton is positive about the upcoming events for Cairns, as the venue completes its A$176 million (US$117 million) expansion.
Douglas added that the region would also be hosting event planners from Korea and Japan for a four-day education programme showcasing the destination from March 30. Then on March 31, Cairns will be hosting the Business Events Cairns and Great Barrier Reef Conference.
“With business events returning we want to ensure our industry is armed with the latest insights into how our region can capitalise on opportunities for international and national events,” Douglas said.
