Destination Gippsland takes collaborative approach to attract more events

Australia’s Gippsland is working harder to attract even more business events, and build on the A$50 million (US$34 million) in economic benefit that it has generated in the past 18 months.

The regional destination, located an hour from Melbourne’s CBD and roughly the size of Switzerland, has its events ambition supported by Events Gippsland, a collaborative effort launched in July 2022 by six Gippsland Councils to acquire events and strategically develop home-grown events.

Destination Gippsland’s CEO, Terry Robinson, said: “From bed nights to branding and the myriad of social benefits, events can bring a destination to life. They work to reduce the impacts of seasonality and enhance dispersal throughout our towns and villages, growing visitation and increasing expenditure across the region.

“Events are also proven to encourage repeat visitation. Recent research in East Gippsland indicates that three-quarters of event attendees would not have gone to a destination if not for an event. An event is the main reason for 57 per cent of first-time visitors and 69 per cent of repeat visitors to visit a region.”

Prior to the official formation of Events Gippsland, a Regional Events Strategy 2020-2025 was developed. Led by Destination Gippsland, the strategy was supported by the Latrobe Valley Authority and developed in collaboration with all six Gippsland Councils.

“The strategy identified that by investing in, developing, and acquiring regional and major events as a collective, we can deliver a return of A$62:1 to the Gippsland region. With such a compelling proposition, the State Government (Latrobe Valley Authority and Regional Development Victoria) supported the activation of Phase 1 of the strategy with grant funding,” Robinson elaborated.

Soon after, an Acquisition Fund was developed to enable Events Gippsland to support Gippsland Councils with matched 1:1 funding. “The ultimate goal is to create a perpetual fund, with significant funds invested that can provide events with ongoing funding,” he said.

Events Gippsland is supported by a range of initiatives, such as an ambassador programme, the Events Volunteer Pool, and an events school to develop skills, expertise and leadership across the region.

When asked how business was for 1H2023, Craig Debnam, CEO of Lardner Park, said that it has been “amazing”, as the venue has been “booked solid almost every weekend in the last six months”. Events ranged from private corporate training to Farm World, an agricultural field day and lifestyle event that attracted over 40,000 visitors, including 500 multinational brands and exhibitors, over three days.

While the upcoming winter will be quieter, Debnam said there would be a “solid portfolio of events” in 2H2023.

Lardner Park is Gippsland’s largest conferencing and events centre, and features a 1,000-seater event centre, and two 2,500m2 pavilions overlooking rolling green pastures and hills.

Still, numerous hurdles stand in the way of being able to market a regional destination successfully.

Robinson told TTGmice: “The key challenge in marketing Gippsland to corporate groups is limited financial and human resources in comparison to Melbourne or larger regions. Looking back at the events landscape in Gippsland 18 months ago, it was also not uncommon to see competition within the region, and a duplication of effort and resources, which created costly inefficiencies.”