Tourism Australia has reported a strong start to 2024, with a notable increase in the dispersal of business event attendees across the country, as well as an increase from 74 per cent to 91 per cent in expenditure by business delegates when compared to leisure tourists.
Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia, told TTGmice during an interview at IMEX Frankfurt: “Business events coming to Australia are dispersing really well, which is important for us. Visitors are not just attending events in a single state, but are also travelling to multiple destinations within Australia. We know that 40 per cent of business event attendees extend their stay to visit two or three more destinations.”
“Delegate numbers in our key markets are back to pre-2019 levels, and overall spend has reached A$4.5 million (US$3 million). Also, for every dollar we put in the Bid Fund, we get A$51 back for Australia,” she added. Australia’s top three markets in terms of business travellers spend is the US, China, and New Zealand.
When asked what the strongest business events segment was for Australia, Robin Mack, executive general manager of commercial and Business Events Australia, pointed out that incentives were the strongest overall, then association meetings.
This is why Tourism Australia will be organising a “supercharged Australia Next” this September 2024, revealed Mack. Previously known as Dreamtime, Australia Next is Tourism Australia’s signature incentive travel tradeshow and fam showcase.
“We normally hold Dreamtime once every two years, but we decided to further boost the incentive sector with an additional event in Cairns this September. This shows how strong the incentives market is, in rebuilding the overall tourism sector. We’ve also changed the name so it aligns better with our magazine called Australia Next. After this year, the show will return to its regular programme of once every two years,” Mack shared.
He pointed out that from the most recent Dreamtime held in Adelaide, a total of 211 new leads worth A$191 million was generated, adding that “bureaus are very much on track for their recovery to pre-Covid numbers”.
To bolster its presence in the region, Tourism Australia is looking to fill a new business development manager for business events role based in Singapore to look after the South, and South-east Asia markets. Previously, these regions were managed out of China.
Harrison told TTGmice: “We cannot rest on our laurels in terms of marketing Australia as a business events destination, and we need to make sure Australia is always top of mind because we’re not the easiest destination to get to.”
Fortunately, she shared that air capacities are back to 100 per cent, and these include Turkish Airlines’ Melbourne-Istanbul route via Singapore; the airline’s inaugural flight to Australia. Qantas will also begin a new direct flight between Perth and Paris from July 12, 2024.
“There’s also more direct connectivity to India and Korea, and this is reflected in our arrivals from those destinations. I know Sarah (from Tourism Tasmania) is also working hard on a Singapore-Hobart connection. For Australia, aviation is key, and is something we’re focused on, particularly with new aircraft coming up,” she noted.
