Melbourne’s business tourism landscape is rapidly evolving, driven by a resurgence in demand, aviation routes returning with a vengeance, and innovative opportunities for events.
A new regional convention centre in the pipeline is also expected to open up fresh events possibilities, potentially allowing delegates to bypass Melbourne city entirely, and redirecting economic activity to regional areas.
In 2024, Melbourne expects to welcome about 85,000 international and national delegates across 130 events, including 40 international association events, or about one a week.
The Chinese market also appears to be returning, with Amway China bringing in 10,000 incentive delegates last April, marking the first time an incentive event of that scale has returned since the pandemic.
“The events sector in Melbourne is performing incredibly well, and we are getting strong demand coming out of Asia. We are seeing a really high volume of events coming through with strong attendance,” Julia Swanson, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, told TTGmice.
“Many events have been in renewables, new energy, business, sociocultural engineering, and education.
“We’ve also got the fastest growing hotel pipeline in Australia, so together with the new (regional) convention centre in Geelong opening in 2026, we have a growing capacity for events and are certainly expecting continued economic growth.”
Among the new accommodation infrastructure is a mixed-use development that will open early next year in a new part of Melbourne opposite the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), featuring dual hotel brands in TFE Hotels and A by Adina. It will also offer an event space for 1,000 people.
Another notable hotel brand to make its mark is a 62-storey luxury flagship Shangri-La, which will likely open in 2025.
“To have that ultra-premium, Asian brand in Melbourne is a huge asset, and it’s in a beautiful location with phenomenal views of the city from one direction and the heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building on the other,” added Swanson.
Also highly anticipated is the Elysian Fields, a proposed A$1.7 billion development on a 27,000m2 site to build the world’s first futuristic luxury wellness hub combining modern health, ancient wisdom, and neuroscience, within fairly close proximity to the MCEC.
There is robust activity on the aviation front too.
“In terms of connectivity to Asia, we are seeing those last few gaps that were prevalent after Covid reopen, alongside new services. Beijing Capital Airlines is launching a new Melbourne-Hangzhou route in June. With five direct flights per week, Hangzhou will be the eighth destination in mainland China to connect to Melbourne,” said Swanson.
Vietjet Air is also now connecting Melbourne to both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and December 2023 saw non-stop flights from Mumbai via Air India commence.
Joining the party soon is South Korea’s Asiana Airlines, which will run four flights weekly between Melbourne and Seoul for a seasonal service from July to December, which Swanson expects to “really make a difference in welcoming back our Korean attendees”.
Legacy-wise, Melbourne is keeping on the front foot, continuing to innovate its events and putting new stakes in the ground. Responding to what it saw as a growing appetite to gather the brightest minds in finance, a new Asia Pacific Financial Innovation Summit was built and held in April 2024, and developed with the state government and finance professionals. Within six weeks of its announcement, it attracted 600 delegates including global financial sector heavyweights Blackstone, Apollo, and Cornell Capital.
“It’s events like that, that we are looking to do a bit differently. It didn’t exist, so we identified the gap in the market, rallied some of the talent here and their global connections, and created something new in Melbourne,” said Swanson.
In the meantime, big expansion plans are underway for regional Victoria. The new Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre is expected to open in early 2026 in the state’s second-largest city, where there is already a hive of activity with government offices, Deakin University, and research centre CSIRO.
It is expected that Avalon Airport, located 15km from Geelong, will grow to accommodate more international flights, creating the potential for event delegates to enter Victoria directly and experience incentive offerings in the area, and also serving as a gateway to the Great Ocean Road for leisure trips.
“It just adds another offering to our toolkit when we are selling Melbourne and Victoria internationally,” said Swanson.
Andrew Yeo, director of technology for APAC at BCD Meetings & Events, has been dedicated to products, solutions, and more for over five years. With a robust background in business development, analysis, project management, and planning, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the team.
