Australia is looking at a promising re-start for business events in 2022 after a challenging year that saw most states close their borders to domestic travel and months of lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne. While international borders will open from November, industry watchers are predicting business travellers will start flowing in early next year.
“We are thrilled to see our borders starting to re-open, which is a positive and crucial step towards the recovery of the business events industry,” said Tourism Australia’s (TA) executive general manager commercial & business events Australia, Robin Mack.
“Research suggests that once travel is unrestricted, organisations are ready to do something significant to acknowledge all that’s happened, and they will have the funds to do so from not running face to face events for some time,” he continued.
TA’s research was conducted in May to test sentiment across associations and incentive sectors. There are also programmes to ensure that events get the support they need to run in 2022.
TA will continue marketing activities and partnership programmes for the domestic market, like the Business Events Boost Program, which received an additional A$1 million (US$749,339) earlier this year to help convert events for FY2021/22. An industry vaccination initiative, It’s our best shot for events, also launched recently.
Internationally, TA has been keeping the destination front of mind through its distribution activity and marketing initiatives like Australia Next, an incentive publication for key international markets. The Business Events Bid Fund Program, which received an additional A$3 million in funding to cover new pledges and bids for an additional 12 months throughout 2021/22, “continues to drive conversion for international business events,” said Mack.
As of 26 August, 46 events have been won via the programme.
Destination Gold Coast’s Board of Directors has appointed Adrienne Readings as chair of the tourism body, following the step-down announcement of Paul Donovan, who held the position for 17 years.
Readings will be working closely with the Board and the team at Destination Gold Coast to represent the interests of Gold Coast’s 4,400 tourism businesses and the 35,000 people employed by the sector. She has served on the Board of Destination Gold Coast for 17 years and formerly acted as vice chair.
In total, she possesses more than 30 years’ experience in business events, tourism management and hospitality.
Readings is also the general manager of Australia’s largest regional convention centre, the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), the first woman to be appointed general manager of an Australian convention centre.
In her role at GCCEC, Readings successfully identified and developed commercial opportunities for the Gold Coast and oversaw the delivery of billions of dollars of economic impact to the region.
Readings said in a press statement: “The next two years is all about our city’s recovery and creating a blueprint for future success to attract more visitors, more often and to grow expenditure for the Gold Coast.
“It has been a heartbreaking 18 months for our industry, but I see so much opportunity ahead of us with the return of interstate visitors in a matter of weeks and eventually international markets, a future pipeline of A$179 million (US$129 million) in business events opportunity for the city as well as working with peers to strengthen the future of the region through new infrastructure, development and city connectivity.”