Joyce DiMascio
Head of Business Events Australia |
12 May 2009
Dear Industry Colleague,
As the year unfolds our industry continues to face challenges. Feedback from around the industry shows that business is up for some operators and down for others. It is a very mixed landscape as shown in the latest ABS data (see story below).
We will continue to monitor the sentiment of our clients especially those that participate in our trade showcases and familiarisation visits and work to keep Australia top of mind as the destination for future corporate meetings and incentive business. We are also tracking the impact of swine flu and have attached Tourism Australia's latest update for industry partners, click here.
In the pipeline over the coming weeks we have major corporate famils from Asia and New Zealand as well as IMEX in Frankfurt. |
In Sydney, we will be rolling out our plans for 09/10 trade marketing program which includes a new campaign for the corporate meeting and incentive market, an expanded editorial and PR program, an enhanced website and a range of trade events, famils and exchanges. The biggest will be Dreamtime to be held in Sydney in October, along with five educational destinations. These are Melbourne, Adelaide, Northern Territory, the Sunshine Coast / Brisbane and Sydney.
I am pleased to report we had an extremely successful TABEE in Kuala Lumpur in March and our evaluations have now been completed. The event provided an outstanding vehicle for connecting buyers and sellers…and for uncovering specific pieces of business. We can report satisfaction levels of 98 per cent for buyers and 97 per cent for sellers plus over 50 quotes issued in just two days. This is very good news and we thank our partners for continuing to support this trade event in Asia. See TABEE story below.
We also received the good news this week of Business Events Sydney's success in securing the right to host 12,000 - 15,000 Amway delegates in 2011. Tourism Australia was delighted to support Jon Hutchison and his team win this very exciting event.
So as we go forward, our job and that of our partners is to continue marketing and selling the benefits of meeting in Australia. As you can see from this eNews we have a packed program over the months ahead.
Best wishes,
Joyce DiMascio
Head of Business Events Australia
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Abhilasha Jain and India buyers at TABEE 2009
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Inaugural Business Events Australia India Mission Tourism Australia is leading an inaugural mission to India to explore new opportunities in the business events market. The mission is scheduled for November 2009 and is designed to provide Australian Convention Bureaux with the opportunity to be introduced to the key players in the growing meetings market in India and help build greater insight into the way this market works.
The mission will take participants to both Mumbai and Delhi with Tourism Australia’s in-region team making introductions with targeted clients in this market.
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It is supported by Team Australia, a partnership between Tourism Australia and Australia’s Convention Bureaux. Calls for expression of interest to participate will be invited in late May 2009.
For more information please contact Tom Hill, Business Events Trade Programs Manager. |
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Business Events Strategy Implementation Group
The Minister for Tourism, The Hon. Martin Ferguson AM, MP has established the Business Events Strategy Implementation Group (BESIG).
This group is made up of representatives from industry associations, organisations in the Business Events sector and Tourism Australia.
The group will hold its first meeting on 18 May in Sydney and will then meet twice annually to monitor the implementation of some elements of the strategy. |
The establishment of the group follows the National Business Events Strategy 2020, which was presented by industry to the Minister in October last year.
To read the strategy, click here. |
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The Dreamtime host team - Tourism Australia, Business Events Sydney team and Qantas
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Dreamtime 2009 update
Dreamtime, Australia’s premier quintessential incentive event will be held from Monday 12 to Friday 16 October 2009. The program will have a new format providing a business, educational and social environment for Australian destinations and sellers to connect with qualified international buyers whilst showcasing Australia’s most outstanding incentive experiences.
Offering a dual destination for buyers and media, the program will include a two-day educational coordinated by one of the five Convention and Visitors Bureaux in Melbourne, Sydney, Adelaide, Sunshine Coast/Brisbane and the Northern Territory, followed by a business forum and gala event in the host destination of Sydney. |
Dreamtime 2009 is being held in partnership with the primary sponsors, Business Events Sydney and the exclusive airline partner, Qantas. Seller registration to attend Dreamtime will open in July 2009.
To view the program, click here.
For more information about Dreamtime 2009 and how to get involved, please contact Jodie Oberg, Dreamtime Manager. |
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Business Events Australia at ATE 2009
Business Events Australia will meet with industry at Australia’s largest tourism trade event, the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in June 2009 in Melbourne.
Tourism Australia will be one of the first clients to road test the new Six Star Green Star rated Melbourne Convention Centre with the ATE Eastern hemisphere welcome function and Western hemishphere farewell function to be held in the foyer of the still-to-be opened venue. |
With a booth on the Tourism Australia stand and an appointment schedule, Business Events Australia will be promoting the 2009/10 Co-operative Trade Marketing Program.
For more information about ATE 2009, click here. |
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UK agents experience Cairns and Melbourne Tourism Australia’s Business Events team last month hosted a six-day familiarisation trip to Cairns and Melbourne for meeting planners from the United Kingdom’s top incentive houses.
The familiarisation was delivered in partnership with the Cairns & Region Convention Bureau and the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau.
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Visitors were treated to a day on the Great Barrier Reef, the magnificent view of the Twelve Apostles and an exclusive chef’s table dinner with Australian Indigenous chef Mark Olive.
The breadth of sustainable incentive options on offer in Australia impressed the buyers, with each Business Events familiarisation visit now incorporating a strong corporate social responsibility (CSR) focus.
For more information about Business Events Australia’s famil program, please contact Tom Hill, Business Events Trade Programs Manager. |
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Strong business interest shown at TABEE
Sellers at TABEE 2009, held in Kuala Lumpur in March, reported that business discussions were strong. An evaluation of the 38 Australian sellers at TABEE has shown that these operators received over 160 business lead enquiries resulting in over 50 quotations being issued in just two days.
Evaluation data shows that both corporate and agent buyers had real business to discuss and agents were looking to place larger meetings. |
Over 80 per cent of business discussed at TABEE was incentive based, and 50 per cent of the programs were for between 50 and 200 delegates. Based on business discussed at TABEE, the strongest Asian markets for the Australian Business Events sector are China, Malaysia, Taiwan and India. Furthermore, both buyers and sellers recorded extremely high overall satisfaction with TABEE. Buyer satisfaction is recorded at 98%, and seller satisfaction at 97%.
To view the TABEE 2009 video, click here.
TABEE remains a strong platform for Australian sellers to meet qualified buyers from 11 key markets in Asia. TABEE 2010 will be held in a different location in Asia in March 2010. |
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L to R Prof Leo Jago, Victoria University; Geoffrey Lipman, UNWTO; Jane Foley and Sue Williams, City of Melbourne; Joyce DiMascio, Business Events Australia and Stuart Toplis, Tourism Victoria
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Tourism Australia shares stage with UNWTO
Tourism Australia joined the City of Melbourne Sustainable Tourism Forum last month, an event that featured a keynote address by Geoffrey Lipman, Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
Sponsored by Tourism Australia, the forum highlighted Melbourne’s strategic direction for sustainable tourism and how it makes good business sense to take this approach.
Speakers addressed the new challenges posed by the current economic environment and the need for Australia to demonstrate that tourism is part of the solution towards building sustainable communities.
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To read Tourism Australia's Business Events CSR Audit, click here.
To read Tourism Australia's Green Event Checklist, click here.
For more information on Melbourne’s plans for a sustainable city, click here.
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Welcome Charesse to UK BE team
Tourism Australia’s Business Events Manager, UK and Europe, Lene Corgan is going on maternity leave from 22 May 2009 and we are pleased to announce the appointment of Charesse Smith to the role.
Charesse has previously worked for Gold Coast Tourism Bureau and Tourism Queensland. Her first business event in the new role will be IMEX 2009, taking care of the Australia stand #B320.
We warmly welcome Charesse to the team and give Lene our best wishes for the impending arrival of 'Baby Corgan'. |
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Tourism Australia’s Japan business events activities
The Tourism Australia Japan office has been promoting Australia as a business events destination through Japanese trade media partnerships. Travel Journal, one of the major travel trade magazines in Japan, is one of the partners which has been targeted in recent promotional programs.
In April, content on Australia as a business events destination was seen on the popular MICE website Travel Vision,
the second largest travel trade media in Japan. |
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Tourism Australia news
New Tourism Australia fact sheets
Tourism Australia’s Global Public Relations team has produced a portfolio of updated editorial that can be used as content in media and marketing services. This material can be used by the Business Events sector to support bid documents, PR material and general destination based content.
To view the fact sheets, click here.
Tourism Australia Market Briefings highlight sustainability
Tourism Australia presented a series of tourism market briefings around Australia in March and April 2009. The briefings delivered the latest market intelligence on Australia's top tourism markets, changes in the marketplace and expectations for the next 12 months, in-market activities for 2009 and analysis of issues and trends that affect international and domestic tourism. They also contained a segment on Sustainability and the Environment in Travel Marketing.
To view the presentations, click here. |
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Convention / conference statistics – March 2008
As part of Tourism Australia’s monthly updates on conference and convention visitor arrivals, the Business Events Arrivals - March 2009 Report is now available.
During the year ended 31 March 2009, there were 177,400 convention or conference visitor arrivals, a decrease of 4 percent year-on-year.
The best performing convention or conference markets to Australia by country of residence for the year ended 31 March 2009, compared to the same period in 2008, were Germany, Canada and the Philippines which posted increases of 23, 18, and 6 per cent respectively.
For more information on business events visitation data contact Evelyn Karantonis. |
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