News Headlines
Joint push in US
Tourism Australia is partnering with the largest incentive house in the US, Maritz, as part of a major campaign aimed at delivering new corporate C&I business into Australia.
A first for both parties, the strategic partnership is part of a wider campaign by Tourism Australia to raise awareness of Australia's offering and to turn leads into new business.
Managing director Geoff Buckley says the initiative is part of a strengthened focus on business events by Tourism Australia globally. “In spite of concerns about tightening budgets and cutbacks in some markets like the US, now is the right time for Australia to be more aggressive in this marketplace.
“During the past 12 months, the convention and meeting market in Australia has performed strongly and we have seen a significant rise in the sector from the US, with 26 per cent growth in arrivals between November and January compared with the same period the previous year.”
Business Events Australia head Joyce DiMascio says Australia is well positioned to capitalise on its popularity in the US. “Three out of four employees would choose Australia over any other country as their incentive choice.”
Maritz, based in St Louis, runs more than 2900 programs a year with more than 350,000 participants. Joint activities in the one-year deal with Tourism Australia will include a direct mail campaign, joint sales calls and increased visibility throughout Maritz's top incentive accounts.
DiMascio says the partnership will be valuable for highlighting Australia's credentials in the area of sustainable business events as the US market is keen to connect with corporate social responsibility experiences.
Other Tourism Australia initiatives for the US market include an Australian incentive roadshow next month, visiting Minneapolis, Dallas and San Francisco, and famils for incentive agents and corporate buyers to Australia later this year. Tourism Australia will also exhibit at key incentive and corporate trade shows including MPI, IT&ME and the Incentive Travel Exchange.
Overseas delegates up 9pc
Visitors arriving in Australia for conventions or conferences are increasing at a greater rate than overall overseas arrivals, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show.
During the year ended January there were 188,800 convention or conference arrivals, an increase of 9 per cent year-on-year. Overall business arrivals were up 6 per cent while there was just a 2 per cent increase in total arrivals (5.6 million).
Released by Business Events Australia, the figures are gathered from passenger cards completed by international visitors entering Australia.
While New Zealanders led the charge for meetings, their overall total dipped by one percentage point (46,472 arrivals) compared to a 6 per cent rise in total visitors (1,132,277). But in the last quarter, there was a 6 per cent rise in both categories.
With a 12 per cent rise (matching that of Canada), the US gave Australia its second-highest number of overseas delegates (22,498). Total numbers were up only 0.3 per cent for Americans but 6 per cent for Canadians.
China (19,162 delegates, up 48 per cent and the largest increase of any country) and Japan (10,965 delegates, up 1 per cent) came in the third and fourth positions.
Both India and Korea showed strong growth in delegate visits, rising 37 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.
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Demand sparks Brisbane growth
Record bookings for international conventions have paved the way for a $130 million expansion of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says the centre has achieved record profits each of the past three years, generating more than $200 million annually for the state economy. The addition will allow it to host more than 250 extra events each year (it already hosts an average of 900 events a year and has 1000 bookings).
Work is expected to start soon and finish in 2010.
Meanwhile, extension work has started on the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre, raising its banquet capacity to 4000 people and increasing the seating capacity of the arena to 6000.
General manager Adrienne Readings says the centre has been the catalyst for the growing popularity of the Gold Coast as a conference and entertainment destination. “The centre has virtually tripled the region's capacity to handle large conferences, incentives, exhibitions and special events.”
About 1000 delegates and their partners, from 78 countries, comprised the largest contingent hosted by the centre. They were attending the seven-day conference of the International Association of Agricultural Economists. Up to 15 concurrent sessions were running at any given time and the centre chef had to cater for an array of the dietary requirements.
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Time to celebrate
Sydney-based DMS Destination Marketing Services celebrated its 15th birthday at Zest @ Royal Motor Yacht Club with company founder Leila Fiedler cutting the cake surrounded by staff members.
With 12 people on the payroll, the company represents more than 40 worldwide business partners such as DMCs, hotels, resorts and venues.To mark the milestone, DMS also launched its new logo at the birthday bash.
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Win for convention centre chef
An Adelaide Convention Centre chef has won the Lexus Young Chef Award, announced in Sydney .
Melanie Gowers, 29, beat competitors from around Australia in a contest judged by such top chefs such as Rockpool's Neil Perry, the Grange's Cheong Liew and Luke Mangan from Sydney Hilton's Glass Restaurant.
Her win caps off an award-winning month for Adelaide Convention Centre, with its restaurant Regattas Bistro taking out the Best Modern Australian Restaurant title at the Restaurant & Catering South Australian Natural Gas Awards for Excellence 2007.
“Food is an essential part of the convention experience and we pride ourselves on serving meals that would appear on the plates of some of the best restaurants in the world,” says the centre's chief executive Alec Gilbert.
Gowers has spent most of her career at the centre, and her national win gives her the chance to represent Australia at the S. Pellegrino Cooking Cup in Venice next July as well as visit the source of Pellegrino mineral water in the Italian Alps and the source of Acqua Panna mineral water in Tuscany, plus she will tour France's Champagne region for two days.
She also wins a return flight from Sydney to London by Virgin Atlantic, with one week's work experience at Nobu London and one week's work experience at The Waterside Inn in Bray , UK . There is also a return flight from Sydney to Tokyo , where she will have a week's work experience at Salt Tokyo.
Plus there is a two-day trip to Henschke in the Eden Valley, South Australia, for a tasting in the cellars with Stephen and Prue Henschke. And as well as a trophy and certificate, Gowers receives $5000 in cash.
Adelaide Convention Centre food and beverage manager Sujoy Dey says Gowers started as an apprentice at Regattas Restaurant before specialising in patisserie.
“Her food is creative and intelligent. She is passionate about the environment and regional produce, and this is reflected in her cooking which is modern and innovative,” he says. “She is extremely motivated and always looking at ways to update her skills and stay on top of trends.”
Dey says the competition was judged on a full menu, not just desserts, allowing Gower to showcase her range of skills.
Regattas Bistro is a contemporary restaurant with indoor and outdoor seating offering river and parkland views across to historic Adelaide Oval.
