Melbourne
is to host Tourism Australia’s largest trade marketing
event in December, Dreamtime 2013, helping to
further grow the $12 billion plus business events
sector.
Announced
today by the Minister for Tourism, the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP,
during the opening of the inaugural Business Events week in
Melbourne, Dreamtime 2013 will bring together 125
internationalbusiness events decision makers (buyers) with the
Australian business events industry to experience the
destination’s capabilities for doing business.
Tourism
Australia Managing Director Andrew McEvoy said Dreamtime was part of
a broader strategy to promote Australia as a business events
destination internationally and deliver economic benefits to the
sector.
“Dreamtime
gives the Australian business events industry a platform to
do business with well qualified international buyers from
key markets such as China, Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, India, Singapore,
Malaysia, Indonesia, New Zealand, North America and the United
Kingdom,” Mr McEvoy said.
“The
format of the event provides an opportunity for the Australian
industry to demonstrate their expertise in delivering bespoke
corporate incentive experiences as well as hosting large scale gala
events.
“With
its combination of state-of-the-art infrastructure, monumental
architecture, abundance of green spaces, and a sophisticated dining
scene, Melbourne has a strong offering for key business events
decision makers looking to achieve real results from their
corporate incentive
programs,”
Mr McEvoy said.
During
Dreamtime 2013 international business events buyers and
media will be hosted in Melbourne where they will participate in a
city showcase, business sessions with Australian industry
and networking dinner events. Three days of educational visits will
follow, giving buyers and media the opportunity to experience one of
many Australian destinations first hand.
Melbourne
Convention Bureau CEO Karen Bolinger said hosting Dreamtime 2013 was
a tremendous business
opportunity for the city.
“Being
the host city for Dreamtime is a major coup for Melbourne, as it will
allow us to showcase the city’s corporate and incentive offering to
key markets from across the globe,” Ms Bolinger said.
“Melbourne
has always had a collaborative approach to bidding for and securing
incentive business. We worked closely with our partners to
prepare the Dreamtime program which will enable us to highlight
Melbourne’s unique attributes as an incentive destination.
“Melbourne
has an impressive track record in hosting large incentive groups,
such as the Amway India Leadership
Seminar for
4,000 delegates in December, 2012, which is a testament to the
diverse range of activities on offer and the ability for the city to
cater for groups of any size.
“The
city boasts a huge menu of amazing experiences, which are tailor-made
to each individual or group, making the city a planner’s and a
delegate’s dream destination,” Ms Bolinger said.
Mr
McEvoy said that in an intensely competitive global marketplace,
Tourism Australia’s business events industry partnership
approach to securing international business events was
delivering strong results.
“Business events
is one of the key areas of the Tourism 2020 strategy to enhance
growth and competitiveness in the tourism sector, with the aim to
increase tourism spending to as much as A$140 billion by the end of
the decade,” Mr McEvoy said.
“Specifically
the business events industry is looking to grow to A$16
billion annually in value by 2020 and already we are well on track to
achieving this goal.
“The
industry is making strong progress, with overnight expenditure
by business events visitors in Australia increasing to
A$12.5 billion in 2011, up from A$10.3 billion in 2010,” Mr McEvoy
said.
