November 17, 2022 | By Bronwen Largier | Image credit: Tourism Australia
The strategic business events bidding organisation for Australia’s largest city has released its results for the last financial year, which show 192 events were secured for Sydney through a combination of bid wins and government programs.
Amongst the events BESydney worked with over 2021-2022, are 31 national and international bid wins, worth $132 million in direct expenditure and expected to attract 47,000 delegates.
Through funding programs supported by the NSW Government during the pandemic, the organisation also locked in 161 domestic events, which are estimated to be worth $27 million to the state in direct expenditure.
BESydney also retained 50 per cent of business which has been impacted by the pandemic and Australia’s associated near two-year international border closure.
Looking further forward, by the end of the 2021-2022 financial year, BESydney had 72 global and national business events booked in for Sydney to 2029, worth an anticipated $450 million to the local economy and expected to attract 109,000 delegates.
“In the final quarter of 2021-2022, BESydney saw a return of global business events to Sydney heralding an exciting new era,” said Bruce Baird, chair of the BESydney board, at the organisation’s recent annual general meeting.
BESydney’s CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said she was proud of the work the organisation had done over what was another pandemic-impacted year.
“BESydney launched an international brand campaign, hosted in-market activities, resumed in-person international and domestic briefings, delivered four research programs, attended in-person global trade shows and participated and shared insights at national and international forums across Asia, Europe, North America, and the Pacific,” she said.
“Strategic partners and members remained at the forefront, as we stepped in to support them via fee relief and additional marketing profiling to keep them top of mind in key markets.
She said the disruption caused by COVID-19 gave the BESydney the opportunity to reflect.
“In FY 2021-2022 our rally call was dare to rise, to build back best. For all its challenges, the pandemic moved us to reconsider what we do and how we do it.
“This spurred us to embrace change and reimagine the role of business events as we rebuild, to showcase our industries, innovation, and visitor experiences to the world.
“We know that business events contribute to economic strategy and attract talent and capital that empower cities to lead globally. This provided BESydney with a clear purpose in the last financial year and the direction to build back best in FY 2022-2023.
“The forward pipeline of events is strong with future business to 2029 comprising 85 global and national events that will generate an estimated $483 million in direct expenditure and attract 111,000 delegates to our city,” said Lewis-Smith.
