With the draft visitor economy strategy – Thrive 2030 – released by the Federal Tourism Minister Dan Tehan for comment in late 2021, the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) has called for the strategy to expand its ambition beyond visitor spend and visitor economy jobs. Read more
Despite adopting the new terminology of the "visitor economy" the new strategy continues to focus primarily on leisure tourism.
With singing and dancing now banned through the rest of the peak festival season, major music events have effectively been sacrificed for a return to school and to resume elective surgery in New South Wales. Read more
The trouble for business events, of course, is that there are no formal restrictions preventing them from going ahead, rather corporate and attendee sentiment along with the risk of mass gatherings at the peak of a pandemic wave.
The prestigious Australia Day business lunch held annually at ICC Sydney has been cancelled for a second year with organisers saying it could not fulfil the event objective had it proceeded. Read more
It is a shame this event couldn't find a way to go ahead in some form or another.
As experts debate whether Adelaide has turned the corner this week in its COVID infection rate, the festival city is pushing ahead with major events, some adjusted for COVID safety. Read more
Sometimes it feels like the events industry seems to be surviving on positivity alone.
Organisers of what will be the first large-scale event for the business events industry in Australia this year have ordered over 2,000 rapid antigen tests as it prepares to test all exhibitors and attendees at the event on February 15 and 16 at ICC Sydney. Read more
Great to see an industry event leading on rapid testing protocols.
All parts of New Zealand moved up to red in the country’s traffic light COVID restrictions framework at midnight last night, following a number of Omicron cases that were not linked to the nation’s managed quarantine system for international arrivals. Read more
Sorry to see another country contemplating the start of their Omicron wave.
For an industry that has struggled for decades to articulate its value and ROI, the pandemic has provided a real opportunity for the business events industry to redefine itself.
That’s the view of Nick Millis, home-grown talent and Managing Director – Corporate at MCI Australia.
He says business events have become the backbone of corporate Australia. Read more
Good advice here from a leader of the Australian industry.
The Director of NT Business Events talks about how a number of business events staged in the Northern Territory in 2021 set record attendances, despite the challenging times, thanks in part to strategies put in place by the business events team. Read more
A nice insight into creating successful events in the Northern Territory.
