Of the $5 million allocation – to be spent over two years – $3.8 million is for the Business Events Attraction Fund (BEAF), which provides financial assistance to events which choose Tasmania, and $1.2 million is for business events marketing activities.
“The increased investment for marketing will allow us to represent Tasmania at tradeshows nationally and internationally,” said Business Events Tasmania CEO Marnie Craig.
“We are also in the final stages of planning a familiarisation program that will bring more than 60 event planners and key decision-makers to Tasmania who have either never been to the state before in a business event capacity or haven’t been for many years.”
The bureau is aiming to grow the value of business events to Tasmania by more than half over the next four or so years – raising its worth from $199 million each year now to $300 million by 2028.
“The funding provided in the recent budget is critically important if we are to achieve our goal of growing the value of the business events sector in Tasmania,” said Craig.
The Tasmanian Government only established its subvention fund, the BEAF, in 2019, with the bureau taking over its management in 2021.
Business Events Tasmania is targeting both national and international events with its funding. The state’s fund sits alongside the national subvention kitty, the Business Events Bid Fund, managed by Tourism Australia.
