ABEA was formed from the merging of the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux, the Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) and the Australian Convention Centres Group, comprising all of Australia’s largest centres.
In its first full year of operations – after officially coming into being on July 3, 2023 – ABEA doubled its founding membership through recruitment of new members not part of the associations which came together to form ABEA.
The association says it is also approaching 100 per cent member renewal for the current financial year.
“The success of ABEA is felt most keenly by members,” said ABEA CEO, Melissa Brown.
“That our members are renewing for their second year is a testament to the collective effort of the whole community.
“Our focus on delivering tangible benefits, fostering connections and driving industry representation has clearly resonated.
“There is certainly much more to be done however we look forward to building on this success and further strengthening our industry.”
One of the renewing members is Novatech Creative Event Technology, based in Adelaide.
“We initially joined ABEA to ensure South Australia had a voice within the new organisation as we believe it is vital the South Australian perspective is conveyed in all lobbying, decision making and strategic direction for the industry,” said Novatech’s director of sales and marketing, Ashley Gabriel.
“We enjoy all of the opportunities ABEA provides to connect with other like-minded businesses, share best practices, provide professional development for our staff and contributing to the future direction of our fabulous industry.”
While there remains three associations serving the business events industry, meaning the “one voice” ambition which motivated the formation of ABEA has not quite been achieved, the three associations remain open to collaborations that suit the interests of their memberships.
ABEA will be hosting its first national conference and awards in December at ICC Sydney.
