Australia Next’s Melbourne iteration will be held from December 1 to 3 next year.
Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) is already looking forward to hosting incentive planners from around the world.
“[Melbourne is] vibrant, welcoming and well-connected, offering a multitude of ever-changing and exclusive experiences to accommodate everyone,” said MCB’s chief executive, Julia Swanson.
“Our infrastructure paves the way for highly successful business events due to world-leading facilities and venues, [an] extensive transport system and a large range of quality accommodation readily available.
“The city leads the way in events, arts, culture and sport and boasts a year-round calendar of annual events, festivals and shows, underpinned with a rich multicultural history and a food haven for exploration.
“With idyllic proximity of country and coast, a mere 90 [minutes] from the central business district, a wide range of memorable experiences from wineries and stunning coastal scenery to rainforests, waterfalls and wildlife encounters are waiting to be enjoyed by all delegates on an incentive program or conference.”
The event is returning to Melbourne for the first time in more than a decade, with the city having last hosted Australia Next – then known as Dreamtime – in 2013.
Australia Next 2025 will mark the end of an unprecedented three-year run for the showcase, which is traditionally held every other year.
Following the pandemic, which completely shut down even the possibility of international incentive activity in Australia for the best part of two years, Tourism Australia added a special extra edition of the showcase in 2024, creating a series of three back-to-back events.
“As we ramped up efforts to secure a strong pipeline of international business it was important to give more buyers an opportunity to take part,” said Tourism Australia’s managing director, Phillipa Harrison.
“The leads generated from Australia Next are driving real business outcomes which continue to play a critical role in the recovery of the business events industry.”
The 2023 event, held in Adelaide, generated 212 leads worth $192 million to Australia.
The 2024 event in Cairns wrapped up last night with a spectacular dinner inside a converted World War II naval oil storage tank at the Tanks Arts Centre, with pre-dinner drinks outside amongst towering, lush tropical greenery of the Cairns Botanic Gardens.
Following a breakfast inside the Cairns Cruise Liner Terminal yesterday morning, delegates spent the day either out on the reef on the Reef Magic Pontoon or in the rainforest.
On Monday night the welcome event was held at The Sugar Shed amongst the cane fields Cairns is famous for.
