The coat rack was full of puffer jackets, the drinks were poured and a pair of ‘Disco Divas’ were there to add a dash of sparkle to the evening.
With micenet having attended a number of Business Events Victoria’s showcases over the past decade, this was the largest.
There were 100 exhibitors with 50 presentation tables representing all 12 regions of Victoria – from Mildura in the far northwest to Traralgon in the southeast. They met over 120 meeting planners and buyers on a very busy event floor of the Westin in the heart of the Melbourne CBD.
BEV general manager, Chris Porter, spoke to micenet at the event, acknowledging the strong support from regional partners and Melbourne buyers.
“This is a great opportunity for our members to showcase in the city…75 per cent of our market actually comes out of Melbourne. That’s kind of the low hanging fruit, but it does really provide that opportunity for our members to come in and show Melbourne how great it is out in regional Victoria,” said Porter.
“There are some great destinations out there.”
He singled out the Grampians.
“They’ve had some tough times over the last six or 12 months. So it’s great that they’re here because being able to get back into the regions and actually support those communities on the back of [bush]fires is amazing.”
Porter acknowledged that many regional destinations did not have meeting or accommodation capacity to handle larger events, “but the great thing is that the majority of business events are for less than 100 people…and most of our venues have capacity for 70 to 80 rooms”.
He said the recent Amway China event for 16,000 people in Melbourne had a flow on impact for regional Victoria, particularly Sovereign Hill and Phillip Island Nature Parks.
Apart from working alongside Melbourne Convention Bureau, Porter said “we work really closely with New South Wales, Canberra and Brisbane – probably our other three key markets – but it’s a very competitive landscape at the moment”.
“We’re competing not only [against] other regional destinations like regional New South Wales and regional Queensland, which actually has a lot of capacity with larger convention centres and things, we also compete against Adelaide and Hobart.
Porter says he is looking forward to regional Victoria being more competitive next year when Nyaal Banyul Geelong Convention and Event Centre opens with a 1,000-seat plenary and adjoining 200-room Crowne Plaza hotel.
