The funding was first offered to support communities impacted by the 2020 bushfires and was continued during the pandemic. The grants are now part of Victoria’s $170 million Regional Tourism and Events Fund.
Delivered by BEV in partnership with Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) the fund offers grants of up to $80 per delegate, to a maximum of $40,000, to eligible event organisers wishing to host business events in regional Victoria. The program also includes funding for international incentive events.
Chris Porter, general manager of Business Events Victoria, said the timing of the announcement was designed to target the AIME audience and followed an earlier funding round last October, which resulted in 50 applications being received.
He said 19 events were funded through the October round and would be staged in the regions over the next 12 months. These events are expected to inject $3.5 million into the regional economy and generate 7,400 delegate days.
“Business events play a critical role in driving visitation to Victoria regions, this funding will go a long way to further encourage and support these important business events for Victoria, strengthening business prospects across communities throughout the state,” Porter said.
The most recent funding round not only attracted events from within Victoria, but some successful applicants were attracting city and interstate participants, said Porter.
While the state’s larger regional hubs, such as Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Traralgon and Shepparton, were successfully attracting events, Porter said there was a good spread of destinations chosen as event hosts across Victoria including Gippsland and the Murray region.
The first event to be supported by the last round of funding will be held in March 2025 in Geelong.
