The bureau will use it to try to secure more conferences and incentives for Adelaide.
This $10 million is additional funding over and above what was already committed by the state government in the last state budget.
Business Events Adelaide is now “aggressively” pursuing 20 events set to be hosted between August and December next year, looking to win them for Adelaide.
Over this period, more than 10 events with a collective 5,000 delegates have already been locked in, worth $25 million.
COP31 was a strong possibility for Adelaide to host next November, with Australia competing only against Turkey, and Adelaide confirmed as the Australian host city. However, federal government conceded hosting rights for the event to Turkey during COP30 last month.
Due to the way COP hosts are decided, if neither Australia nor Turkey had withdrawn their bid, the event would have been held in Germany. Turkey conceded their last bid for the event, allowing Glasgow to host in 2021.
“Business events deliver incredible value to our tourism and hospitality sector and Adelaide is now well and truly on the national and international stage to host these events,” said South Australian Premier, Peter Malinauskas, when announcing the funding injection on Tuesday.
“As a government, we are determined to harness this momentum and translate it into even more events for our state.
“Business delegates spend their money in our hotels, restaurants and bars, delivering an immediate benefit.
“Our state has built incredible momentum and now is the time to push even harder and secure the next wave of events that will deliver benefits for years to come.”
Business Events Adelaide is currently working with a $3.1 billion pipeline of potential events over the next five years, with the city having received a boost purely from being touted as a potential COP host.
