The research piece surveyed 160 associations and 499 incentive decision makers from the corporate sector from 14 different key markets for Australia.
The survey found that safety and security of the destination was the number one decision factor for both associations and incentives.
For incentives the rest of the top five destination decision drivers were value for money, the range of accommodation options, good food and beverage and quality business events facilities.
For associations, the rest of the top five comprised the quality of the business events facilities, infrastructure, a strong local sector in the association’s field and ease of access.
Destination sustainability factors were important to less than half of both association and incentive decision makers but more important to the incentive sector than to associations. Just 22 per cent of associations said sustainability credentials were a must-have compared to 42 per cent of incentive decision makers.
The research found that corporates were looking to hold an average of one incentive a year over the next five years while associations were planning an average of 12 conferences over the next decade.
The majority of both sets of decision-makers are expecting their budgets to increase, with 64 per cent of incentive decision makers expecting an increase in the next two to four years and 63 per cent of associations expecting an increase over the next decade.
Thirty per cent of incentive decision-makers are planning to hold an event in Australia over the next three years and 33 per cent of associations will have an event in Australia over the next decade. Alongside this, 57 per cent of incentive decision makers are considering Australia for an event within four years.
International understanding of Australia’s business events capabilities indicates there’s room for growth, with 52 per cent of incentive decision makers and 43 per cent of associations having a good understanding of Australia’s business events offering.
Australia rated highly amongst decision makers from both camps against a number of factors. Incentive decision makers ranked Australia second globally for its appealing climate, friendly locals, Indigenous experiences, world class beauty and natural environments and ability to cater to foreign language speakers.
Association decision makers ranked Australia first in the world for 17 different attributes including for being safe and secure and for its infrastructure.
“According to the latest research, the outlook for international events in Australia is looking bright, with one in three decision-makers surveyed actively planning an event in Australia in the next three to 10 years,” said Tourism Australia’s executive general manager of commercial and Business Events Australia, Robin Mack.
“This positive outlook is an opportunity for the Australian business events industry to capitalise on this strong awareness and drive conversion through strengthening business events decision makers’ understanding of Australia’s unique offering.
“It’s positive to see spend for international business events is expected to increase, and with bigger budgets comes bigger events – our research also shows upcoming business events globally are expected to have more attendees compared to the past five years.”
