Perfect timing for Bid Fund announcement - Number of international business events in decline
Today, the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB) released its latest edition of the Forward Calendar of International Business Events, containing an analysis of bids won, lost and bids in the pipeline by AACB’s members for the years ahead (from January 2018).
Andrew Hiebl, CEO of the AACB says that the timing of the Tourism Australia Business Events Bid Fund could not be more perfect as the number of business events won for Australia has declined.
“New data shows a decline in the number of international business events secured for Australia into the future (361 down from 396 six months ago). A total of 304 international business events were lost, translating to $1billion in delegate expenditure that will now be spent in other countries.
“The timing of the recent bid fund announcement is important. Only a decade ago, Australia was consistently among the top 10 most popular countries to host major international association conventions (International Congress and Convention Association’s country rankings). In 2016, our ranking dropped to 16th in the world.
“We are confident that the decline in our international positioning can be reversed with this increased investment from the Australian Government, helping Australia secure more international business events. There are currently 236 international business events in the pipeline, with potentially half a billion dollars in expenditure to be won.”
The number of delegates and associated total delegate spend expected from business secured has seen an increase, showing the strategic efforts of convention bureaux to attract more high-yielding business events to Australia. The top 3 industries attracted by the number of events include Health Care and Social Assistance (33.5%), Professional, Scientific and Social Assistance (18.3%), and Financial and Insurance Services (6.9%).
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Forward Calendar Report
- The January 2018 edition of the Forward Calendar Report can be viewed here: https://aacb.org.au/forwardcalendar
- The full calendar list of events accompanying the report will be made available to AACB stakeholders and partners in hard-copy form. If you’re interested in receiving the full calendar list, please enquire at info@aacb.org.au.
For more information please contact:
Annika Hofsink
Marketing & Communications Executive
Association of Australian Convention Bureaux
Phone: 1300 692 222, 0437 460 809
Email: annika.hofsink@aacb.org.au
This story was featured in:
- Business Events News, International Events in Decline: AACB, 28 March 2018
- CIM, Australia on a losing streak for international bids, 29 March 2018
- Micenet, International event wins in decline: AACB, 29 March 2018
- Conference and Meetings World, Aussie hopes on Bid Fund to arrest BE spend decline, 28 March 2018
- Global Travel Media, Perfect timing for Bid Fund announcement: Number of international business events in decline, 29 March 2018