Supporting industry and getting recovery ready

With business for the global and Australian events industries paused during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Business Events Australia (BEA) is working on recovery plans to optimise Australia’s positioning now and once events and travel resume, to drive more business for Australian industry.

We see our current role as having three key elements: continuing to keep Australia top of mind internationally while COVID-19 restrictions are in place; delivering a series of recovery initiatives to position Australia in what will be a competitive market post-pandemic; and supporting the Australian industry with partnership opportunities and insights to assist and inform activities through the recovery phase and beyond.

See a snapshot of our recovery plans below and stay tuned as we delve deeper into projects as they develop.

Communication with industry remains as important as ever during recovery, so please contact the BEA team if you have questions or feedback; and send your news and updates through to [email protected].

Recovery plans snapshot

BEA’s recovery plans are focussed on building desire for Australia in key markets while the world moves through the phases of crisis recovery.

Central to our recovery strategy is a complete brand and asset refresh, including a review of the Global and China BEA websites and an innovative approach to content delivery. We’ve increased our content-led media buy to maintain presence in market while travel and event restrictions are in place, from highlighting to the association audience Australian’s medical role in the global coronavirus fight to offering our pick of Australian virtual experiences to incentive planners in the USA.

To further increase business leads for local industry we’re delivering virtual training to international business event planners to help them pitch and promote Australia to their clients. To complement this, a new international planner toolkit will provide assets to assist in-market planners with pitching Australia. We’re also developing a delegate-boosting toolkit to help drive visitation to events already confirmed for Australia.

We’re investing in research to provide Australian industry with insights into the factors that influence destination choice for international business events.

Apply now for Advance Program funding

Applications are open until 1 June for our Advance Program which offers financial support to Australian industry for international business events marketing and distribution projects. Projects should demonstrate the potential to influence international business event decision-makers or attract international delegates to events already confirmed for Australia. The program aims to support projects with a minimum funding request of $10,000, through a matched funding arrangement in which the applicant contributes the remainder required to complete the project, either through a direct financial contribution or through contributing in-kind resources.
For full eligibility and application details or to see what kind of activity is supported, read the Advance Program Prospectus.

Australia ranks 12th for association meetings worldwide

The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has released its global rankings of association meeting destinations for 2019 and Australia has come in at number 12 – up one place from last year. Three Australian destinations placed in the top 100 cities worldwide, with Sydney placed 20th overall, five spots higher than last year, and Melbourne also inside the top 50 cities at number 48, while Brisbane is ranked 66th. Other Australian cities on the list are Perth (183), Adelaide and the Gold Coast (both at 210), Canberra (289), Cairns (332) and Hobart (424). The rankings are based on the number of international association meetings held in each destination, with Paris topping the city list globally and the USA remaining the top ranked country.

Resources for industry

Tourism Australia’s Corporate website has information on government support and assistance available for the business events and tourism industries during the COVID-19 pandemic. Business Events Australia is also monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation in our key markets through contact with customers and tracking international trade media coverage of the global industry response.

Australia Next goes digital

As we work to keep Australia top of mind as a business events destination in key markets, we’re delighted to debut a digital version of Australia Next, BEA’s self-published magazine of bite-sized Australian incentive inspiration. This inaugural edition is specifically for New Zealand planners and has been distributed in market via trade publication Meeting Newz. We’ll be launching digital versions for other key markets in the coming months.