INDUSTRY NEWS
INDUSTRY NEWS
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
ICCA signs new ‘ Association relations partners ’
Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau , Monaco Convention Bureau and Tourism New Zealand have signed up as new International Congress and Convention Association ( ICCA ) Association Relations Partners .
Malaysia drops Formula 1
Malaysia will host their final Formula One ( F1 ) Grand Prix when their contract finishes in 2018 . An annual fixture on the F1 calendar since 1999 , the race at the Sepang International Circuit has seen a steady drop in viewing numbers and ticket sales .
New Zealand ’ s record-breaking year for conferences
New Zealand has celebrated a record year for international conference business , exceeding its 2015 / 16 target of 60 conference bids with 71 international bids and a 72 per cent success rate . New Zealand has now set its sights on 80 international conference bids in the 2016 / 17 year .
Oman wins Orthopaedic World Congress
The Oman Convention & Exhibition Centre in Muscat has announced it will host the 2019 SICOT ( International Society of Orthopaedic Surgery and Traumatology ) Orthopaedic World Congress in association with the Pan Arab Orthopaedic Society .
Anthony Wong wins Moises Shuster Award
Anthony Wong , general manager of AOS Conventions & Events in Malaysia , has been awarded the International Congress and Convention Association ’ s ( ICCA ) highest honour during the Farewell Dinner at the 55 th ICCA Congress in Kuching , Malaysia .
Proposal for new NZ tourism infrastructure fund
Four of New Zealand ’ s key tourism leaders have jointly released a report to the Minister of Tourism proposing the establishment of a NZ $ 130 million annual fund to address the infrastructure challenges that tourism brings , particularly for regional communities .
The report is the result of work commissioned by the chief executives of Air New Zealand , Auckland Airport , Christchurch Airport and Tourism Holdings Limited .
The report proposes that a National Tourism Infrastructure Levy be created comprising of a 2 per cent national bed levy across the accommodation sector and a NZ $ 5 increase to the border levy which would raise NZ $ 65 million per annum from the industry . Matching funds from the government would bring this to NZ $ 130 million per annum to fund local tourism infrastructure needs . It also recommends that the fund have a formal review every
Fresh analysis of the business events industry has found delegates attending international meetings , incentives , conventions and exhibitions in Australia will spend more than $ 750 million across the next decade .
However , the analysis released by the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux ( AACB ) also shows there is still scope for growth .
“ More than 360 international business events will be held through until September 2023 , according to the AACB Forward Calendar ,” said AACB CEO Andrew Hiebl .
“ More than 190,000 global experts , thought leaders and influencers will travel from overseas to attend these business events , with total delegate expenditure expected to top $ 750 million .
“ The analysis found one in four business events attracted to Australia by the AACB ’ s members are in the health sector , while one in five business events attracted to Australia are in the professional , scientific and five years to ensure the funds are being appropriately applied .
“ By working together , industry and government could establish an independent entity that would bring greater discipline and commercial rigor to investment decisions than any of us could achieve on our own ,” said Grant Webster , Tourism Holdings Ltd CEO .
Delegates to spend big over the next 10 years
technical services sector .
Hiebl also says the analysis shows how competitive the international business events market is – there were 235 bids that Australia made for business events across the next decade which were unsuccessful .
One in five business events attracted to Australia are in the professional , scientific and technical services sector ( totalling 48,000 delegates ). While financial / insurance services and retail trade sit and sixth and seventh respectively for number of international events on the forward calendar , they rank third ( 26,000 ) and fourth ( 23,000 ) for number of delegates attracted . More than half of international meetings and conventions are known to have a dedicated trade component .
AACB members also have 157 international business event bids on their books worth an estimated $ 350 million , which will attract around 85,000 international delegates to Australia if successful .
6 Convention & Incentive Marketing , Issue 8 , 2016 www . cimmagazine . com