SOME 150 members of Amway Taiwan’s Diamond Club will enjoy a bespoke programme on the final day of the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne next March, in what will be the first major international incentive group to be hosted at the sporting event.

Speaking exclusively to TTGmice e-Weekly, the Australian Grand Prix Corporation’s business development manager, Darian Misko, said the concept had been a couple of years in the making.

“An enquiry was made a couple of years ago and at our event in 2015, we hosted a familiarisation for four people from Amway. They fell in love with it,” Misko said.

“We’ve had a number of groups that have booked MotoGP tickets, but from an F1 point of view, this is the first of its kind,” he added.

Working in partnership with Australian Tours Management, the Grand Prix Corporation has customised a programme for Amway Taiwan, which includes an exclusive Amway-branded suite in the Paddock Club, a behind-the-scenes tour of the event, pit lane walks, photo opportunities and co-branded merchandise.

Post 2016, the Grand Prix Corporation plans to actively pursue the incentive market.

“We’ve been predominantly focused on the domestic corporate crowd and get 25,000-plus corporates that attend across the four days, which is huge,” said Misko. “But we’ve got to look at new markets and new ways of generating interest and getting more people to the event.

“Amway have indicated they want to use it as a case study within the global network of Amway and we will then rely on our partners and hopefully they will have the confidence to promote it to their networks,” he said.

WITH just over a year until it opens its doors, the International Convention Centre (ICC) Sydney continues to receive “strong interest” from Asia, CEO Geoff Donaghy told TTGmice e-Weekly during the Pacific Area Incentives & Conferences Expo in Auckland on Wednesday.

“Asia is a dynamic and important market for Sydney, and along with the rise in associations and decision makers in the region, we expect continued and increasing business enquiries,” Donaghy said.

He added: “Many Asian buyers and clients will have already experienced successful events at ICC Sydney’s sister venue Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre. As a result, they will be familiar with the high quality of facilities and service provided by ICC Sydney’s manager, AEG Ogden.”

To sustain the momentum in the lead up to December 2016, the ICC will remain active in the market. In partnership with Business Events Australia and Business Events Sydney, the centre will be attending Business Events Australia’s North East Asia Showcase and the South East Asia Roadshow next year.

And while they’re keeping mum on the number of bookings they’ve received out of Asia and their targets for the market, the hallmark event secured from the region for the new centre is the Amway China Leadership Seminar, which is expected to attract upwards of 10,000 delegates in March 2017.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be hosting an event of such prestige, scale and importance. It is certainly an event befitting of the capability and grandeur of the new ICC Sydney.”

AN INNOVATIVE programme aimed at rallying local support for bids on sporting conferences ahead of the 2018 Commonwealth Games has been rolled out by the Gold Coast Business Events.

Speaking to TTGmice e-Weekly at the Pacific Area Incentives & Conferences Expo on Wednesday, manager of Business Events, Shannon Thwaites, said introducing the Gold Coast Business Events Future Bid Leaders Grant was part of the CVB’s strategy to increase sports focused business events.

“It provides opportunities for locals affiliated with international Asia-Pacific conferences to apply to work with us to bring their conferences to the Gold Coast,” she said.

Successful applicants linked to a professional sporting association or corporation will receive A$2,500 (US$1,778) to attend a national conference or A$5,000 to attend an international conference with the goal of bringing that event back to the Gold Coast.

The Gold Coast has already demonstrated its sporting prowess with Badminton Australia announcing on Saturday the Queensland city’s successful bid to host the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Surdirman Cup in 2017 in conjunction with the BWF Annual General Meeting, fending off competition from Scotland.

Meanwhile, the city is also undergoing extensive redevelopment in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games, which to date includes a new G:Link light rail system. According to Thwaites, it’s the “only tram in the world you can take a surfboard on”. Stage two of this project will link the light rail to the heavy rail to Brisbane.

The destination’s shopping mecca, Pacific Fair, is in the midst of its A$670 million makeover, which upon completion in 2016 will feature two full-line department stores, 400 specialty stores and an indoor/outdoor entertainment precinct.

Gold Coast Airport will embark on a multimillion-dollar upgrade in early 2016, which will give it new aircraft stands and a three-level terminal, while construction is underway on the six-star Jewel Hotel to the tune of A$1 billion.