Australia sees rebound in business events

THE business events industry in Australia has finally recovered from the recent economic downtown, according to the latest report from Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) which shows a rise in international conference delegate numbers last year as the nation increased its share of the global meetings market.

According to the BECA 2012 State of the Industry Report, 190,000 people visited Australia in 2012 to attend a conference or convention, up 11 per cent on 2011.

New Zealand remained the major source of conference visitors, with numbers rising 2.5 per cent since 2011, while convention arrivals from the US, China and Japan grew 26 per cent, 23 per cent and 16 per cent respectively.

At the same time, Australia’s ranking on ICCA’s top destinations for international association meetings rose to 13th spot in 2012 comapred to 16th in 2011.

The State of the Industry Report also reflected a smaller deficit between inbound and outbound convention travel with a 10 per cent rise in arrivals and a three per cent decline in departures.

BECA executive manager, Inge Garofani, said in a press statement that a majority of the key performance indicators showed continued growth for the industry, which had now recovered from the impact of the recent global financial crisis.

“The outlook is extremely positive. We are ahead of our 2020 target for arrivals and well on track to achieving our goal of being an A$31 billion (US$29.2 billion) industry by (that year),” said Garofani.

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