$43M FOR VIC EVENTS

THE Victorian State Budget handed down last week has helped provide certainty for the Melbourne Convention Bureau and Business Events Victoria, allocating combined funding of $42.913 million over four years.

Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) will receive $41 million, with CEO Julia Swanson saying the commitment was recognition of the “essential role business events play in the Victorian visitor economy, and their contribution to innovation, job creation, trade and investment opportunities, for the benefit of the whole community”.

She said the investment would boost MCB’s presence in the national business event space, allowing for a greater focus targeting short lead-time events.

Swanson noted that MCB had continued to work to secure high yield events for the city out to 2028, while the organisation is currently managing bids worth $547 million with the potential to contribute 254,000 room nights to Melbourne.

Meanwhile on a smaller scale, Business Events Victoria (BEV) will receive a four-year allocation of $1.7 million to continue its work in attracting business events to regional parts of the state, with the organisation’s Executive Officer, Chris Porter, saying the announcement allows BEV to ensure its continued long-term strategic planning.

However he added that BEV would “continue to strongly advocate for additional funding to support the ongoing attraction of business events in regional Victoria, through a Business Events Support Fund”.

Porter said this would ensure the state’s regional areas are competitive with other destinations across the country which already provide significant financial support.

“We see the Business Events Support Fund as being a critical missing element to ensuring that regional Victoria remains competitive in attracting these national business events, both now and into the future.”