Business events news

“There’s more than enough business to go around”, is the position Melbourne’s events industry is taking on the opening of ICC Sydney. “I think it’s fair to say that Sydney’s healthy and we’re healthy, there are a lot of opportunities for the both of us,” Melbourne Convention Bureau Chief Executive Karen Bolinger told travelbulletin at AIME. “I think it’ll be competitive for a short period of time but I think that’ll dissipate over time and I think that Australia stands to benefit, [more competition] makes it healthy.” Peter King, Chief Executive, Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) echoed Bolinger’s sentiments, insisting events will naturally rotate through cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The next couple of years are set to be competitive from an international perspective, with King predicting there will be a differentiation in the market. “Sydney will attract a lot of Asian-incentive type of business, but we won’t do as much of that,” he told travelbulletin. The MCEC is hardly scrounging for business and seems to be instead bursting at the seams. “Our biggest challenge on a daily basis is fitting in our business… we just physically can’t do much more than we’re currently doing,” King said. “The diversity of events we do here is probably much greater than was ever contemplated when the places were originally built.” To cater for the volume and diversity of events, the MCEC will soon start construction on a $210 million dollar renovation which will see the centre’s footprint increase by about 25%. “[The events industry is] a really vibrant business and I think… the need to meet faceto-face is just getting stronger and stronger and there mightn’t be quite as many big mega-events but there’s a massive amount of events that are generating other events and other meeting usages,” King added. MCEC is reaping the benefits of a thriving industry and has achieved the highest revenue and best operating profit – for three years running. Last year the centre underwent a restructure, bulking up the organisation by 30-odd new staff to reinvigorate the business. “People question as to why, when you’re at your peak, would you consider altering? But we’ve got a longer-term plan than a three-, four-, five-year horizon that we look toward and we’re determined to be the best in the business, so even though the business is in great shape, we need to continually evolve it.” As for the future, King is confident. “We’ve got the next 30 years of revenues planned out and the numbers are very strong and we don’t see any reason to think they’re not going to remain that way at the moment.”

I think it’ll be competitive for a short period of time but I think that’ll dissipate over time and I think that Australia stands benefit’ to Karen Bolinger, chief executive Melbourne Convention Bureau