APEC – not all fun and Olympic Games, you know…………………..

A report in The Sydney Morning Herald says that while “Brand Sydney” will receive a big work-out during the APEC meetings in Sydney in coming days, will it help reinforce the positive image between protesters and police, coupled with the potential for public damage, will it send an image overseas that will contrast sharply with the positives from hosting the 2000 Olympics Games?

The Government and large companies are focused on the positive spin-offs from hosting the event, while overlooking the negatives, with researchers at the University of Technology, Sydney, are assessing the economic impact of the meetings, but earlier plans to release forecasts of the impact have been deferred. Rather, the university will do a study to be released after the event, fostering speculation that the negatives may overwhelm the positives.

“There is the view that events do generate large economic impacts; often that is not the case,” Larry Dwyer, the Qantas Professor of Travel and Tourism Economics at the University of NSW, said.

“Often there is ‘leakage’, with money ‘leaking’ out of the local economy as a result of the event. I’m somewhat sceptical that they bring the positives that some say.

“With APEC you’ll get a lot of people leaving Sydney and the state, to avoid the congestion, resulting in leakage from the state economy, with people spending money they would have spent here somewhere else.”

“And if people chose not to come here at that time, that will be money lost.”

Overly optimistic estimates of the number of visitors for APEC have caused heartburn for hotels, with reservations failing to meet earlier forecasts.

“Overall, to say we’re disappointed is an understatement,” said David Elliott of the Australian Hotels Association. “The figures touted two years ago haven’t materialised.”

Rob Harris of the Australian Centre for Event Management at the University of Technology, Sydney, said: “With APEC there are two sides to the equation – people making use of their trip to Australia to hire venues and event-related components, supplies of [audiovisual] equipment, catering and the like.”

“On the other side of the equation is the cost – the considerable cost of security.”

“This, coupled with the opportunity cost of shutting down the city for periods of time, which is not to be underestimated, it is a fairly complex equation.”

“With something like this, there are lots of variables.”

Unlike the Olympic Games, there are no significant capital costs, so there won’t be legacy capital cost problems to be dealt with.

For the NSW Government, the early arrival of the US President, George Bush, will cost $2 million a day, with the public holiday on Friday to cost the state $10 million or more.

Lost productivity is expected to cost business about $550 million, with the total cost to the Federal Government of hosting the event put at about $220 million.

While it may be easy to criticise the cost and inconvenience of hosting events such as APEC, it may be the inevitable price Sydney must pay if it is to stay on the global map.

NSW is now also matching other states in aggressively touting for large events, following a review by the Australian Rugby Union head, John O’Neill.

Report by The Mole