Australia unites behind single events brand
MELBOURNE – Tourism Australia and 16 of the country’s convention centres and convention bureaux have united behind a single brand to target international association business.
In a significant move that ends years of destinations going it alone with their international marketing, the Team Australia Associations Project will be funded to the tune of A$1.8 million over three years to raise awareness of what Australia has to offer as a business events destination.
The project hopes to address Australia’s loss of market share of international association meetings, which the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) values globally at more than $12 billion.
Canberra Convention Bureau CEO Robyn Hendry, the joint chair of the project committee, said the initiative to target association conventions brought the Federal Government and the traditionally competitive state-based convention bureaux and centres together for the first time.
“For the first time we will have a united brand through which we can support local bids for major events and undertake delegate boosting activities once events are secured,†she said.
The Federal government and the Australian Association of Convention Bureaux (AACB) will each contribute $300,000 annually to support the initiative.
Joyce DiMascio, head of Business Events Australia, and co-chair of the project, said the united approach was a shift in strategy for Tourism Australia to directly address the increasingly competitive market for association events.
Asia will be a key target for the project thanks to a stronger economic recovery in the region compared to the lingering impact of the GFC in Europe and the United States.
“Geography is working to our advantage, There is a distinct benefit of being located close to Asia,†said DiMascio.
Ian Jarrett
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