Business events sector sniffs extra funding
There’s nothing like a federal election to bring out a pork barrel load of promises.
Only a day after the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) put its hand up for $10 million to fund marketing activities, the opposition Coalition party has offered a range of incentives worth $28 million to attract business events to Australia.
Naturally, the promise has been welcomed by the industry.
Tourism and Transport Forum managing director Christopher Brown said the announcement of a $28 million commitment to promote business events “shows that the Coalition understands the value of business events to the tourism industryâ€.
BECA chairman Geoff Donaghy said, “The establishment of a new National Business Events Fund would be a major boost to supporting industry bidding and bringing more international events to Australia.â€
Lorraine Duffy, chief executive of Australia’s Hotel Motel and Accommodation Association, added, “Business tourism represents a significant income opportunity for accommodation operators and we need to do what we can to encourage events and get back to business as usual, because this crucial sector of accommodation has failed to revitalise following the economic downturn.â€
The offer, of course, rests on the Coalition party winning next month’s federal election in Australia.
Ian Jarrett
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