The Australian Business Events Association ABEA has taken the business events sector’s national priorities directly to national politicians, organising a Federal Parliamentary Friends of Tourism networking evening at Parliament House in Canberra this week.
More than 100 representatives from across business events and tourism attended the networking evening, hosted by ABEA and the Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC).
The event provided an opportunity to highlight the role business events play beyond tourism, contributing to productivity, innovation, trade, investment, skills and knowledge across the Australian economy.
The engagement builds on ABEA’s recent National Vision Summit and ongoing work towards a stronger, more coordinated national approach to business events.
Attendees at the event included senator Don Farrell, assistant minister for tourism senator the Hon Nita Green, Tourism Australia managing director Robin Mack, David Littleproud MP, and senior leaders from across the tourism and visitor economy.
ABEA chair Peter King said the event provided an important opportunity to deepen government understanding of the economic and strategic value of business events.
“Business events advance productivity, innovation, trade, investment, skills and knowledge across sectors including health, defence, clean energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing,” King said.
“Investment in attracting major international conferences delivers real returns. The Tourism Australia Bid Fund Programme results over the past three years demonstrate an ROI in the vicinity of 50 to one.
“Business events create legacies that extend well beyond the event itself. They bring global expertise and investment into Australia, build knowledge and connections across industries, and we do that every week of the year. We are a catalytic industry.”
ABEA CEO Melissa Brown said the association wanted to continue working with government and other industry bodies to build a national business events strategy that recognises the role our sector plays not only in tourism, but in productivity, innovation, investment, trade and skills.
ABEA is also working with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), through Australian Chamber – Tourism, on a government-supported review of THRIVE 2030, the national visitor economy strategy, including the development of a dedicated national business events strategy within it.
“We are pleased to see the support from the Trade and Tourism portfolio for progressing this work,” Brown said.
In August, ABEA hosted Australia’s Business Events Future: A National Vision Summit at ICC Sydney, bringing together 20 representatives from ABEA, Tourism Australia, Austrade, ACCI and across the business events sector.
The Summit’s objective was to make strides towards a national ambition for the sector to 2040 and to develop six priority advocacy areas, creating a framework for ABEA’s next phase of engagement with government.
This week’s Canberra engagement is an early step in progressing that work, with ABEA advocating for a whole-of-government approach that recognises the contribution business events makes across tourism and the wider economy.
