The Association of Australian Convention Bureau (AACB) has welcomed the federal government’s support of the business events industry, embodied by the attendance of the minister for trade, tourism and investment at IMEX America last week.
Steven Ciobo MP (pictured), visited the show to help promote Australia as a premier business events destination. It was the first time an Australian federal minister had attended an international business events trade show.
Karen Bolinger, AACB president and CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau, said: “It was fantastic to have the minister join us in Las Vegas last week to see, first hand, the highly competitive nature of our industry and the potential for strategic trade and investment opportunities for Australia provided by international business events.
“The timing is important, as Australia’s international rankings continue to drop, falling to 16th in 2016. A decade ago, Australia was consistently among the top 10 most popular countries to host major international association conventions.”
Tourism Australia’s Business Events division was joined at the Las Vegas show by 23 Australian tourism businesses, including AACB members, Brisbane Convention Bureau, Business Events Cairns and Great Barrier Reef, Business Events Sydney and the Melbourne Convention Bureau.
