China showcases Australia’s business events

Business events corporate decision makers, incentive planners and trade media from Greater China attended a three-day showcase of Australia’s destinations, products and experiences. The annual Business Events Australia Greater China Showcase was held from 24-26 September in Wuzhen, near Shanghai. It was hosted by Tourism Australia and connected 39 Australian businesses with 80 key buyers in the market. The event included presentations on Australia’s destinations, products, experiences and one-on-one business appointments. It also included networking events that gave guests an opportunity to sample Australian food and wine – including a Bloody Berry Pavlova which was crafted by ‘Friend of Australia’ Craig Willis, co-founder of Mr Willis Shanghai, which is a renowned Australian restaurant chain in China. Last year, the Greater China Showcase took place in Melbourne, which was the first time the event had been held in Australia, with 89 leads and three wins to the value of AUD $89.9m (USD$60.2m) generated as a result. For the 12 months to March 2019, Australia welcomed 97,000 business event visitors from China, which was down 3% on the previous 12 months. However, total nights grew by 5% which saw a total spend grow by 8% to AUD $600m (USD $402m). Penny Lion, executive general manager events, Tourism Australia, said: “The Greater China Showcase is one of the most important events of the year for our Australian industry partners to generate leads and build long-term relationships.” “Business events is a lucrative sector for Australia, injecting over $5bn dollars (USD$3.35bn) annually to Australia’s economy, and China is one of our key markets. “We’re excited to bring together our Australian partners for the Greater China Showcase to promote our destination and continue to review the needs of Chinese event planners and corporate decision makers.”