Destination South Australia 2021 opens in Adelaide, heralding return of one-on-one live networking

With Adelaide Australia’s only state capital with an end-to-end Covid Safe health and safety plan for visitors, the city became the first city in the country to host a 2021 face-to-face national business planning exchange event when Destination SA opened 10-13 February. The event is the Adelaide Convention Bureau’s (ACB) annual national showcase and the bureau tells CMW that this year, in particular, it has required, “plenty of planning flexibility, resilience and positivity, in order to host key domestic decision-makers in the destination”. DSA 2021 will incorporate elements from prior years’ Destination South Australia, while also maintaining a Covid Safe space for business events. East coast event planners and local members are meeting in-person over three days for face to face event showcasing and planning. “We have some 110 delegates in total, with 27 event planners arriving in town – and 11 choosing a high-quality virtual experience,” said ACB chief executive Damien Kitto. “There is excitement and encouragement at the ACB now we can get those one-on-one face to face business planning sessions back on our agenda so early in 2021 for 33 local exhibitor members in attendance,” he added. “Everyone is keen to end the day of meetings and a two-day famil of the best we can offer, with new business events locked in as we rebuild in this 2021 life we are calling ‘living with Covid’.” Kitto said he was sure visiting event planners would be impressed by what the city is offering with additional new hotels – Adelaide Oval Hotel, EOS by SkyCity, Crowne Plaza and Indigo – and upgraded or new venues with strong government-endorsed Covid plans. “The fact the ACB has managed to have 85% of our 2020 events postpone into this year and next rather than cancel, is testimony to how excellent the Adelaide business event offering is,” he said. “Typically, the event would write A$40m (US$31m) in future business for our members and of course we continue to emphasise that delegates (and their families should they choose to bring them) have a plethora of enviable places to relax and enjoy themselves post work – from the high-octane motor racing track at Tailem Bend to enjoying some of the world’s best fortified wines at Seppeltsfield,” Kitto added and said bringing business events to the city demanded consistent and expert management that met the breadth of requirements delegates needed and demanded. “These events assist our economy, and we are pleased with our reputation of being a destination that delivers,” he concluded.