Record-breaking financial year for Melbourne Convention Bureau

The Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) has achieved a 25% increase in economic contribution from secured business events this year. This makes the current financial year its strongest economic results ever, reaching an impressive $396m from 176 secured events. They are expected to bring 79,000 new visitors to the state, the highest for the past seven years. The record-breaking figures can be attributed to years of work resulting in several significant conference wins across a diverse range of sectors. These include the Global Public Transport Summit 2021, which is the world’s largest public transport event, the World Ophthalmology Congress 2022, VidCon Australia 2018 and 2019 and General Assembly and Congress of the International Union of Crystallography 2023 – which will collectively contribute over $155 million to the Victorian economy. MCB Chief Executive Officer Karen Bolinger (pictured) said: “We align our bidding strategy with the State Governments priority sectors, and the states strongest knowledge economies. “Victoria is the capital of medical research in Australia and a pioneer in the health sector. We boast some of the world’s most sophisticated medical and research institutes, that drive innovation and advancements that are globally held in high esteem.” Victoria’s corporate meetings and incentive business was significantly bolstered, with MCB securing 134 events which will deliver over $82 million and over 25,500 delegates to the city and regional Victoria. The most significant incentive win was the Cathay Life Incentive tour which delivered over 2,300 visitors to Victoria’s regions and injected $10 million into the economy, with a significant proportion absorbed into regional communities. Bolinger added: “In a highly competitive global landscape it is encouraging to see MCB finish the financial year up on the previous year, and continually deliver more business events visitors to Victoria.”