Culminating a financial year that included retaining Australia’s number one ICCA ranking; securing the ‘Space Olympics’, COSPAR 2020; and welcoming one of the largest Amway China business groups, Business Events Sydney (BESydney) chair, The Hon. Bruce Baird AM, this week announced financial results at the organisation’s AGM.
Baird said the year had seen 93 international business events with an estimated A$228.3m (US$301m) in direct expenditure secured for the state of New South Wales (NSW). He added that 85 events had been delivered during the financial year with an estimated direct expenditure of A$170.1m. Calendar year-to-date (2017) shows record levels of business fuelled by growth in the Asia market, which has delivered an average 20% year of year growth over the past decade.
“The results that BESydney has achieved in the past 12 months, building on last year’s strong performance and exceeding all their targets is testament to the continued hard work of the team, and their dedication to building long-term trusted relationships that ultimately underpin success,” said Baird.
NSW minister for major events and tourism, The Hon. Adam Marshall MP, said the strong results significantly contributed to the state’s standing as Australia’s best event state.
“Sydney and NSW future is looking stronger than ever before with the city and state riding high as the global epicentre of international business events following the opening of the highly anticipated International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). The results reported by BESydney has proven the success of this investment across government and industry, amplified by the strong support and whole-of-city approach to securing and hosting events during a period without a convention centre,” said Marshall.
BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith, added: “The future of our company and Sydney’s position as Australia’s leading destination for business events has never been stronger. Looking forward, we have secured 81 international business events with an estimated direct expenditure of A$337.4m to be held in 2018-2023. These results aren’t simply due to BESydney’s effort, they are the outcome of the successful relationships we have developed across our partner network, business and academia, and at all levels of government, all of whom understand the importance of international business events and their impact on innovation and international collaboration.”
The AGM also saw James Granter (pictured), general manager sales at Luna Park Sydney, elected as new members’ director, replacing Deanna Varga.
