Louise Asher, Victorian minister for tourism and major events, recently announced that Melbourne has won six major conferences that will inject an estimated $12.7 million into the Victorian economy.
These international conferences will attract approximately 3,500 delegates to Melbourne over the next three years and include:
• World Congress on Biosensors, 2014
• SME Enterprise Software Technology and IT Solutions, 2014
• Asia-Pacific Diabetic Limb Problems Meeting, 2014
• Ninth International Symposium on Turbulence and Shear Flow Phenomena, 2015
• Annual Conference and Exhibition of the Asia-Pacific Professional Leaders in Education, 2015
• Asia-Pacific Orthopaedic Association Congress, 2016
Asher said these conferences highlight the economic value of business events to the Victorian economy.
“The inaugural Business Events Week (Feb. 25 – Mar. 1) will give the wider community an insight into the positive impact events like these have on the economy, our local industries and Melbourne’s international profile,” she said. “Winning conferences such as these is extremely important to Victoria as we continue to compete against other states to attract these valuable international conferences to Melbourne, which also support Victoria’s $15.9 billion tourism industry.”
“I would like to thank the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) for taking the lead on this initiative and helping to secure these valuable conferences,” continued Asher.
Karen Bolinger, chief executive officer of MCVB, said announcing these wins for Melbourne was a great precursor to Business Events Week.
“Announcing six conference wins for Melbourne starts our busy year off in great stride,” said Bolinger. “MCVB has so much to look forward to in 2013, including the inaugural Business Events Week. A wide variety of events are planned for the week to showcase the value of business events to Victoria and Australia, including the 21st Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME).”
“I would like to thank the Victorian Coalition Government and our industry partners for their assistance and support as we look forward to an exciting year,” continued Bolinger.
The Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Center (MCEC) will be the venue for five of the six conferences.
“MCEC’s in-house technology team is continually developing new ways to integrate the latest technologies, and we look forward to working with the conference organizers to create a seamless conference and exhibition experience,” said Peter King, chief executive of the MCEC.
