Joyce DiMascio
Head of Business Events Australia
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30 September 2009
Dear Industry Colleague,
2009 has been a challenging one for the business events sector. However, there are some good reasons to be positive about the future and new business opportunities ahead for our industry.
With Dreamtime 2009 just 12 days away there is a real opportunity for Australia to secure future incentive and meeting business through the hosting of 80 international buyers from 15 key source markets around the world. With these buyers scheduled to meet with Australian business events suppliers in around 2,500 business appointments during the Dreamtime business forum, the potential for writing new business is very strong.
These buyers represent incentive agents who place business on behalf of their clients. They have been selected by Tourism Australia’s in-region teams as well as some of our bureaux partners.
They have been invited to Australia because they have real business to discuss with Australian sellers. So it is a crucial opportunity to present Australia’s offering to this group of important clients and to demonstrate our capacity to deliver.
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The incentive market has been impacted substantially by the global financial crisis. However, despite this buyers are very keen to come to Australia and experience our business events offering at Dreamtime. This is a very good indicator of the high regard buyers have for Australia and will be vital for helping to place Australia front-of-mind as market conditions start to improve.
Beyond the Business Forum – this year for the first time we have added a Leaders’ Forum to the Dreamtime program. It will stimulate thought provoking discussions for our sector by sharing the insights of three innovators representing business events, marketing and academia. I am delighted that Robin Lokerman, President, MCI Asia Pacific and CEO Institutional Division; Lee Stephens, CEO, Aegis Media Pacific; and Prof Roy Green, Dean of Faculty of Business, University of Technology Sydney, will be joining us for this new inclusion for Dreamtime 2009. The Leaders' Forum will be held on Friday 16 October from 11.30am to 4.30pm at Luna Park in Sydney. If you are a senior manager and would like to apply for one of the limited places, please click here. To view the Leaders' Forum program, click here.
We will be challenged and provoked – but most importantly – we will be taking our thinking to a whole new place. This is at the heart of Australia’s business events proposition so I am very pleased to be able to leverage Dreamtime 2009 to do this.
I would like to thank all of our partners who have been working closely with us to deliver Dreamtime 2009. We look forward to working with you in applying the finishing touches to what promises to be an outstanding event program over the coming weeks.
Dreamtime 2009 is a magnificent partnership initiative and we look forward to welcoming all of our guests to this year’s event.
Best wishes,
Joyce DiMascio
Head of Business Events Australia
Tourism Australia |
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Dreamtime 2009 only 12 days away
Tourism Australia’s premier event for promoting Australia’s incentive experiences to the international market is now only 12 days away.
Produced in partnership with exclusive airline partner, Qantas and host destination, Business Events Sydney, Dreamtime 2009 takes the theme, “The story of Australian incentives”, and will host more than 80 incentive buyers from UK/Europe, US, NZ, Asia and Japan.
The new-look Dreamtime program has been announced and includes a business forum component to be held at Luna Park, a Welcome function at award-winning hospitality destination, ivy, and a Gala farewell at the Australian Technology Park.
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Click here to view the new program and Dreamtime fact sheet here
Dreamtime will also host 20 international and Australian media to ensure news of the event reaches target media worldwide.
For more information please contact Jodie Oberg, Dreamtime Manager. |
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Dreamtime educational itineraries
The refashioned Dreamtime program will this year include a first stop in an educational destination for two days of exclusive incentive experiences, allowing incentive buyers to see and experience even more of Australia.
The selected destinations will provide buyers with an opportunity to see, touch and feel Australia’s unique experiences, landscape and destinations. Experiencing an incentive first-hand is the most powerful way to influence a decision to recommend Australia.
All itineraries demonstrate each region’s capacity to deliver unique and personalised incentive programs and have been selected for their strong focus on corporate social responsibility.
Some highlights of the destination educationals include: |
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Brisbane/Sunshine Coast - Hosting United Kingdom and Europe buyers
Riverlife Mirrabooka – local Aboriginal dancers will perform in the natural bushland of Kangaroo Point and teach guests to decorate and throw a boomerang
James St Cooking School – a chance to experience local, seasonal and fresh produce
The Plantation – transported by riverboat along Noosa’s pristine waterways to a beautiful rural homestead for a sumptuous dinner of local produce and Australian wines |
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Melbourne - Hosting Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Japan buyers
Colonial Tram Car Restaurant – a private charter lunch
Famous Flemington – dinner in the International Lounge with a guest chef and Spring Racing Carnival entertainment
Sovereign Hill – participate in activities including gold pouring, mine tour, gold panning, interaction with native animals and archery |
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Adelaide - Hosting Hong Kong buyers
Kangaroo Island – enjoy Kangaroos and Canapés at Southern Ocean Lodge
Seal Bay – a tour of the area
Penfolds Magill Estate – a tour of the famous winery followed by dinner at the estate restaurant |
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Red Centre - Hosting North America buyers
Kata Tjuta National Park – tours and walks, experience Kata Tjuta sunset with drinks and canapés
Table 131 – dinner under the stars at Table 131
Uluru Camel Farm, Harley Rides and Spa Treatments |
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Sydney - Hosting Canada, New Zealand, China, India and Korea buyers
Lunch at an exclusive private residence on Sydney Harbour
Exclusive cooking schools at the Sydney Fish Markets |
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Business Events Strategy Implementation Group to meet at Dreamtime
The third meeting of the Business Events Strategy Implementation Group will be held in Sydney on Friday 16 October during Dreamtime.
The group will meet in the morning and will be part of a VIP visit to the Dreamtime Business Forum area, lunch with international buyers and Australian sellers, and finally attend the inaugural Dreamtime Leaders’ Forum.
Chaired by Jim Starkey, the group oversees the implementation of the recommendations from the National Business Events Strategy for Australia 2020. The group is also working towards a report to the Minister for Tourism, the Hon. Martin Ferguson, in late 2009.
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TABEE 2009 named finalist in the Australian Event Awards
This year’s Team Australia Business Events Educational, TABEE 2009, has been named a finalist in the inaugural Australian Events Awards. Winners will be announced at the Gala event in Sydney on October 8. TABEE is a finalist in the “Best Export Event” Category.
TABEE 2009, which was held in Kuala Lumpur in March, is one of Tourism Australia’s key international business events trade marketing initiatives.
TABEE’s theme this year, “Meet where environment and community matter”, introduced the Corporate Social Responsibility agenda for the first time in the Asian market.
The inaugural Australian Events Awards is a national initiative which will recognise Australian events, event organisers, products and services across the entire industry regardless of event type, size or association membership. |
For more information about TABEE, please contact Thomas Hill, Business Events Trade Programs Manager.
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Business Events Australia booth
at PAICE 2009 in Auckland |
Australia on show at PAICE 2009
Australia dominated the trade show floor at New Zealand's largest Business Events trade exchange, PAICE, in Auckland this month. Of the 80 exhibitors from the Asia Pacific region at the event, more than 40 were Australian business events operators.
As the major sponsor of PAICE in 2009, Business Events Australia provided a strong and united Australian identity at the event.
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The Business Events Australia stand showcased the new corporate and incentive campaign and, for the first time, Tourism Australia had direct access to the 220 buyers through a designated appointment schedule.
Australian sellers reported that PAICE continued its focus on quality buyers with real business to place in Australia.
To view the Business Events Australia 2009-10 Cooperative Trade Marketing Prospectus, click here. For more information about Tourism Australia’s Business Events trade marketing program please contact Thomas Hill, Business Events Trade Programs Manager. |
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L-R Tom Hill, Tourism Australia;
Anthea Somerville, Qantas;
Annabel Sullivan, Brisbane
Marketing; Juliet Lally,
Brisbane Marketing and
Mike Cannon, AACB. |
Business Events Australia congratulates Juliet Lally
The winner of the 2009 AACB Staff Scholarship, sponsored by Tourism Australia and Qantas, was announced at the AACB staff conference in Cairns this month.
Juliet Lally from Brisbane Marketing was chosen from an impressive group of entries. Seven convention bureaux staff applied for the scholarship and presented a range of interesting career development projects.
Her project proposal was to study a green meeting destination – the specific strategies that create a green image for the city and also translate to sustainable environmental practices for events. |
Entries were also received from Rebecca Gauld, Sia Glover and Aimee Klugel from Brisbane Marketing; Virginie LaPlanche-Raynaud from Business Events Sydney; Danielle Ramirez from Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau and Natasha Sellei from Perth Convention Bureau.
The scholarship invites the nominee to select a project that will support their career development and also bring benefits to their bureau.
The scholarship winner receives a Qantas airfare and a cash grant to complete the project.
For more information about the scholarship, including past winners, please click here. |
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Bid wins for Australia and events calendar
Tourism Australia’s Business Events Australia unit, together with the Australian Association of Convention Bureaux (AACB), has assembled a comprehensive calendar of confirmed international association events scheduled to be hosted in Australia.
Updated quarterly, the impressive inventory shows international association events of more than 50 delegates and serves as a testament to the outstanding results being achieved by the Australian business events industry.
Click here to view the calendar.
Tourism Australia also maintains its own events calendar on the Business Events Australia website. The calendar is updated weekly and contains information about upcoming major events as well as business events taking place in Australia. |
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MEA / BEA Program Graduation 2009
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Meetings & Events Australia / Business Events Australia Mentor Program
The Meetings & Events Australia and Business Events Australia will launch the 2009 Mentor Program in North Sydney on 21 October 2009.
The inaugural 2008 Program was launched with 24 participants to address the current skills shortage in the business events sector and aims to improve the industry's overall competitiveness both domestically and internationally.
Mentors come from a variety of roles including corporate governance, marketing, sales, human resources, finance, operations, business management and research. Mentees are selected by an application process.
For further details about this program please click here.
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Convention and Conference data – July 2009
As part of Tourism Australia’s monthly updates on conference and convention visitor arrivals, the Business Events Arrivals - July 2009 Report is now available.
During the year ended 31 July 2009, there were 146,000 convention or conference visitor arrivals, a decrease of 27 percent year-on-year.
The Tourism Australia research team suggest that the year-on-year decline may have been significantly influenced by World Youth Day hosted in Australia in July 2008.
For more information, please contact Evelyn Karantonis, Market Analyst, Corporate Strategy and Research Aviation and Economic Analysis. |
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