The data will shed insights on how to target business events that will increase the likelihood of international visitors returning for holidays. Photo Credit: Adobe Stock/Rawpixel.com
The Australian government has stumped up AUD2m to get a clearer
picture of how meetings and business events contribute to the country’s
wider visitor economy.
While acknowledging that business events add roughly AUD36bn in
expenditure to the economy, the government wants a more detailed
breakdown of that figure.
To this end, it is making its largest investment in business events research to date.
The research will measure business events data in international and
national data sets, including bespoke data collection activities and is
being rolled out in two phases:
Phase 1: Tourism Research Australia, has introduced a
new suite of questions to the National and International Visitor
Surveys. These questions have been in operation since January 2023, and
are already collecting data.
Phase 2: Working closely with the Business Events
Council of Australia (BECA), bespoke data collection points including
venues, organisers, delegates, and exhibitors will be rolled out across
the nation.
The new data will help the government decide what kind of
events to target. It will also help the broader visitor economy
understand how it can best benefit from business event travellers and
increase the chance that international business event visitors will
return to Australia for holidays.
Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell said: “The new business events
data project is a critical part of the government’s support for the
recovery of Australia’s business events sector. Better data means
better decisions, better decisions mean better events, and better events
mean a bigger boost for Australia’s visitor economy.”
BECA chair Dr Leo Jago added: “The partnership between Tourism
Research Australia and the industry in this project will ensure that the
correct data are being collected in a manner credible to all levels of
government. To ensure the success of the project to estimate the
economic value of business events, it is essential that industry
participates and provides the necessary data in a timely fashion.”
Source: MIT