Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) chair Matthew Hingerty says it’s time to “step up” and recognise the important role business events play in the tourism sector.
His comments follow the release of the first report on the business events sector in a decade, showing business events were worth $23.1 billion dollars to the Australian economy in the 2013 – 2014 financial year.
Commissioned by the Business Events Council of Australia, and co-funded by the Australian Government, the report also found the sector provided close to 180,000 jobs and provided major benefit to regional areas with 178,000 regional events hosted.
Hingerty says he was there when the results were released and the economic contribution even surprised those stalwarts in the industry who were part of it.
Hingerty says while the sector isn’t as ‘sexy’ as tourism, that shouldn’t “diminish” it.
He says it has been seen as secondary in the past “because everyone gets leisure travel, but most find it harder to comprehend the value of business events.”
“Most people understand tourism, but not all of us go into the lab and invent drugs, but we all travel, so we have ownership of that.”
Matthew Hingerty, Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) chair
He says this report was the “starting step” to change that, but it’s important the broader benefits aren’t overlooked – with the industry providing key support for infrastructure development, business relationships, knowledge transfer and industry investment.
“Politicians would firstly think about sporting and cultural events, but there’s a larger contribution and regional benefit .. and we need to see ourselves as part of the industries, not separate from that.”
He says BEC itself is taking up that mantra and he’s meeting with the health sector in coming days to see “how we can help each other to grow.”
Hingerty says going forward there’s a particular need to keep fighting for international market share “and if that means the minister needs to be in front of key people in Asia, then that’s what should occur.”
Read full report: http://www.businesseventscouncil.org.au/files/View_Report.pdf
