Australia’s International Business Events Sector The Economic and Strategic Value Proposition Conference on the Value of Meetings, JMIC 2015

The Value of Business Events to Australia Over 37 million people attended more than 412,000 business events across Australia in 2013 – These business events directly generated $28 billion IN DIRECT EXPENDITURE $13.5 billion IN DIRECT VALUE ADDED 179,357 DIRECT JOBS $23.1 billion TOTAL ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION (GDP)

The Hon Julie Bishop MP Minister for Foreign Affairs Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Australia’s economic diplomacy agenda is based on four key pillars: 1.promoting trade 2.encouraging growth 3.attracting investment 4.supporting Australian business.

The Hon Andrew Robb AO MP Minister for Trade and Investment Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Trade priority areas : Food and Agribusiness Advanced Manufacturing Infrastructure Resources and Energy Health Services Inward investment priority sectors: Agribusiness and food Major infrastructure Tourism infrastructure Resources and energy Advanced manufacturing, services and technology

The Hon Ian Macfarlane MP Minister for Industry and Science Department of Industry and Science Industry Innovation and Competitiveness Agenda Four overarching ambitions: 1.A lower cost, business friendly environment 2.A more skilled labour workforce 3.Better economic infrastructure 4.Industry policy that fosters innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Association of Australian Convention Bureaux is the peak business events network driving economic prosperity for Australia.”

15 city and regional Convention Bureaux responsible for: Destination marketing Business development Staff: 180 FTE Members: 1,600 members Funding 2013/14 60% from State/Territory Government 12% from Local Government 10% private sector 17% marketing and in-kind Less than 1% from Federal Government (eg. EMDG)

Goals: 1.To ensure that the business events industry is understood and recognised as a key sector of the visitor economy and a major contributor to the broader economic prosperity of Australia. 2.To ensure that positive policy and funding decisions are made by governments and their agencies to support economic growth through the business events sector. 3.To drive knowledge transfer and the professional development of AACB member staff.

Australia’s International Business Events Sector: The Economic & Strategic Value Proposition Direct Economic Value Policy Alignment Opportunities and Imperatives

Business Events: Delivering Economic Prosperity for Australia Economic Action Strategy 1.Continued Support for International Marketing 2.Promote Australia’s Comparative Advantage 3.Maximise Opportunities for the Nation 4.Realise Return on Investment

Attracting Business Events to Australia: Role of Government Agencies Bidding for an Event Support of Federal Ministers & Trade Commissioners Marketing an Event Promotion of Australia as an International BE destination On-shore assistance from Austrade Export Market Development Grants Leveraging an Event Business Matching programs Maximise trade and investment, business and skilled migration opportunities Maximise delegate attendance and regional dispersal Develop case studies on event legacies

AACB MARKET INTELLIGENCE PROJECT The Forward Calendar MeasureResults as at 1 October 2014 Business Events718 Business Events with Exhibitions222 (31%) Event Days1,124 National Delegates239,711 (933, 632 delegate days) International Delegates131,158 (618, 503 delegate days) Total Delegate Days1, 552, 135

AACB MARKET INTELLIGENCE PROJECT The Pipeline MeasureResults as at 1 October 2014 Business Events431 Business Events with Exhibitions136 (32%) Event Days931 National Delegates137, 272 (585, 888 delegate days) International Delegates71, 062 (386, 666 delegate days) Total Delegate Days972, 554

“Broadly, we find that Australia’s innovation system is a mid-range performer among Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The evidence suggests that our innovation performance is lagging, potentially leaving us less resilient to future global shocks.”

“If the goal of traditional diplomacy is peace, then the goal of economic diplomacy is prosperity.” - Julie Bishop, Address to the Sydney Institute, Sydney 2014.