Adelaide Convention Bureau has announced that the city has won bids to host 119 national and international conferences, with those secured in the past 12 months expected to attract a record number of overseas conference delegates.
Adelaide has held 202 events in the past 12 months, generating over A$198m to the visitor economy and creating 1,655 new jobs. From the 119 events secured, the bureau has estimated that hotels will host 180,231 overnight stays and generate 1,350 jobs for the city and state.
“The opportunities for Adelaide right now are exciting. The bureau’s strategy over past years has been to promote and build upon the development happening in the city and with a number of projects now complete, it’s paid off,” says CEO of Adelaide Convention Bureau, Damien Kitto.
“We know from attendance at national and international trade events there is immense interest in what is happening in Adelaide – we’re the ‘flavour of the month’ so to speak. The time is now for South Australia to seize the moment and capitalise on every aspect of the business and take advantage of the interest in and prospects available,” he adds.
Bids won for large-scale events such as the National Associations Forum Conference and the Professional Conference Organisers Convention have helped bolster Adelaide’s reputation as a prime business events destination, as has the city’s selection to host Tourism Australia’s showcase event for corporate event and incentive travel buyers, Dreamtime 2015.
“We’ve had a record year, right now we’re sitting on a further $260m of pipeline business and the relatively small but highly effective Bureau team is working at a cracking pace to ensure every lead, every chance to chase down and secure an event for Adelaide is grasped,” said Kitto.
Lord Mayor of Adelaide Martin Haese commented on the economic benefits that the events will bring: “Our retail and hospitality sectors stand to benefit from this strong performance, as delegates are generally here during the working week and inject, on average, $632 per day into the city economy.”
New developments from hotel brands in Adelaide such as Accor, Starwood and IHG have been announced recently such as the opening of Sofitel Adelaide and Aloft Adelaide, both slated for 2018.
For more on business events in Adelaide, see here.
