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The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) gets underway today in Melbourne in a milestone year – its 30^th anniversary.

Just as the Australian Open is the first tennis grand slam of the year, AIME is the first international trade show of the business events sector and now the foremost business events trade show in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a significant testament to the longevity and legacy of the show and its importance to the global business events industry.

Melbourne Convention Bureau chief executive officer Julia Swanson is proud of the role MCB, the owner of AIME, has played in bringing the business events industry together at AIME in Australia’s events capital, Melbourne.

Melbourne Skyline. Ponyfish Island

“We are delighted to kick start the international calendar for 2023. Over a thirty-year period, AIME has secured events toward the Victorian visitor economy and has grown into the leading trade event for the meetings and event industry in the Asia Pacific region.

“However, it’s more than just confirmed meeting and event business that has resulted from AIME across the decades. It’s thirty years’ worth of legacy seeded from the connections made during those conferences and congresses.”

Great minds, makers and innovators converging in Melbourne have resulted in exciting developments and new solutions that deliver real change, contributing further to the state’s economic development.

World Federation of Engineering Organisations former President Dr Marlene Kanga commented at the 2019 World Engineers Convention, “One of the most important parts of the convention is the aspect of the legacy. So it’s not just a meeting where people come together, it’s a foundation for further development, innovation and other projects and programs.”

Over the years, Melbourne’s award-winning meetings infrastructure has also significantly evolved, evident in the creation of exciting and creative spaces built to host national and international conferences, meetings, exhibitions, and incentive programs.

Here are a few key highlights of how Melbourne’s business events infrastructure has evolved over the last few decades:

In 1993, Melbourne had a capacity of around 4000 hotel rooms to host delegates, while the state’s projection for 2023 is around 42,000 rooms
The Melbourne Exhibition Centre opened in 1996, with the addition of the Convention Centre in 2009 and a major $205 million expansion in 2018, making it the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere
Multiple new precincts have emerged, including Southgate (a reflection of Australia’s arts, food and wine with a distinct Melbourne flavour); a $1.4 billion South Wharf precinct in 2010; the Docklands precinct (one of Australia’s premier waterfront urban renewal projects); and the Melbourne Biomedical Project in Parkville. Early works have even started on a $1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct transformation project
Crown Melbourne initially opened in 1994 and relocated to what is now the Southbank precinct of Melbourne’s CBD in 1997. As the central feature of Southbank, the casino and resort complex (hosting three hotels – Crown Towers, Crown Promenade and Crown Metropol) is the equivalent of two city blocks, making it the largest casino complex in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world.
Event specialists, Showtime Event Group, launched in 2018 and have activated Melbourne’s most iconic venues for business and social events, operating 24 venue spaces including the Old Melbourne Gaol, Rippon Lea Estate, SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium, Aerial, State Library Victoria and Polly Woodside
Science Gallery Melbourne launched in 2021 as part of the Melbourne Connect innovation precinct beside the University of Melbourne, an event space where art and science combine to inspire visitors with fresh ideas
Melbourne Airport underwent significant changes over the years, including a fourth passenger terminal in 2000; becoming the first airport in Australia to be capable of handling the A380; construction of an additional level of airline lounges in 2006, and a $330 million expansion of Terminal Two completed in 2011
An exciting transformation of the Victorian State Library’s heritage and exhibition spaces in 2019, bringing contemporary refinement to events, such as the stunning Ian Potter Queen’s Hall
The $460 million Marvel Stadium opened in 2000, a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in Docklands
New and exciting event spaces launched in the last two years, such as Centrepiece, The LUME, Melbourne Connect and Q Events by Metropolis have continued to position Melbourne as Australia’s capital of culture.

The growth of Melbourne as a top business event destination is also reflected in the expansion of hotel rooms over the last thirty years.

This growth can be reflected in Accor’s expansion, now boasting 68 hotels in Victoria offering an estimated 10,200 rooms, with 46 of these hotels having some form of meeting and events facilities. Between 2021 to 2025, Accor will have opened fourteen hotels in Victoria. In the pipeline, they also have plans to add new-build hotels in Richmond, Hawthorn, Malvern and Latrobe, along with Novotel and ibis Styles hotels at Melbourne Airport – 25 hours Melbourne and SO/ Melbourne.

Event operators and suppliers have also continued to innovate and adapt to meet new needs and expectations, offering invigorating social impact activities and sustainable products and services as we move towards a net zero carbon emission footprint.

Here are a few examples that have positioned Melbourne as a leader in business event sustainability over the last three decades:

Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre became the first convention centre in the world to be awarded a 6-star Green Star environmental rating and is currently setting the bar high with its ambitious sustainability initiatives.
In 2013, Zoos Victoria was appointed as the world’s first certified carbon-neutral zoo
In 2018, Crown Melbourne installed nearly 1000 solar panels and became the largest rooftop solar system in central Melbourne
In 2019, the City of Melbourne led the way in event sustainability for the likes of Melbourne Fashion Week and Melbourne Knowledge Week, becoming the first organisation to be certified under the National Carbon Offset Standard by the Australian Government
Melbourne has been ranked the number one sustainable city in Australia in 2022 and the number one sustainable destination in 2021 in the Asia-Pacific region for business events in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index)

Other top highlights and memorable moments from across AIME’S history include:

In 2006, the headline for the AIME forum was entitled New World Order, examining major issues impacting the industry, including the potential fallout from a pandemic flu virus and the increasing fear of terrorism
In 2008, AIME set a new benchmark for exhibitions in Australia, partnering with Climate Friendly™ to become a carbon-neutral event
In 2017, Uncover Melbourne launched – a pre-trade show program spanning two days of immersive experiences capturing the unique pulse of the city
In 2022, AIME was the first major Melbourne event to be held post-COVID-19 lockdowns, offering a prime launching pad to show the world that Melbourne was back in action and ready for business. The city really turned it on as the first international delegates touched down at Melbourne Airport and were greeted with a ‘Very Melbourne Welcome’ from the faces of our celebrated arts and cultural hub.
Memorable events – there’s been more amazing gala welcome events and famils than we can count – including a takeover of the St Kilda Sea Baths complex with a flash mob on the beach dancing to Kylie Minogue; a dramatic and sophisticated red-carpet gala Ian Potter Queens Hall (the jewel in the State Library Victoria’s stellar collection of unique heritage spaces), and an exclusive experience for an intimate group of delegates at URBNSURF, Australia’s first surf park
Double wins – topping it all off and celebrating just how far AIME has come over the last thirty years, the event also took out a double win at the 2022 Australian Event Awards for Australian Event of the Year and Best Congress, Conference or Exhibition.

AIME 2023 is shaping up to be epic, with Event Manager Talk 2 Media & Events expecting to host over 400 buyers from around the world and welcome over 2,000 visitor buyers, media and suppliers. Around 10,000 meetings will take place across two days with over 350 exhibitors.