The Australian Turf Club (ATC) brought You Dream It. We’ll Host It. to Melbourne for the 30th anniversary of AIME ahead of the continued resurgence of meetings and events business in 2023 and after reporting a strong finish to 2022 with increased bookings year-on-year, a successful recruitment push, multiple award wins, as well as a 50-year record-breaking racing event.
Jimmy Busteed, General Manager, Sales, Louise White, Senior Business Development Manager, and Kate Ross, Event Manager, were all onsite at AIME to demonstrate to international and local buyers how the ATC can bring any dream event to life.
Louise White also joined the panel of experts as part of The Knowledge Program, for the hypothetical debate around Can the industry collaborate? exploring the importance of industry collaboration within the events sector.
“The business events industry in Australia is rapidly recovering after the pandemic and now more than ever, collaboration between different stakeholders can help the industry recover faster and reach its full potential sooner.
Through collaboration, businesses can benefit from shared resources, knowledge and experience to create more opportunities for businesses to grow and succeed in the long-term, and networking with other industry professionals can open up new possibilities for businesses to explore and expand their customer base,” said White.
To support the growing business, the Commercial Executive Team has welcomed Yael Bradbury, as General Manager of Marketing, bringing extraordinary live experiences and destination knowledge to ATC. Bradbury has a rich career history leading marketing for Venues NSW and Sydney Cricket and Sports Ground Trust.
The senior culinary team was also boosted in 2022 with Gerry Maher, Group Executive Chef, now supported by Gürsu Mertel, lured from a two-hatted restaurant; Stuart Webb, ex SCG; and Neville Alexander as GM Food & Beverage.
Melinda Madigan, Executive General Manager, Commercial, ATC, says it’s great to see business events coming back in force and the energy of the leading trade event for the meetings and event industry.
“AIME this year really felt like it was back in full swing; Jimmy, Louise and Kate all commented on the energy of the event and the many opportunities to connect with industry decision makers – I congratulate the whole AIME team on helping to set the tone for the continued upward trajectory of the meetings and event industry in 2023.
“This was also the first major industry event where we could share our ‘You Dream It, We’ll Host It’ campaign showcasing the versatility of our spaces; how our venues really can transform for any occasion, our passion for personalised service and our state of the art technology. Our venues, capabilities, technology and team have all risen to the challenge of the return and increase in meetings and events post-COVID.
“It was thrilling to watch the ATC team stretch their legs in the last quarter of 2022, for a fast finish down the home straight; hosting high profile events, Ferrari history and attracting the largest crowd in 50-years to set a new modern-day crowd record at the TAB Everest race day.
“We vow to continue our award-winning service and experiences for all our guests and look forward to bringing more of our client’s visions to life in 2023,” said Madigan.
In the final quarter of 2022, ATC saw all five of their venues – Royal Randwick, Rosehill Gardens, Rosehill Bowling Club, Canterbury Park and Warwick Farm – almost sold out and the most recent addition to the ATC spaces, the $46.6 million world-class major event venue WINX Stand at Royal Randwick, completely sold out.
Last year was one of the ATC culinary team’s most successful with three major award wins:
- Gerry Maher, Group Executive Chef, Chef of the Year, NSW Restaurant & Catering, Hostplus Awards for Excellence
- Rosehill Gardens, Function/Convention Centre Caterer, NSW Restaurant & Catering, Hostplus Awards for Excellence (Royal Randwick was a finalist for Events Caterer)
- Rosehill Gardens, Function/Convention Centre Caterer, National Restaurant & Catering, Hostplus Awards for Excellence
The culinary team, led by Chef of the Year Gerry Maher, are finalising the new meetings and events menu compendium, set to launch in quarter one.
