The Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) and Australian Tourism Industry Council (ATIC) brought industry and government together at a Federal Parliamentary Friends of Tourism networking evening at Parliament House in Canberra this week.
More than 100 representatives from across the business events and tourism sectors attended, creating an opportunity for industry leaders to engage directly with government on the contribution of business events to Australia’s economy and broader national priorities.
Attendees included Senator Don Farrell, Assistant Minister for Tourism Senator the Hon Nita Green, Tourism Australia Managing Director Robin Mack, David Littleproud MP, and senior leaders from across the tourism and visitor economy.
ABEA Chair Peter King said the event provided an important opportunity to deepen government understanding of the economic and strategic value of business events.
“Business events advance productivity, innovation, trade, investment, skills and knowledge across sectors including health, defence, clean energy, critical minerals and advanced manufacturing,” King said.
“Investment in attracting major international conferences delivers real returns. The Tourism Australia Bid Fund Program results over the past three years demonstrate an ROI in the vicinity of 50 to one.
“Business events create legacies that extend well beyond the event itself. They bring global expertise and investment into Australia, build knowledge and connections across industries, and we do that every week of the year. We are a catalytic industry.”
ABEA CEO Melissa Brown said the Parliamentary engagement marked another important step towards building a stronger and more strategic national approach to business events.
“We want to continue working with government and other industry bodies to build a national business events strategy that recognises the role our sector plays not only in tourism, but in productivity, innovation, investment, trade and skills,” Brown said.
ABEA is also working with the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), through Australian Chamber – Tourism, on a government-supported review of THRIVE 2030, the national visitor economy strategy, including the development of a dedicated national business events strategy within it.
“We are pleased to see the support from the Trade and Tourism portfolio for progressing this work,” Brown said.
The Parliamentary event builds on ABEA’s broader advocacy work to strengthen recognition of business events as a strategic economic driver and build a more coordinated industry voice with government.
In August, ABEA hosted Australia’s Business Events Future: A National Vision Summit at ICC Sydney, bringing together 20 representatives from ABEA, Tourism Australia, Austrade, ACCI and across the business events sector.
The Summit’s objective was to make strides towards a national ambition for the sector to 2040 and to develop six priority advocacy areas, creating a framework for ABEA’s next phase of engagement with government.
This week’s Canberra engagement is an early step in progressing that work, with ABEA advocating for a whole-of-government approach that recognises the contribution business events makes across tourism and the wider economy.
