New business events generate AUD23.5 million for Victoria

Victoria has ended the year 2011 a winner, with the recent announcement of having won eight new business events worth an estimated 23.5 for the state’s economy.

Minister for Tourism and Major Events, Louise Asher revealed that eight major congresses have been secured for Melbourne, with one national and seven international business events expected to generate around 7,150 delegates from around the world over five years.

Ms Asher said the wins add to the recent announcement that Melbourne will host the largest medical conference held in Australia ever, the International AIDS conference in 2014.

““These events highlight that major national and international businesses and associations continue to choose Melbourne for their events, bringing new visitors to the state with each meeting and presenting us with an invaluable opportunity to showcase the city and regional Victoria,” Ms Asher said.

“They also provide an opportunity for experts from around the world to come together to share their research and to network in an Australian setting.

“The events also draw international recognition of the research and findings of the many Australians, and in particular Victorians, working in a variety of fields.”

Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) Chief Executive Officer Ms Karen Bolinger said the wins were a great way to end 2011.

“All of these wins relate directly to the excellent standard of Melbourne’s conferencing facilities and also demonstrate the appeal of our city to major associations,” Ms Bolinger said.

The eight congresses secured include,

• International Conference on Care and Housing for the Ageing (IAHSA) 2013;
• IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics (ICPE) – ECCE ASIA 2013;
• Inaugural Broadband World Congress 2013;
• The MHS 2013 (The Mental Health Services Conference);
• International Symposium on Information Theory and its Applications – ISITA 2014;
• International Congress on Noise Control Engineering (INTERNOISE) 2014;
• Congress of the Asia-Pacific Federation of Coloproctology 2015; and
• AFMC International Medicinal Chemistry Symposium (AIMECS) 2017.