Hire and Rental News - April/May 2015

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46 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • APRIL/MAY 2015
EVENTS in FOCUS
The report commissioned by the Business
Events Council of Australia (BECA) shows
in the last financial year, 37 million people
attended more than 412,000 business
events held across Australia, and provided
179,357 jobs.
The key figures show business events:
• contributed $28 billion in direct
expenditure
• value added $20.3 billion
• critically supported Australia’s GDP with
a total economic contribution of $23.1
billion over one year
• provided major benefit to regional areas
with 178,000 regional events hosted.
The study titled, The Value of Business
Events to Australia was conducted by the
global research firm EY and co-funded
by the Australian Government, under
the T-QUAL Grants Program and the
Australian business events industry.
The study shows the number of people
participating in business events is highly
significant when compared to other major
public events. For example, 37 million
business event attendees equates to eight
times the attendance at Sydney 2000
Olympic Games, 25 Sydney VIVID festivals
and 530 Australian Open tournaments.
Matthew Hingerty, Chairman of BECA,
said the study provided compelling
evidence of the direct and indirect
impact on the Australian economy and
will demonstrate why governments and
industry should continue to invest in the
sector.
Business Events major driver of economic activity
The first report in a decade on the Australian business events sector confirms it is a
major driver of the Australian economy and has enormous potential for dramatic growth
in the post-mining boom.
“Business events are an economic
powerhouse – they foster trade, export,
investment, diplomacy, education and
knowledge transfer. They also generate
employment, tax revenue and stimulate
the visitor economy with their benefits
spreading across both city and regional
economies.
"This study demonstrates the enormous
reach of business events beyond their
tourism contributions and reveals how
business events support all industries
to deliver their goals; acting as levers
to do business, launch new ideas,
identify trends, spread news of research
breakthroughs and equipping people
to meet the challenges of change,” Mr
Hingerty said.
Minister for Trade and Investment, The
Hon Andrew Robb AO MP said:“The
high-yield economic benefits of hosting
business events are key contributors to the
government’s economic diplomacy agenda
and are highly effective vehicles for driving
industry growth, which is in keeping with
the government’s trade and investment
priority areas."
While the report reveals the strength of the
business events industry in Australia, on
an international level, Australia has slipped
in its rankings from 13th in 2012 to 16th in
2013, in the latest International Congress
and Convention Association (ICCA)
rankings. ICCA measures the frequency of
rotating association meetings taking place
in 90 countries around the world.
“The report gives strong evidence of the
power of our industry, however, on a world
stage, we are losing market share. We
believe the business events sector is the
‘sleeping giant’ of the Australian economy.
With an end to the mining boom and
the decline in manufacturing, the sector
has the ability to be a leading force for
Australia’s future prosperity.
“This study will enable the business events
sector to prove its dimension, influence
and potential and provide a compelling
picture of the power of business events.
“However, the business events industry
and governments must work together to
leverage this great opportunity before us,”
Mr Hingerty said.
The full report is available at website:
The Australian business events sector is a major driver of the Australian economy