BESydney delivers a record year
Business Events Sydney (BESydney) announced a record level of business from Asia for the financial year 2011–2012, winning 33 events with an estimated economic impact of AU$91 million.
The 33 MICE events will see approximately 18,641 corporate incentive and meeting clients travel to the harbour city, spending 92,282 delegate days.
The figure of AU$91 million is the largest estimated economic impact resulting from Asian business secured in one financial year in the bureau’s 43-year history. In the first two weeks of this financial year alone, the team secured two events with an economic impact of AU$3.3 million.
“These corporate and incentive events from North and South Asia span industries including insurance, direct selling, automobile and technology. I firmly believe our success in this market is due to the efforts of our well-respected team based in Sydney, Hong Kong and Shanghai and the ongoing allure of our beautiful harbour city,” said BESydney’s CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith.
“Our clients tell us that Sydney’s unique appeal extends beyond the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Savvy Asian event organisers are attracted to the diverse team building options that can take place on land, sea or sky; new developments such as The Star; major events such as Vivid Sydney; and the real opportunities to inspire and educate staff and engage with our local businesses and communities,” Lewis-Smith continued.
Lewis-Smith also commented that the multicultural diversity of Sydney made the city a welcoming and friendly destination for delegations from Asia.
“Sydney is the heart of multicultural Australia, with over one third of residents born overseas. This means if clients want a huge Chinese New Year Celebration, Tai Chi classes, Eid ul-Fitr celebrations, fantastic Korean food or Indian performers who fuse traditional and Bollywood styles – they can find them in Sydney. Add to this the efforts of organisations such as Destination NSW, City of Sydney and Sydney Airport Corporation to welcome Asian guests with airport and taxi cab signage and Sydney’s multifaceted appeal for Asian events is clear” reflected Lewis-Smith.
The increase in business from Asia is changing the business event landscape in Sydney, with the traditionally long-lead times of association business, reduced to a matter of months for many corporate incentive programmes. Approximately half of the events secured overall by BESydney this financial year will be delivered before the end of 2012, 56% of which are from Asia.
“This shift in event delivery times is changing how we operate as a bureau, in terms of both bidding and supporting clients throughout the event lifecycle. It’s also changing the way our leading event suppliers need to respond to client needs. It’s an interesting period of change and opportunity,” concluded Lyn Lewis-Smith.
Overall, BESydney secured a total of 103 business events during the financial year, which are estimated to deliver an economic impact of AU$225.6 million to New South Wales. This represents a 21% increase on 2010/11 economic impact figures and the third highest economic impact in the bureau’s history.