Sydney Opera House
While many MICE cities were hit by the global financial
crisis, Sydney managed to escape most of the troubles with a good
showing in the MICE sector. By Karen Yue
The global financial crisis in 2009 that pinched many MICE cities worldwide seemed to have dealt a light hand to Sydney, Australia.
Business Events Sydney (BESydney), which promotes New South Wales and its capital city Sydney as an international MICE destination, garnered 33 events that attracted 22,033 delegates who spent over A$87 million (US$80.6 million) in 2009, a little shy of the 35 events won in 2008. Events in 2008 attracted 21,520 delegates who spent over A$89 million.
By April, BESydney had secured 49 events with 60,295 delegates for 2010, and these include major ones such as the Lions Club International Convention for 20,000 delegates. Major events, such as the 2012 Human Genome Meeting in Sydney and the 2013 World Conference on Lung Cancer, are lined up for the near future.
Of this year’s gatherings, 14 are from Asia, with 12 being incentives. These events will bring 7,400 people to Sydney.
BESydney chief operating officer Lyn Lewis-Smith said: “The Asian MICE market is an important market for Sydney and we get a lot of repeat business from Asia (an average of 14 per cent of events from Asia in 2010 are repeat). In 2005 Amway Greater China sent 13,800 sellers to Sydney, and in 2011 we’ll be welcoming (them) for the second time. This demonstrates the strong appeal Sydney has as a business events destination.”
To keep Asian MICE business coming, BESydney launched the Inspiration Guaranteed programme early this year to provide corporate incentive planners and travel agents a suite of promotional tools and materials, such as screensavers and teasers, to build interest in the city and motivate potential incentive participants to work hard and earn the trip. Welcome packs, souvenirs and other support are provided for arriving groups.
Inspiration Guaranteed is available beyond Asian markets too.
Some venue operators in Sydney, such as the Sydney Olympic Park and Merivale, are also hopeful of more Asian business.
Sydney Olympic Park, which features 10 venues, 100 function rooms and 689 guestrooms in five hotels, holds nearly 1,800 events each year. But its business events marketing manager, Danielle Hoare, said the domestic market was still its core.
“There is no doubt that Asia is a massive market. We want to grow our Asian bookings but are aware of challenges; Asians loves to shop and the Sydney Olympic Park is located away from the city.”
Merivale also hoped to draw Asian MICE bookings with the recent opening of Ivy, a glamourous establishment that has nine restaurants, 18 bars, a 1,000-pax ballroom, two penthouse suites and various outdoor spaces.
However attractive Sydney is in terms of MICE-friendly infrastructure, Asian MICE operators say the general difficulties in selling Australia are the same obstacles Sydney has to cross too.
Carlson Wagonlit Travel’s head of meetings and events for North and South India Amit Gupta complained of limited flights from India to Australia, insufficient destination management companies (DMCs) with expertise in handling Indians and news on racial attacks on Indian students in Australia that had ‘affected Indian clients’ impression of Australia as a whole’.
Air access limitation also was cited by Muscat-based Eihab Travels business development manager Dinesh Boojary, whose clients had to fly from Muscat to Sydney via Dubai and Singapore.
“Sydney offers many teambuilding activity options and we always promote the destination, but flying there is very tiring for travellers,” he said.
He gained some relief when Oman Air began four flights a week between Muscat and Kuala Lumpur on May 1, which allowed his groups just one connection point to Sydney.
“Sydney offers many teambuilding activity options and we always promote the destination, but flying there is very tiring for travellers.”
Dinesh Boojary
Business development manager
Eihab Travels |
Still, Boojary admitted that incentive groups tended to prefer closer destinations because of time constraints, so South-east Asian destinations, such as Singapore and Bangkok, with direct air access from Oman and which also offer lower daily expenditure, were more popular.
The strong Australian dollar is another obstacle.
New Delhi’s Engee Tour and Travels director Vineet Gopal said: “It is just too expensive for companies on tighter budgets that want to keep the frequency of their incentive programmes.”
He said a basic Australian incentive with airfare cost up to US$6,000 per person, compared to US$900 to US$1,200 in Singapore or Thailand.
Singapore’s Circus Maximus International managing director Edward Kent agreed, saying that Sydney would “lose out” to competition from Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Macau and Hong Kong.
But BESydney CEO, Jon Hutchison, shrugged off the currency issue.“This is nothing new and we don’t see clients holding back (from Australia). The strength of the experience drives their decision and they are looking at what the destination can deliver before looking at costs.”
Lewis-Smith said many new products and festivals in Sydney would add value to corporate programmes in the city.
Sydney Olympic Park
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