The Albanese Labor Government has committed to better measure its contribution to Australia’s visitor economy.
The government announced on Global Meetings Industry Day that it has allocated AUD2 million to measure business events data in international and national data sets, including bespoke data collection activities.
The programme is being rolled out in two phases:
Phase 1: Tourism Research Australia has introduced a new suite of questions to the National and International Visitor Surveys. These questions have been in operation since January 2023 and are already collecting data.
Phase 2: Working closely with the Business Events Council of Australia (BECA), bespoke data collection points including venues, organisers, delegates and exhibitors will be rolled out across the nation.
Business events facilitate the exchange of ideas, concepts, systems and products, and create new networks and opportunities. These exchanges and networks, in turn, expand and continue to nourish the economy by stimulating trade and investment, attracting talent, fostering innovation and boosting productivity. New business events sector data and measurements will support decision-making about the events to target for Australia.
It will also help the broader visitor economy understand how it can best benefit business event travellers and increase the chance that international business event visitors will return to Australia for holidays in the future.
“Business events are vital drivers of Australia’s visitor economy and the broader economy. They encourage high-yield travel, build networks, support the development of commercial concepts, and expand business opportunities. The new business events data project is a critical part of the Government’s support for the recovery of Australia’s business events sector. Better data means better decisions, better decisions mean better events and better events mean a bigger boost for Australia’s visitor economy,” says Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell.
“The Government’s decision to invest significant funds to underpin research to estimate the true economic value of business events addresses one of the industry’s top priorities in post-pandemic recovery and growth towards 2030.
“The AUD2 million allocation is the single largest investment in business events research that we have seen and will establish a long-term framework to most accurately and consistently measure the business events industry’s contribution to the economy over the next decade,” adds BECA Chair Dr Leo Jago OAM.
Featured image by Joey Csunyo on Unsplash
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