The Perth Convention Bureau is standing firm by its prediction that the 2011/12 financial year will end on a high for the Bureau and its members and that interest in the destination continues to gain momentum despite reports in the media of high hotel occupancies and rates. PCB’s current ROI to the WA Government is 30:1, almost double our east coast competitor bureau, and by far the highest in the nation.
When asked how Perth and its conferencing sector is dealing with the perceived lack of availability within hotels the bureau’s Chief Executive Officer Paul Beeson was confident that Perth and WA remains a highly desirable destination and one that continues to see investment in new infrastructure and the tourism industry.“We are delighted by the plans by WA’s State Government to develop Perth Waterfront creating a magnificent precinct that includes plans for a 300 room hotel”, said Mr. Beeson.
In addition to the new Perth Waterfront development Perth will see a variety of new venues emerging including the long awaited Perth Arena, Terrace Hotel and the $580 million redevelopment of Perth’s Old Treasury Buildings including a six-star hotel and a 35-storey office tower.
As the destination prospers and grows so does the occupancy rates within the venues and to help combat the affects of this the Bureau is incentivising conferences conveners to hold their events off-peak or to consider holding events in regional areas – the bureau currently secures 68% of all WA regional business events.
A further bureau strategic focus is to target high yield conference demographics such as medical and health. The Perth Convention Bureau has partnered with the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons to provide convention travel grants to Fellows or Trainees of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (RACS) to pursue and research prospective conferences.
Conferences delegates spend almost 5 times leisure tourist, and within conferencing a high yield delegate delivers a high dollar spend, but at reduced capacity demand.
“The RACS Travel Grants further facilitate the Bureau’s strategic focus in developing the high-yield medical conferencing sector in Western Australia. We are delighted to have RACS as a partner in this initiative, and proud to have developed this industry-first. It is this innovation that has lead to our success in delivering the substantial economic and social benefits of conferencing to Western Australia”, said Beeson.
Unlike the leisure market, conferences and their associated venue and accommodation requirements are planned and book long in advance, with the bureau currently securing events well into 2016 and 2017. This alleviates both capacity and cost issues when planning this far ahead..
Western Australia is the powerhouse of on the world’s strongest economies. The State’s capital city, Perth, is undergoing the biggest urban transformation in its history, making it an attractive and vibrant place to visit and do business – this at times creates its own challenges including high occupancy.
