Destination NSW today launched its first consolidated Co-operative Marketing Prospectus, giving NSW tourism and events industry stakeholders a comprehensive guide to the resources available to help grow their businesses. Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer, Sandra Chipchase, said that the new Co-operative Marketing Opportunities with Destination NSW Prospectus, will be distributed to industry stakeholders and can [...]

     The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) has announced that in excess of AUD $1 billion worth of economic benefit has been generated for the state of Victoria, as a result of international business events secured by MCVB for the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). Karen Bolinger, Chief Executive Officer of MCVB, [...]

The Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) has announced the establishment of a new positioning campaign at this year’s Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME). Melbourne IQ: The Intelligent Choice for Conferences is aimed at the international associations market and is designed to promote Melbourne’s impressive expertise and track record in a diverse range of [...]

Picture a starlit night, a paddock framed by majestic gum trees and an audience enchanted by the strains of opera and classical music soaring through the night air.  A stellar cast of nationally and internationally renowned singers, accompanied by the Mimosa Orchestra and Chorus perform excerpts of opera, operetta and musicals, creating a simply unforgettable [...]

A one of a kind convention centre, currently under construction at the RNA Showgrounds in Brisbane, has been officially launched to the industry during the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in Melbourne today. RNA Chief Executive Jonathan Tunny was joined by Brisbane Marketing Convention Bureau Director Annabel Sullivan to unveil Brisbane’s newest convention centre, which [...]

The award winners for the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) 2012 were announced last night at a jazzy event, Nightcap Networking, held at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (ACCA) and hosted by the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and the Atlantic Group. The awards, presented by Sally de Swart, recognised excellence in [...]

Five of the region’s best business events operators have come out in force to sell Geelong and the Great Ocean Road collectively at this year’s Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME). Together, they have combined resources to assemble a prize package that will gain the attention of AIME visitors. Valued at approximately $3,000, the total [...]

At AIME in Melbourne on the 21 – 22 February 2012, Decorative Events & Exhibitions (DE&E) will give visitors a rare glimpse behind the scenes of their award-winning design studio. DE&E believe that a great stand needs to not only ‘pop’ visually, but must be experiential and engage its visitors. This year’s stand will provide visitors [...]

In a first for the Australian events industry, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre has designed an online traffic management system for its exhibition hall loading docks. The move is part of the Centre’s ongoing program to boost operational efficiency and recognises the high level of demand put on the Centre’s six exhibition halls, which [...]

The Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) celebrates 20 years of success this week at its home in Melbourne. Karen Bolinger, Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB), owner of the exhibition, said the milestone recognises the achievements of the region’s most productive and long-standing meetings and incentives show. “This [...]

The organisers of the 20th anniversary Asia-Pacific Meetings & Incentives Expo (AIME), which opens today at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), are expecting a successful two-day event with preliminary figures looking positive. With more than 500 Hosted Buyers set to attend AIME 2012, organisers are expecting at least a 15% increase compared to [...]

Tourism Australia has launched a new brand campaign aimed at corporate meeting and event planners to demonstrate why there’s nothing like Australia for business events. The campaign, launched to the trade at AIME 2012 in Melbourne today, follows in the footsteps of Tourism Australia’s consumer marketing campaign, There’s Nothing Like Australia and is supported by [...]

Looking to plan an event in Australia’s number one business event destination? Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) 2012/13 edition of the Sydney and New South Wales Event Planner’s Guide (EPG) will be launched at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo 2012 (AIME) on 21 February. A comprehensive resource featuring the most up to date event and [...]

Ita Buttrose  will open the 20th anniversary Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) tomorrow at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), marking the beginning of the renowned, two-day, meetings and incentives event. Ms Buttrose, who attended the first AIME back in 1993 where she presented as part of the Education Program, joins Cr Carl Jetter, [...]

arinex has renewed its focus on the corporate market, with the launch of arinex Events, a brand under the arinex umbrella which will focus exclusively on delivering meetings, incentives and events for the corporate sector. With close to 40 years of experience in the international conference and incentive industry, arinex is leveraging its professional networks [...]

The Hunter Valley Convention Bureau (HVCB) will be launching the new edition of its Meeting Planners’ Guide at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne this week. In line with current trends for all things digital, the guide will initially only be available as a digital flipbook on HVCB’s website or on a [...]

Looking to plan an event in Australia’s number one business event destination? Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) 2012/13 edition of the Sydney and New South Wales Event Planner’s Guide (EPG) will be launched at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo 2012 (AIME) next week. A comprehensive resource featuring the most up to date event and meeting [...]

 The 20th anniversary Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) will take place next week and is expected to be bigger than ever, with a huge turnout by exhibitors and strong support from existing and new sponsors, allowing for exciting initiatives both on and off the show floor. Joined again by big name, major sponsors such [...]

ISS Facility Services has won a contract to deliver event and general cleaning services to Dairy Farmers Stadium in Queensland for the next two years. The contract will build on ISS existing stadium cleaning contracts, which includes Brisbane Cricket Ground (The Gabba), the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) and AAMI Stadium (Adelaide). Dairy Farmers Stadium has [...]

Scene Change, Australia’s #2 AV company, has opened a Launceston office after winning the in-house contract at the city’s premier 4.5 star venue, the Hotel Grand Chancellor Launceston. It continues Scene Change’s extraordinary run of growth, which has put it at #48 on BRW magazine’s list of fastest-growing startup businesses in Australia. Launceston is enjoying [...]

Business Events Sydney’s (BESydney) Chairman, Col Hughes, has announced that Lyn Lewis-Smith has been officially appointed as Chief Executive Officer of Australia’s leading convention bureau. The announcement has been greeted as a sign of stability and growth within BESydney. Lyn has achieved strong results during her time as Chief Operating Officer, and most recently as [...]

Professional conference organisers will be briefed on plans for the rebuild of Christchurch and other exciting developments taking place in the city during Australasia’s premier business tourism expo in Melbourne next month. Representatives from the Christchurch & Canterbury Convention Bureau and venue management company Vbase will be on hand to provide delegates at AIME 2012 [...]

Port Douglas Incentives will attend its first Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) in February 2012 with an abundance of new and exciting information for the MICE market. Sharing a stand with Business Events Cairns and Great Barrier Reef, Port Douglas Incentives will be represented by Chairperson Natalie Johnson.  “This is the first time Port [...]

Tourism industry leaders in the Yarra Valley & Dandenongs have come together to form a new business group - Business Events Yarra Valley & The Dandenongs - and they are about to boost the local conference and event landscape with the launch of two new event booking websites. The group will launch businesseventsyarravalley.com.au and businesseventsdandenongs.com.au at the Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expo in [...]

The end of calendar year results released by the Adelaide Convention Bureau have shown yet again that the Bureau is on track with its strategies and delivery mechanisms with a massive $107m economic impact being delivered to the state. Some big event bid wins in the second half of the year saw the calendar year [...]

Organisers of the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME), Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), today launched its official Smartphone event application with ShowGizmo. Registered visitors, exhibitors and media attending the show in Melbourne on the 21 and 22 February 2012 can download the event app for free starting today. The introduction of AIME’s ShowGizmo Smartphone application [...]

The first ever Event Camp DownUnder and the first in the world for 2012 will take place in Sydney, Auckland and online on 26th and 27th February. Expecting more than 70 #eventprofs in the room in Sydney and in Auckland with a virtual audience of hundreds, the event organisers have kept the ticket price low [...]

With the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) less than two weeks away, nominations for the highly coveted AIME Awards will close this week, giving attendees one last chance to nominate potential winners. Attendees are able to nominate in two categories: Best Environmentally Sustainable Stand and AIME Industry Person of the Year.  Three additional awards [...]

2012 started well for the team at the Darwin Convention Centre – it was awarded by the AIPC with Gold Certification, the highest possible achievement in its Quality Standards Program! Darwin Convention Centre successfully completed a rigorous external audit, joining a select group of only 18 AIPC convention facilities to have successfully achieved this certification [...]

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre took its waterfront location one step further last week, bringing 60,000 litres of water indoors for the Pacific International Maritime Exposition, Pacific2012. A highlight display at the exhibition was a 6m-diameter tank of water which was used to showcase new technology before its entire contents were recycled for agricultural [...]

The Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) is partnering with Infrastructure NSW to deliver a regular program of industry briefings regarding the redevelopment of Sydney International Convention Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct.  EEAA General Manager, Joyce DiMascio said the first in the series would be held on Thursday February 9 and would provide organisers, suppliers [...]

Avocado Group, one of Sydney’s leading corporate caterers has formalised their long-standing alliance with the highly experienced Amory Catering to become strategic partners. This new partnership sees the two companies seize the opportunity to offer a wider range of services to their clients and venue partners whilst taking advantage of the benefits derived from resource [...]

Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) has become the first organisation to ban the traditional use of PowerPoint-style presentations at a major conference. The annual conference, to be held in Sydney on 21-24 April 2012, attracts around 900 delegates to discuss meeting and event issues. Given its role in advising clients how to communicate effectively at [...]

Large-scale international science and medical conferences will share the stage with an increasing number of high-profile lifestyle expos in another big year for Australia’s busiest events venue. The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is preparing to welcome dozens of events for a thousand delegates or more during 2012, including many from within the city’s traditional [...]

Saxton Speakers Bureau has announced the impressive 11 act line-up for its spectacular Ultimate Event Experience, which is returning to the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) for the third consecutive year. The complimentary event presents a range of quality Australian and international entertainers and speakers to an expected audience of over 1000 meetings professionals [...]

MCI, the world’s largest global meeting and event management agency with 1,500 staff in 47 offices in 23 countries has merged with Tasmanian based Convention Wise in a move that over time will bring significant economic and employment benefit to Tasmania’s meetings and events industry. Convention Wise (formerly known as Mures Conventions and situated in [...]

Australian digital design and production specialists Digital Pulse has received global accolades for its contribution to the opening ceremony of the 12th Arab Games in Doha in December.  Digital Pulse produced the spectacular content to complement the emotionally charged visual narrative created by David Atkins Enterprises. Journey to Light was a visual experience featuring performers [...]

Over 80 international paratuberculosis experts will visit a leading regional New South Wales research facility and learn about the State’s agriculture industry next month on technical tours that are a part of the 11th International Colloquium on Paratuberculosis.  Paratuberculosis is a chronic bacterial disease that is particularly relevant to the Australian agriculture industry, due to [...]

The newly opened BCEC on Grey Street, the five level, $140 million expansion of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC), has changed the national landscape for meetings and events and is already making an impact on the global business events market, the highest yielding tourism sector in Australia. Boutique in concept, dramatic in architecture [...]

Australia’s newest convention venue – Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) on Grey Street – was officially opened today by The Hon. Rachel Nolan, Minister for Finance, Natural Resources and The Arts. The Minister opened the five level, $140m boutique expansion of the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) during the annual Australia Day celebrations at the [...]

Exhibition and Trade Fairs (ETF), owners of Melbourne’s and Sydney’s Event Showcase, has announced that the Showcase season has commenced for another year. The 2012 Showcases, held on the 27-28 June (Melbourne) and 15-16 of August (Sydney), are now taking enquiries and bookings for exhibitors. More than just a tradeshow, the 2012 Showcases will display [...]

 Applications are being called for the inaugural $5,000 ‘City of Mandurah’ Convention Scholarship which is open to people involved with not-for-profit associations across a variety of industry sectors. The scholarship is designed to assist in personal and professional development, either through attendance at a relevant international conference, or by undertaking further study in their chosen [...]

Diversified Business Communications announced that Graeme Selby has stepped down as Chairman of Diversified Exhibitions Australia after 36 years in the exhibition industry. He was Managing Director of Australian Exhibition Services (AES) from 1982 until 2005 when he became Chairman, and focused on spearheading business development opportunities in Australia, India, Hong Kong, and China. Selby is based [...]

Ambitious young professionals and newcomers to the global meetings industry are being offered valuable career development at the annual International Congress and Conventions Association’s (ICCA) Forum for Young Professionals, which takes place over two days prior to the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) in Melbourne. The Forum, which will be held at the Melbourne [...]

The Perth Convention Bureau offers meeting planners a variety of familiarization opportunities in order to enhance their awareness of the diverse destination and it has never been a better time to visit Perth. With hotels completing refurbishments and new infrastructure being proposed, Western Australia is growing rapidly. The number of famil programs the bureau offers [...]

The City of Sydney and its world-class venues will help bring Sydney Festival to life this summer with plays, performance, song, dance and entertainment across the city. Sydney’s Hyde Park in the heart of the city will again host the Famous Spiegeltent and Honda Festival Garden, while talks, dance and comedy shows will also take place [...]

At the Opening Ceremony for the 2012 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Tourism Forum in Manado Indonesia, Laservision were honoured for creating the ‘Best New Tourist Attraction’ in South East Asia. The ASEAN Awards for Excellence in Tourism gives recognition to ASEAN organizations who have contributed to the development and promotion of tourism in [...]

Leading-edge meeting design components at the European Meetings and Events Conference (EMEC) will demonstrate how new ideas in room layout, technology, collaboration techniques and even catering can be put into practice immediately by EMEC attendees, driving business performance and attendee success from their own events. “We are committed to demonstrating ‘innovation’ to our EMEC attendees [...]

Organisers of the Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) have refreshed the show’s social program this year and are offering new networking opportunities on and off the show floor. Building on popular annual events such as the official Welcome Reception, AIME is holding a new Tuesday night event, “Nightcap Networking”.  The show floor will also [...]

by Corbin Ball As the use of mobile event apps continues to explode, there is an increasing demand by attendees to have easy-access, barrier-free and, hopefully, cost-free Wi-Fi in the meeting space and in sleeping rooms. Consider these statistics: Free in-room Internet access ranked as the most desired guest-room amenity. – Synovate survey, 2011, 6,300 people, [...]