Sydney Secures Another Mega Incentive from China+

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has secured the Pro-Health China Annual Conference 2014, another mega incentive from China, worth an estimated $22.5 million in economic impact (EI) to New South Wales (NSW). 

It also follows the hugely successful Perfect China Leadership Seminar 2013, which was worth close to $21 million and welcomed more than 3,000 delegates to the harbour city in July.  

BESydney CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said that the growth in the number of incentive events secured for Sydney over recent years is a result of the state’s targeted strategies to attract business from this important market.  

“Over the past decade, we have developed strong relationships in Asia. This has played an important part in the success that Sydney is now enjoying in the region,” Ms Lewis-Smith highlighted.  

“We know that Asia is a relationship-driven market and the long-term strategies we’ve invested in, including being the first Australian bureau to establish an in-market presence in Asia (2004), have enabled us to build networks and trust, and convert business for Sydney. 

We now have representatives in Singapore, China and India (in partnership with Destination NSW), along with Mandarin-speaking staff across key departments in our Sydney office. Together, these strategies are paying dividends!”  

Ms Lewis-Smith added that Sydney’s success could also be attributed to its ability to deliver real returns for companies that chose to reward their high achievers with a trip to the harbour city.  

“Incentives create a performance culture within companies, motivating staff to achieve results for a chance to be rewarded with an overseas trip. Sydney is an aspirational destination and  it certainly inspires teams to achieve!   

“Perfect China reports that it saw a 20% increase in sales following the company’s announcement that the 2013 incentive would be held in Sydney." 

Pro-Health China President, Mr Jason Li said that he looked forward to working with BESydney over the next year to ensure his high-achievers enjoyed a rewarding and authentic Australian experience in Sydney.  

“Sydney is a dynamic city with many attractions that will give our distributors quite a unique travel experience. This is not only an incentive trip, but also a heart-to-heart interaction between Pro- Health and Sydney. Our delegates will be eager to learn the attractions, culture, and everything there is to experience in this metropolitan city,” said Mr Li.

“With help from Business Event Sydney, we are confident that the government  and city will render tremendous support to our group to ensure our distributors return home with unforgettable memories of Sydney in 2014!”    
 
Last financial year, BESydney secured 33 Asian corporate incentive events worth an estimated $57 million in EI. This represents over 50% of revenue secured by BESydney during 2012/13.  There is no doubt that Asia continues to become an increasingly important market for Sydney.  

In the first quarter of the new financial year, the bureau has already secured six Asian incentive events. Five of these events (see list below) will take place in Sydney by the end of December, reflecting the short-lead nature of the Asian incentive market.   

• ACE Life Indonesian Incentive: 29–31 July  2013, with 73 delegates and an estimated EI of $ 219,000 
• Estee Lauder China Incentive: 23–26 August 2013, with 152 delegates and an estimated EI of $606,000 
• Confidential incentive from India: 4–7 September 2013, with 174 delegates and an estimated EI of $695,000 
• Great Eastern Singapore Bancassurance Incentive: 27–30 September  2013, with 130 delegates and an estimated EI of $519,00 
• MCIS Zurich Insurance Malaysia: 19–23 September 2013, with  152 delegates and an estimated EI of $758,000 
• Joymain China Top Distributor Incentive Trip 2015: 3–8 March 2015, with 700 delegates and estimated EI of $2.8 million.

Important Milestone for Sydney International Convention Centre

Artists Impression of the New Sydney convention Centre

Development of the AUD$1 billion International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) at Darling Harbour this week moved a step closer following the achievement of another important milestone.

The Australian Stock Exchange has been advised that financial close had been reached with Infrastructure NSW and the Sydney Harbour Foreshore Authority for the Public Private Partnership (PPP) of the NSW Government’s project to revitalise the 20 hectare site.

ICC Sydney will be operated by AEG Ogden, the leading venue management company in the Asia Pacific region and will feature a convention facility capable of holding four fully separated concurrent events of over 12,000 delegates and total exhibition capacity of 40,000 square metres.

Site preparation works will commence this month followed by demolition works in February 2014. Sydney ICC is due for completion due in December 2016.

AEG Ogden’s Director of Convention Centres, Geoff Donaghy said the new venue, featuring waterfront facilities in a prime CBD location in Australia’s leading city, was destined to become one of the most exciting major convention and exhibition facilities in the world.

“Even at this preliminary stage, it is attracting significant interest and strong demand worldwide.

“Business Events Sydney has confirmed that five international events have been secured for the venue and there are a further 60 expressions of interest from national association events as well as major exhibitions.

“In addition, by utilising AEG Ogden’s international operational and marketing experience and global venue network, we plan on taking business events through this venue to a new level,” he said.

Mr. Donaghy, who has also assumed the role as Chief Executive Officer for ICC Sydney said the next step was to establish the pre-opening office and commence recruiting the senior management team in early 2014.

Acupuncture & Chinese Medicine Conference – 2 to 4th Nov 2013

Join local and international colleagues during WFAS 2013 8th World Conference on Acupuncture, held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, Australia from 2 – 4 November 2013.

Expect a clinically-relevant academic program presented by some of the world’s most highly regarded clinicians and researchers, plus an entertaining Gala Dinner and other functions in beautiful, central Sydney - close to the harbour and iconic Sydney sites. Download the First Announcement for more information.

The World Federation of Acupuncture-Moxibustion Societies (WFAS) is the peak international body for acupuncture and the Non-Government Organisation in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO) on Acupuncture.

WFAS celebrates its 25th year in 2013, culminating in the 8th World Conference on Acupuncture in Sydney in November.

 AACMA, the leading Australian association of qualified Acupuncture and Chinese medicine practitioners, is celebrating its 40th birthday in 2013.

This unique professional development and networking opportunity is not to be missed. If you have any queries, please contact wfas2013@acupuncture.org.au

When: 2nd to 4th Nov 2013

Where: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Darling Harbour, Australia

NetSuite Announces Australian Cloud Events In October 2013

The industry's leading provider of cloud-based financials / ERP and omnichannel commerce software suites, today announced that its CEO Zach Nelson will be hosting two events in Australia for business leaders interested in learning how the world's leading companies are managing global expansion and achieving omnichannel commerce across business models, regions and channels, such as online, mobile, social and more.

The NetSuite events will be held in Sydney on Tuesday, 29 October from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at Lower Town Hall, and in Melbourne on Thursday, 31 October from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. at The Langham. For additional details and to register for the events, please click here.

Mr. Nelson will explore how cloud technology advancements have enabled businesses to leverage omnichannel commerce platforms. He will be joined on stage by logistics services provider Toll and sustainable packaging pioneer BioPak, who will share real-world experiences of how they have transformed operations and rapidly realised their business vision with NetSuite's cloud-based solutions.

In addition, Frost & Sullivan will also unveil new research on the adoption of omnichannel commerce strategies across a host of different industries, including retail, Ecommerce, manufacturing, wholesale distribution and others. Australian Retailers Association (ARA) will also participate in this event as a major sponsor. 

Australian customers increasingly expect B2C and B2B merchants, manufacturers and wholesale distributors to provide a consistent customer experience through every step of a multi-channel, multi-location business, from Ecommerce, point-of-sale (POS) and order management, to merchandising, marketing, inventory, financials and customer support.
 Mr. Nelson will explain how:

• NetSuite OneWorld supports global businesses that have multi-currency, multi-language, multi-country and multi-brand requirements from a single cloud application.
• NetSuite SuiteCommerce empowers businesses to run seamlessly across multiple touchpoints — web, brick-and-mortar stores, social and mobile — providing real-time visibility of all customers, orders and products across all channels globally.

Today, more than 16,000 companies and subsidiaries depend on NetSuite to run complex, mission–critical business processes globally in the cloud. Since its inception in 1998, NetSuite has established itself as the leading provider of enterprise-class cloud financials/ERP suites for divisions of large enterprises and mid-sized organisations seeking to upgrade their antiquated client/server ERP systems.

NetSuite excels at streamlining business operations as demonstrated in a recent Gartner study naming NetSuite as the fastest growing financial management software vendor on a global basis.

NetSuite continues its success in delivering the best cloud ERP/financials suites to businesses around the world, enabling them to lower IT costs significantly while increasing productivity, as the global adoption of the cloud is accelerating.

For more information about NetSuite please visit www.netsuite.com.au.

Smoke Free Australia: The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC)

The World Conference on Lung Cancer (WCLC) is the world’s largest meeting dedicated to lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. 

More than 7,000 delegates come from more than 100 countries to discuss the latest developments in thoracic malignancy research. Attendees include surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, pulmonologists, radiologists, pathologists, epidemiologists, basic research scientists, nurses and allied health professionals and patients.

The Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre is located in Darling Harbour. Darling Harbour is Sydney's most exciting entertainment precinct, where business meets pleasure on the waters edge. Only moments from the heart of Sydney's city centre, Darling Harbour is accessible by ferry, water taxi, light rail, bus, car or foot.

More information:
http://wclc.iaslc.org/index.html

Sydney Cruise Expo

Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre

Darling Drive
Darling Harbour NSW 2000

Sunday 22 September
10am – 4pm

PARKING

The Centre’s car park entrance is located off Darling Drive and costs range between $10 for 1 hour to $34 for 4+ hours.

WIN A 14-DAY HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TO NEW ZEALAND!

Register your details at the Cruise Expo for your chance to WIN!
Click here to view the competition terms and conditions. This promotion is authorised under NSW Permit No. LTPS/13/06231.

WIN A $1000 TRAVEL GIFT CARD!

Book and make a deposit at the expo to go into the draw to win a $1000 Travel Gift Card.
This promotion is authorised under NSW Permit No. LTPS/13/05127.


Click here to view the competition terms and conditions.

EXHIBITORS

APT - Travelmarvel	Avalon Waterways	Bentours	Carnival Cruise Lines
Celebrity Cruises & Azamara Club Cruises	Costa Cruises	Cover-More Travel Insurance	Cruise Office
Discover the World Cruising	eWaterways	Holland America Line - Seabourn	Infinity Cruise
Modern Bags	MSC Cruises	P&O Cruises	Ponant Yacht Cruises
Princess Cruises	Rocky Mountaineer & Infinity Rail	Royal Caribbean Cruise Line	Scenic Tours
Star Cruises / Norwegian Cruise Line	Tauck River Cruising	Territory Discoveries	Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
Viking River Cruises

*Exhibitors subject to change

FREE 20-MINUTE TRAVEL PRESENTATIONS

The program will feature free and informative presentations showcasing the most popular features of a selection of ocean and river cruises. If you are looking to “Ask the Expert” and gain insider advice and tips from leading travel experts and suppliers, then these presentation are not to be missed.
Below is the program schedule for the Expo.

Time	Presentation	Presented by:
10:15am	All-inclusive Luxury River Cruising	Uniworld Boutique River Cruises
10:45am	Modern Luxury and Destination Immersion	Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises
11:15am	Ultimate luxury cruising	Scenic Tours
11:45am	Premium, mid-sized cruising	Holland America Line
12:15pm	Legendary river cruises	Avalon Waterways
12:45pm	Extraordinary journeys along iconic waterways	A.P.T - Travelmarvel
1:15pm	Never settle for ordinary	Tauck River Cruising
1:45pm	Designed for WOW	Royal Caribbean Cruise Line
2:15pm	Holidays measured in moments not minutes	MSC Cruises
2:45pm	Discover the World’s most spectacular destination	Bentours
3:15pm	The World's Leading River Cruise Line	Viking River Cruises

*Presentation times & topics subject to change

Plans for Sydney Showground Expansion Revealed

Plans to expand the exhibition facilities at the Sydney Showground were announced at the Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) 2013 Leaders Forum this week.

The Sydney Showground told industry leaders it would be calling for tenders for a new purpose-built exhibition pavilion of 8,000sqm of clear span exhibition space with a total footprint of 11,000sqm. This would take Sydney Showground’s total offering to 30,000sqm, making it the largest in Sydney.

Sydney Showground GM, Peter Thorpe, said the EEAA Leaders Forum provided the perfect platform to announce their plans. “With more than 50 industry leaders present, all engaged in two days of leadership and business planning, the forum provided an excellent opportunity for us to ensure our planning is robust and future focused and that our infrastructure is capable of meeting business needs and demands,” he added.

Joyce DiMascio, GM of the EEAA said the new facilities will allow Sydney Showground to attract new events and to meet the demand for space to stage events in the expanding events industry.

“The significant investment in infrastructure for exhibitions and events is a very positive sign for the continued expansion of the industry,” she added. “Increased capacity offers new opportunities for organisers and suppliers as well as improved visitor and exhibitor experiences.

“The news of Sydney Showground's expansion plans comes at a time when the landscape for venues in Sydney is changing substantially. The EEAA has long-advocated the merits of dual precinct strategy for major expos.”

The new building is to be located next to the Dome and Halls with details of intended design to be released at the conclusion of the tender period in mid to late May 2013.

Following the closure of the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in December 2013, Sydney Harbour Expo at Glebe Island will provide 25,000sqm of space and now the Sydney Showground will also provide additional space.

The Future is Bright for Business Events in Sydney

Business Events Sydney (BESydney), in partnership 12 co-exhibitors, will shine the spotlight on Sydney’s spectacularly bright future at this month’s Asia-Pacific Incentives and Meetings Expos (AIME).

Held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 26-27 February, AIME is the Asia-Pacific region’s must-attend event for the meetings and events industry.

Sydney and NSW’s world-class venues and suppliers will fly the flag for NSW at the Destination Sydney stand (#1522), showcasing the scope of the state’s unique opportunities for event planners.

The harbour city will also be showing off Australia’s largest convention and exhibition facilities – an exciting development that will bolster the city’s already stellar reputation as one of the world’s favourite places to do business.

The International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) will have its own stand (#1422), where AIME visitors will be able to see a model of the current design and talk to the consortium that will build and operate the facilities when they open in late 2016.

Other new developments on show include The Star’s recently opened Event Centre, a multi-purpose venue designed to host A-list acts, conferences, exhibitions and awards functions, and Royal Randwicks’ $150 million redevelopment (opening in August), which includes a four-star hotel, ballroom and outdoor amphitheatre, as fantastic locations for upcoming business events.

Construction is also currently underway at Barangaroo, a 22-hectare former container port that is being transformed into a $6 billion extension of the city and which will include office space, residential apartments, public parks and event space, and a hotel, cafes and shops.

Lyn Lewis-Smith, CEO of BESydney, says that Sydney is open for business, and industries, government and communities are working together like never before.

“The venue options are abundant in Sydney and the redevelopment of Darling Harbour is the perfect opportunity for the city to showcase its diverse venues and the agility and flexibility of its suppliers,” Ms Lewis-Smith says.

“Also, many national conferences are literally getting out of town and benefitting from the unique activities and specialised knowledge hubs in regional NSW locations such as the Hunter Valley and Wollongong,” Ms Lewis-Smith said.

“NSW welcomes almost half of all international business arrivals to Australia. We are, and will continue to be, the country’s premier business events destination, now and in the future.”

Destination Presentations will be held at the Destination Sydney stand on Tuesday February 26 at 11.35 am and Wednesday February 27 at 1.15 pm. Register at www.aime.com.au  to attend.

GLEBE ISLAND EXPO KEEPING SYDNEY NUMBER ONE

Infrastructure NSW announced today that the interim exhibition facility on Glebe Island will be bigger than planned and has been designed to meet the requirements of Sydney’s valuable exhibition and event industry.
Sydney Harbour Expo @Glebe Island has been selected as the preferred tenderer to build, operate and remove the interim facility, which will host exhibitions and events during construction of the Sydney International Convention, Exhibition and Entertainment Precinct (SICEEP) at Darling Harbour between late 2013 to late 2016.
Sydney Harbour Expo @Glebe Island is the company formed by the leading event and equipment hire company, Pages, to deliver Glebe Island Expo.
Pages, which has developed its own in-house design and manufacturing capability, has been a highly successful supplier of event infrastructure in Australia and internationally since 1957.
Infrastructure NSW Project Director Tim Parker said, with Pages on board, we are able to create a fully-enclosed and fully-serviced, marquee-style structure of 25,000 sqm - almost replicating the current exhibition space at Darling Harbour.
“Previously, we asked tenderers for 15,000 sqm of enclosed space, with the extra 10,000 sqm to be available on a temporary basis for the larger shows,” Mr Parker said.
“The plan to have one large space undercover was developed in consultation with and endorsed by the major exhibition organisers that use the current facilities in Darling Harbour. It can be provided at the same cost to the NSW Government.
“Glebe Island will be able to accommodate Sydney’s major exhibitions, which attract more than 500,000 visitors and generate more than $100 million in economic benefit each year.
“We are proposing a strong focus on public transport to Glebe Island Expo. We will introduce shuttle services to Glebe Island on event days – including ferries from Darling Harbour and buses from the CBD.
“This facility is part of a city-wide interim solution which will keep our important conference, meeting and exhibition industry open for business to ensure Sydney remains the number one choice for events during the SICEEP construction period.
“Our interim solution will provide a platform for transition when the new, world-class facilities at Darling Harbour open in late 2016,” Mr Parker said.
Glebe Island Expo will:
-Provide 25,000 sqm of exhibition space.
-Be a destination for local and international visitors, capitalising on the proximity to Sydney Harbour.
-Deliver the experience of a more permanent facility through a uniquely designed solution.
 Provide access for loading, private vehicles, ferries and shuttle buses
Glebe Island's role as an important port facility will continue while Glebe Island Expo is in use. Port activities will continue once the temporary facility is removed when the new convention, exhibition and entertainment facilities open late 2016.
The target for development consent is March 2013, with construction commencing mid next year.
Bookings for Sydney Harbour Expo are currently coordinated through Business Events Sydney, and the transition to the new operator will happen in March 2013.