In a milestone year, the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event went underway on Monday in Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC). It is the 30th anniversary.

Just as the Australian Open is the first tennis grand slam of the year, AIME is the first international trade show of the business events sector and now the top business events trade show in the Asia-Pacific region. This is a powerful testament to the longevity and legacy of the show and its importance to the global business events industry.

The Hon. Steve Dimopoulos, Tourism Minister of Victoria, Julia Swanson, CEO of Melbourne Convention Bureau, Natalie O’Brien, CEO of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, and Phillipa Harrison, Managing Director of Tourism Australia, joined Matt Pearce, CEO of Talk2 Media Events, to share some of this year’s facts about AIME.

Eleven months after the last AIME in 2022, this year’s event is 40% larger, with 400 exhibitors from over 25 countries and 1,3000 meetings planned over three days, indicating that face-to-face business events are returning.

“Where we’ve worked so hard is in the background, searching for the appropriate buyers to meet those Executives, and you know that’s where this success comes from,” said Matt Pearce.

“Artificial Intelligence levels are high, and learning is taking place with the technology we utilise, enhancing what we do. However, it is also plain old-fashioned expertise from the staff, who are familiar with the kind of businesses we have as exhibitors and the buyers we have.”

“People see a role for virtual, a role for hybrid, and a need for events.”

“The aim here is to give us a moment to come together, do business, have fun, celebrate the industry where it’s at, and find industry.”

“The goal here is to offer us a chance to get together and conduct business, have fun and celebrate the achievements with the industry.”

The Hon. Steve Dimopoulos, Tourism Minister of Victoria, stated: “Just to give you a bit of context why Melbourne is such a good business event city, because it has all the great architecture around it, which contributes to a better experience for those events.”

“Here we have some of the best restaurants you’ll ever visit. We’ve recently finished the Grand Slam Tennis Tournament, one of the top sporting competitions in the world, the Australian Open. Melbourne has some of the best transport links in and around the city.”

“Melbourne will host the worldwide Comedy Festival, the Food and Wine Festival, the Fashion Festival, and the Grand Prix during the next five or six weeks. So you’re in a fantastic city to organise a business event.”

“We’ve developed business events that we invest in to procure with our agencies that have a $2.7 billion economic worth. Not only are hotel rooms, restaurants, and retail establishments in high demand, but so is rural tourism.”

As Australia emerged from COVID last year, AIME was the first international trade show staged in the country, and Melbourne Convention Bureau leadership demonstrated to the sector how to restart and establish trust. Aside from fostering trust, data suggests that $120 million was transacted as a direct consequence of last year’s event, representing an enormous economic benefit throughout that time.

“It’s more than simply arranging meetings and events that have come from decades of work,” said Julia Swanson, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau. “It’s 30 years’ worth of legacy from those business events’ relationships. And we know that great minds, makers, and innovators are converging on AIME in Melbourne, which has led to exciting innovations and innovative solutions that create real change and significantly contribute to the economy.”

“When AIME began in 1993, Melbourne had a hotel capacity of 4000 rooms. The state’s prediction for this year is 45,000. So that’s simply a tribute to the city’s overwhelming expansion from a modest domestic-based city to the global metropolis it is today.”

During that time, we’ve also seen key developments such as Docklands, South Bank, and Melbourne’s main medical precinct in Parkville.

“And looking to the future, what’s happening in Melbourne, we also have another 12 hotels in construction; the tallest hotel in Australia, the Ritz Carlton, will open next month, so we’re thrilled. Some of our guests had a sneak peek yesterday, and I’ve heard it’s fantastic. And several of our current hotels, like the Rydges Melbourne, are undergoing extensive renovations.”

“We’ve had early work starting on 1.7 billion Melbourne Arts precinct, and it will be Australia’s greatest arts and cultural infrastructure investment. It would provide additional public parklands linking the city’s famous cultural venues and a world-class contemporary art gallery.”

“Marvel Stadium, which opened in Melbourne in 2000, is undertaking a $225 million refurbishment to revive the stadium as a world-class entertainment destination. We’ll get a good insight into that tonight for the AIME’s 30th-anniversary celebration.”

“So, these examples highlight the innovation and ongoing evolution of Melbourne and Victoria, and they’ve signed their significant indicator of Melbourne’s economic progress. And we have strong knowledge sectors in Melbourne, which also translates to big business. The health and medical sector continue to dominate, with 30% of our confirmed business over the next three years coming from this sector, and we can expect 16,000 delegates coming to Melbourne from those sectors.”

“Biotechnology is also producing some significant events for Melbourne, such as the International Congress of Genetics, which we welcome to Melbourne in July and will attract 3000 delegates to our city”.

“We’re also seeing substantial development in the business sector, with 24 association and incentive events booked for 2023. We have strong knowledge sectors in Melbourne, which also translates to big business. The health and medical sector continue to be dominant, with 30% of our confirmed business over the next three years coming from this sector, and we can expect 16,000 delegates coming to Melbourne from those sectors. “Julia said.

To support these developments, aviation, a critical industry for the city’s continuing growth, is also coming back, notably from Asia. In recent weeks, Melbourne Airport has welcomed six Chinese carriers, and Emirates has announced an increase in daily service from two to three, returning to pre-COVID levels.

Another new destination from Melbourne is India, which now has 11 new weekly direct flights with Air India and Qantas.

Qantas has also announced commencing flights to Jakarta three times per week and Garuda. Indonesia is also expanding their capacity over the next few months. So, in April, Melbourne will be back to 80% aviation presence, which is fantastic to see the sector we’ve found so quickly.

“AIME enables new and valuable connections to drive business not just here in Victoria and Australia but for the Asia Pacific. And we’re proud of bringing this to you for three decades and the future in partnership with our wonderful partners, talk to media. At the core, business events provide the best access to key decision-makers and the people who make them happen. And AIME is the perfect platform.” Julia Swanston said in closing.

Natalie O’Brien has been the CEO of the Melbourne Convention Centre for the last five weeks, and she has said that she would spend the next few weeks and months learning and understanding the sector by listening to stakeholders to develop pillars to support the path ahead.

Natalie also mentions that MCC will oversee the future Geelong Convention Centre, and this new precinct is set to open in 2024. The convention centre will have a 200-room hotel, a 1000-seat plenary centre, and 3700 square metres of multifunctional space to accommodate small and big events.

“We’re working with the Victorian Government, the community, and companies to ensure that this landmark development in Geelong is a success,” Natalie O’Brien said.

“Now we truly see that face-to-face business events are back and here to stay,” said Phillipa Harrison, MD, Tourism Australia. Fortunately, we also took the time to refresh our brand and think about how we communicate the business events story to the world, and when we launched a year ago, we were out there presenting that story to our markets.

“China is now open as well; we have recently launched. There’s nothing like Australia for business events in the Chinese market. We’re going big there via social and trade media, but also through our content and our call to action, which is the business events Australia website, which we’ve also used throughout this time to update and provide an excellent user experience.”

“China is now rebuilding at about 30% and looking to be at about 80% by the end of the year. So there is still a gap there, but the best thing we can do to fill that gap is to create demand because carriers are commercial and will respond to demands. So that’s what we’re busy doing.”

Here are a few key highlights of how Melbourne’s business events infrastructure has evolved over the last few decades:

The Melbourne Exhibition Centre opened in 1996, with the addition of the Convention Centre in 2009 and a major $205 million expansion in 2018, making it the largest in the southern hemisphere.

Multiple new precincts have emerged, including Southgate (a reflection of Australia’s arts, food and wine with a distinct Melbourne flavour); a $1.4 billion South Wharf precinct in 2010; the Docklands precinct (one of Australia’s premier waterfront urban renewal projects); and the Melbourne Biomedical Project in Parkville. Early works have even started on a $1.7 billion Melbourne Arts Precinct transformation project.

Crown Melbourne opened in 1994 and relocated to the Southbank precinct of Melbourne’s CBD in 1997. As the central feature of Southbank, the casino and resort complex (hosting three hotels – Crown Towers, Crown Promenade and Crown Metropol) is the equivalent of two city blocks, making it the largest casino complex in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the largest in the world.

Event specialists Showtime Event Group launched in 2018 and have activated Melbourne’s most iconic venues for business and social events, operating 24 venue spaces, including the Old Melbourne Gaol, Rippon Lea Estate, SEA LIFE Melbourne Aquarium, Aerial, State Library Victoria and Polly Woodside.

Melbourne Airport underwent significant changes over the years, including a fourth passenger t

terminal in 2000; becoming the first airport in Australia to be capable of handling the A380; construction of an additional level of airline lounges in 2006; and a $330 million expansion of Terminal Two completed in 2011

The $460 million Marvel Stadium opened in 2000, a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in Docklands.

New and exciting event spaces launched in the last two years, such as Centrepiece, The LUME,

The growth of Melbourne as a top business event destination is also reflected in the expansion of hotel rooms over the last thirty years.

Event operators and suppliers have continued to innovate and adapt to meet new needs and expectations, offering stimulating social impact activities and sustainable products and services as we move towards a net zero carbon emission footprint.