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Industry news
BID FUND
PROGRAM:
ONE YEAR ON
Events secured
through the
BFP include:
UITP 2021 Global Public
Transport Summit
Melbourne
$4.6m economic value
2019 SportAccord
World Sport and
Business Summit
Gold Coast
$6.7m economic value
145th IATA Slot
Conference 2019
Brisbane
$3.2m economic value
13th Congress of
International Plant
Molecular Biology 2021
Cairns
$4.2m economic value
It has been 12 months since applications opened for
Tourism Australia’s Business Events Bid Fund Program.
Spice checks in with executive general manager of
events Penny Lion to see where the program is at and
what impact it’s having on the industry.
Since the launch of Tourism Australia’s
Business Events Bid Fund Program (BFP),
it has helped bring multi-million-dollar
international events to the country.
As Australia’s first ever federal governmentfunded
business events bid fund, the program
sees $12 million made available over three years
to help increase the conversion of new business
events for Australia.
To date, Tourism Australia has received
applications for 65 events, 17 of which have
converted to business worth more than $220
million. According to Penny Lion, executive general
manager of events at Tourism Australia, these
positive results prove how effective the program is.
“From the outset the industry overwhelmingly
welcomed the initiative and have been very
receptive in seeking to access the BFP to convert
new business,” she says.
Given the increasingly competitive nature of
business events, the BFP couldn’t have come at a
better time for Australia. The program also helps
overcome the “time, distance, cost” barriers to
travel, says Lion.
“Whilst we are recognised globally for
the talent of our people, our expertise in key
knowledge sectors, as well as our state-ofthe-art
infrastructure, event delivery expertise
and destination appeal, it can still be hard to
overcome these barriers, but the BFP can help
with that,” she says.
“It makes Australia more competitive and
helps to secure events by offering financial
support at the crucial stage where we are in direct
competition with other countries.”
In the long term, the BFP will help secure
ongoing benefits for Australia as a business
events destination.
“The BFP is supporting events that will take
place in Australia as far out as 2023, providing
consistent and long-term economic benefits for
our country,” says Lion.
“It also helps develop the event pipeline
for destinations in Australia, as international
customers become more aware of the BFP and
how it can help them deliver cost-effective events.”
With the three-year program entering its
second year, Lion says the results to date are
showing very positives signs for the industry.
“We expect the BFP will continue to provide
the industry with a competitive advantage that
grows this conversion for Australia.” n
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