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“Building Business Opportunities in Australia and New Zealand”

"The Meetings Industry has come of age. It has firmly placed itself at the centre of tourism as one of the key drivers of the sector’s development and an important generator of income, employment and investment." - Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General, World Tourism Organization in this years Global Report on the Meetings Industry.

The sector continues to expand in our part of the of the world, with the addition of many new meetings venues both publicly and privately funded. While “bricks and mortar capacity” is growing rapidly, the nature of meeting and event design, delivery, marketing and management is in a state of transition.

Just as the old sales models were about cold calling, product demos and lead qualification, the new model is about social networks, education and engagement.

The communication cycle is now a "conference to conference" activity and involves many technology mediums. Delegates want to be more engaged in the process both before and after the conference or event.

Convenors and event owner’s expectations are changing, along with those of sponsors and exhibitors, so how do event managers accommodate and identify these changes?

This year’s conference will continue the conversations we started in Melbourne in 2013. We will examine the relationships and interdependence between venues, transport, delegates, convenors, managers, technologies, governments and clients.

How are the expectations of each group changing?

How will we build the next generation of successful meetings and events? Join us in Canberra and help answer the question!