Sydney has jumped 17 places and is now ranked number 10 out of 364 global business meeting destinations in the 2010 International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA) ratings.

Within the Asia Pacific region Sydney is ranked as the number 2 business events destination, second only to Singapore. In 2010, Sydney hosted almost half of the total number of meetings attributed to Australian cities.

Mr Jon Hutchison, CEO of Business Events Sydney (BESydney) says, “The result is a strong indication of the robustness of Sydney’s meetings industry and our ability to deliver world-class meetings, events and conferences”.

“ICCA’s country and city rankings are highly regarded. This outstanding result will bring renewed interest in our destination that will have a considerable impact on future global business opportunities for Sydney.

“Sydney’s strengths in key subject fields coupled with the city’s collaborative approach to delivering event outcomes are important factors that are moving Sydney up in global preferences,” says Mr Hutchison.

Mr Martin Sirk, CEO of ICCA, said, “I’ve been incredibly impressed by BESydney’s rigorous use of ICCA’s research tools to identify prospective business, and to aggressively market Sydney to international associations. It’s no surprise to me that they’ve climbed high in both ICCA’s world and regional rankings”.

Mr Hutchison said, “Sydney’s outstanding performance presents fresh impetus and new opportunities. This is a great push for future growth that will underpin sales and marketing efforts to win events to fill the proposed new convention space, and capitalise on exciting plans for the ‘new’ Sydney including the Barangaroo project, refurbishment of Star City and other great new infrastructure developments on the drawing board.

“We are also working to capitalise on growth in the Asian market – to increase Sydney’s market share of business events and delegate participation from the region.

“We are excited about the plans for Sydney over the next 5 to 10 years and will be working collaboratively with both industry and government to reinforce Sydney’s leading position for business events.”

To date this financial year BESydney has secured 66 business events, expected to generate $185 million for the economy – 50% more than what was achieved this time last year.

In the ICCA rankings, Sydney’s closest Australian competitor is Melbourne, ranked 40^th in the world. Vienna and Barcelona topped the global listings in 1^st and 2^nd position.  

ICCA is recognised as the official record and producer of annual world city rankings for the global congress, conventions and meetings’ industry. To qualify, these events must also rotate between global destinations, and have been held in three international cities across the span of its lifetime. In 2010 Sydney hosted 102 meetings that fit these criteria.

On Monday 6 June, BESydney will bring together leading global experts from Amsterdam, Vienna, Seoul and London to examine the international business events environment, including Sydney’s future direction, the benefits of this industry beyond tourism, and its role in economic growth for the State.

Mr Hutchison said, “With Building a global city through business events as the overarching theme, this event is an opportunity to learn more about the impact proposed infrastructure projects in Sydney will have on the city’s future business events’ growth.”

KEY MEETINGS HELD IN SYDNEY DURING 2010  

· 7^th International Orthodontic Congress: economic impact $20 m

· 9^th Annual World Congress of the Human Proteome Organisation: economic impact $7.5 m

· 4^th Asian Pacific Congress on Computational Mechanics: economic impact $3.6 m

· 4^th Scientific Meeting of the Asian Pacific Menopause Federation: economic impact $3.4 m

· 11^th Asia Pacific Conference on Giftedness: economic impact $2.9 m

· 7^th Asia Pacific Regional Rotaract Conference: economic impact $1.8 m

UPCOMING EVENTS secured by BESydney

Building a global city through business events, Monday 6 June, 2011

BESydney is bringing together leading global experts from cities including Amsterdam, Vienna, Seoul and London to examine the international business events environment, including Sydney’s future direction, the benefits of this industry beyond tourism, and its role in economic growth for the State.

This event is an opportunity to learn more about the impact proposed infrastructure projects in Sydney will have on the city’s future business events’ growth. These developments are essential for Sydney to maintain its place as a leading international host city for corporate, professional and association conferences and exhibitions. Why this is important will be discussed at the Building a global city through business events seminar, including what is needed to maximise the opportunity presented by new government and new infrastructure.