Conference & Meetings World Issue 111 | Page 39

Australia

Capital hub for hybrid

ocated between Sydney and Melbourne , Australia ’ s capital provides a great hybrid hub for business events and the first social distancing and contact tracing tech trials in Australia were carried out at the National Convention Centre ( NCC ) Canberra .
The Canberra Convention Bureau helped secure 1,200 Smart Badges for delegates to control their personal space and reduce any health risk .
The IEEE Symposium Series on Computational Intelligence , which took place at the NCC Canberra in December 2020 , went ahead virtually and the Australian Cyber Conference is also due to take place in March with over 500 delegates .
Canberra has remained almost Covid free and convention bureau CEO Michael Matthews believes vaccine rollout , border bubbles and restoring air routes are key determinants for in-person business returning . He reports the city has bids in for a range of mid-sized international conferences for the period 2022 to 2025 .
“ The only positive to come from this crisis for business events ,” he says , “ is that government , both state and federal , are acutely aware now of the importance of our pre-Covid AUD $ 36bn sector contribution and the understanding that they have a role to help us towards recovery .”
Many venues are already able to utilise 75 % of their capacities , which Matthews notes is a pathway to profitability . “ While clients and their boards are nervous given the uncertainty – they know the importance of maintaining connection to their communities by bringing them back in-person . Events are starting to proceed which will build confidence .”
The Canberra Convention Bureau has used down time to work on new plans for
Above : Canberra Balloon Spectacular
market re-engagement and on getting back-of-house content right . There has been an international virtual fam trip and , with projected sizes of business events being smaller for the next couple of years , it could be a virtue born out of a necessity for a smaller city like Canberra to pitch for events that normally would have been too large .

Northern Territory rocking it , virtually for now

significant number of business events planned for the Northern Territory ( NT ) pre-Covid have moved forward in the calendar to dates in 2021 through to 2025 , while maintaining NT as their chosen host destination .
Rebecca McCaig , director of Northern Territory Business Events ( NTBE ), the official convention bureau , says she is delighted in what she terms this “ fantastic vote of confidence ” from planners .
“ While some of the events due to be held at the height of the crisis were given no choice but to cancel , 60 % of our loyal clients with events planned for 2021 and beyond , have slotted into future dates ,” she says .
The pristine natural environment and wide-open spaces in Darwin , Alice Springs and at Uluru have undoubtedly helped this process .
One international event which has shown continued confidence in the NT is the 13th Quadrennial Congress of the World Federation of Neuroscience Nurses , previously scheduled for 2021 , which will now come to Darwin in 2025 .
The NTBE Support Fund , administered by the bureau , has played its part in keeping business events on the books for the future , and can offer AUD $ 100 per delegate in terms of financial assistance to organisations whose events are at the bidding stage and which align with NT ’ s priority industry sectors .
NT maintains a virtual engagement with the international marketplace and NTBE has been involved with virtual trade events organised by Business Events Australia in priority international markets .
NTBE has been delivering virtual workshop experiences for planners , enabling them to ‘ travel ’ to the NT from their respective offices and enjoy some of its iconic experiences , via online workshops .
A virtual Dot-Painting Workshop was held in conjunction with Maruku Arts , an Uluru-based craft organisation operated by the Anangu , aboriginal people from Central Australia . Art materials were delivered to participants prior to the event and an indigenous artist connected online to instruct participants on the techniques and symbols of this unique desert art form .
Another group enjoyed a Virtual Yoga session with Voyages Indigenous Tourism at Ayers Rock Resort at Uluru . Participants were sent yoga mats in advance of the event and then invited to participate in a 20-minute yoga session conducted at Uluru .
These workshop options are also available for international planners to consider either virtually or in-person when the situation permits .
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