|
usiness events in Perth , Western Australia are back in action , too , as the local industry reboots itself and gets ready for the return of much awaited international travel .
After an early lockdown last year , Western Australia was in the fortunate position of low levels of community transmission , meaning life in Australia ’ s largest state resumed to near normal levels , with a controlled interstate border and mandated Covid-safety plans for businesses , which now includes venue limits of one person per two square metres .
As part of the industry ’ s rebound , in July last year , Perth hosted Australia ’ s first large-scale business event since the onset of the pandemic , with a 900-delegate breakfast meeting . The keynote speaker was WA Premier Mark McGowan and the event was over-subscribed .
Business Events Perth chief executive Gareth Martin says this success showed people had a strong appetite to meet in
|
person again once it was safe to do so . “ Even with a short lockdown in Western Australia , what we saw locally is that people cannot wait to meet again face-to-face ,” Martin says .
“ The local business events industry and government have worked hard to develop Covid-safe practices such as new floorplans , increased cleaning regimes , modified food and beverage service , as well as mandated contact tracing at all venues , so the industry can operate safely .
“ Local industry is busying itself with domestic events while it eagerly waits for the return of international business delegates ,” Martin adds .
Business Events Perth has instigated several initiatives to help the local sector at a grass roots level , including the Event Here Now campaign : offering sponsorship up to AUD $ 30,000 for in-person local business events . It has , so far supported over 110 business events , helping 56,000 delegates connect and collaborate in person .
Content creation partnerships have
|
Left : Dinner en Blanc Perth 2020 . Caroline James Events and Overland Media |
included funding members to develop new marketing assets for their business , with a focus on Covid-19 safety . Thirty projects have been co-funded .
An Industry Professional Development Fund has also supported business event professionals to attend a training or educational session .
“ We ’ re doing everything we can to kickstart the local business events industry , so when international travel resumes , we will be competitive in market and ready to host major international events ,” says Martin .
Last year also saw new major hotels opening in Perth , including the city ’ s only permanent floating venue , The Raft , while the AUD $ 400m WA Museum Boola Bardip threw open its doors in November 2020 .
Martin adds that quick work liaising with clients helped ensure events were postponed rather than cancelled and says , “ It was pleasing that more than two-thirds of events scheduled for 2020 postponed to a later date ”.
Now the city looks forward to hosting in 2023 the 25th Biennial Conference on the Biology of Marine Mammals and , until international delegates can come to Perth in person to meet , Martin and his team invites you to discover what is on offer in Western Australia through Business Events Perth ’ s new interactive event planning tool : www . beperthassociation . com
|