Business Events Venue Project - BEVP
June 2011 update - This project involves the automated data collection of business events activity from Australian venues including convention centres and hotels. The software was developed by a team from Victoria University led by Prof Leo Jago. Stage 1 saw the software trialled using the convention centres around Australia which have been uploading data dating back to 2005. Stage 2 extended the project to a trial of hotels. Stage 3 was the rollout of the software to venues around Australia through a series of training workshops and a user manual. Stage 3 of the BEVP has now been completed and a report submitted to the federal goverment. This stage was led by TTF and cofunded by TTF, BECA and the Federal Government through a TQUAL Grant. Plans for Stage 4 are now under consideration. Data continues to be uploaded by participating venues. Discussions are underway to develop a sustainable long term business model for the project. Enquiries to info@businesseventscouncil.org.au.
National Business Events Study - 2008
A major study on Australia’s meetings and exhibitions sector was released by Tourism Research Australia (formerly the Bureau of Tourism Research) in 1999 and this study estimated that business events contributed $7 billion to the Australian economy2. Given that the business events sector appears to have developed substantially over recent years, it was timely to undertake a comprehensive evaluation of the sector and to include other components of the sector that were not included in the last study such as incentive travel. As the earlier study was based on 1996/97 data, an update on the study was needed.
The National Business Events Study (NBES) is a more comprehensive evaluation of Australia’s business events sector than has previously been undertaken. The NBES investigated all components of the business events sector including exhibitions, meetings and conferences, and the incentive travel sectors. Each component of the study was underpinned by information obtained from business event venues regarding the number of events and participants they hosted over the 2002/03 financial year. This information was used to weight the data in order to estimate the size and scope of the sector.
The NBES involved a number of surveys directed to the different components of the business events sector. Exhibitors, exhibition organisers and trade visitors were surveyed to obtain an understanding of the exhibition sector. In the meetings and conferences sector, meeting and conference delegates were surveyed as well as the organisers of those events, while data from the previously under-researched area of the incentive travel sector were obtained from destination management companies, inbound tour operators and incentive travel accommodation providers.
The NBES provides a comprehensive update of the business events sector and fills some of the research gaps that were in earlier business event studies. Whilst it is unlikely that a major sector-wide study such as this can be conducted more frequently than every 4-5 years, it is important for the health of the sector that key performance measures are monitored on a regular basis.
For full details of the study and its outcomes please visit
