BESydney is celebrating a year of success stories – where global leaders in finance, health, science, insurance and direct selling chose Sydney as the host destination to spark genuine progress within their sectors.
Some of the 88 show-stopping meetings, worth a conservatively estimated $210 million in direct expenditure (DE), included Sibos, the World Congress of Accountants, Global Summit for Women, Jeunesse Global Lifestyle and Rewards Event, SAP FKOM, and the 19th International Microscopy Congress. In total, these 88 events attracted 53,000 delegates to Sydney and New South Wales (NSW) in 2018.
“Each meeting highlights the effectiveness of connecting face-to-face – the chance to challenge the status quo, inspire and exchange ideas across disciplines and across countries,” says CEO of BESydney, Lyn Lewis-Smith. “What results is a stronger, more unified brains trust – an amalgamation of different perspectives and experiences that, when combined, produce legacy ripples that impact the entire city, if not country.”
This year alone, the strategic bidding services organisation has secured an estimated A$220 million in DE for the State of NSW, up from $217 million in 2017. This equates to 89 events destined to hit Australia’s shores in the coming decade. Of this, a record-breaking A$120m is from the Asian incentive market.
“Split between global association/corporate meetings and incentives, these wins provide opportunity for Australia’s remarkable minds to showcase to the world their passion and leadership in best practice and innovation,” adds Ms Lewis-Smith.
Association meetings won in 2018 include the International Forum on Quality and Safety in Healthcare 2020 (1,500 delegates), the Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America 2021 (1,000 delegates) and the International Meeting on Lithium Batteries in 2022 (1,800 delegates). For corporate meetings, a standout event is the MDRT Global Conference 2019 with 7,500 delegates; and for incentives, Sydney will host Miki Prune Japan (1,200 delegates), Prudential Korea President’s Trophy Convention 2019 (1,200 delegates) and BWL for 6,000 delegates.
“They say you are the company you keep, and BESydney was proud to call the NSW Government, Destination NSW, Property NSW, City of Sydney, AccorHotels, the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) and Qantas Major Partners this year.“
Tapping into new markets and strengthening existing relationships, BESydney’s business development activity included a tradeshow presence at IMEX Frankfurt and IMEX America in Las Vegas, and partnering again with ICC Sydney on Sydney Speaker Series events in New York, together with Advance and the New York Consulate-General, and London. Keynote speakers included Professor David Sinclair AO, Geneticist and BESydney Global Ambassador, and The Right Honourable Baroness Valerie Amos CH PC, the former British High Commissioner to Australia and United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator.
“We also paused to recognise the achievements of our highly-esteemed Global Ambassadors at our annual dinner in Sydney,” said Ms Lewis-Smith. “On behalf of Patron and NSW Premier, The Hon Gladys Berejiklian MP, the Minister for Tourism and Major Events, The Hon Adam Marshall MP, formally welcomed nine new champions to the program. Gail Kelly provided an outstanding Australia Oration, speaking to the importance of generosity of spirit in great leadership – a core value shared by all of our Ambassadors. The knowledge value in that room was immense – industry leaders reflecting the strongest sectors of the NSW economy passionate about Sydney and what it offers the world.”
This year, BESydney joined the City of Sydney’s initiative, the Sustainable Destination Partnership. As a founding member BESydney will work with City of Sydney and their partners to ensure organisations run their events in Sydney as sustainably as possible. This new move comes at a time when Sydney’s Global Destination Sustainability Index score increased significantly to 73 per cent, from 63 per cent in 2017. The score benchmarks the social and environmental performance of business events industries across more than 50 cities worldwide.
And mid-year, Sydney’s popularity was once again confirmed when the latest annual International Congress and Convention Association Country and City Rankings placed the city as Australia’s number one destination for global meetings and seventh in the Asia Pacific.
