Demand for business events in the nation’s capital has seen the Canberra Convention Bureau (CCB) exceed economic contribution goals over the past year.
Giselle Radulovic, CCB director of marketing and communications, said the bureau had delivered over $45 million in estimated economic impact for the capital region, plus developed a strong pipeline of business heading into 2017-18.
“We also now head into the new year with a $5.4 million refurbishment of the National Convention Centre complete,” Radulovic said.
Along with a surge in business event delegates, Canberra is also seeing a hotel boom of its own with 11 new projects planned between now and 2020. Developments include two new Abode Hotels and an Adina Grand Apartment Hotel. Radulovic said this represented a 10% inventory growth over the next few years.
The launch of international flights to the city by Singapore Airlines, and possible flights from Qatar Airways, had enabled the city to further market itself.
“Internationally, we are targeting events that can take advantage of the new direct connections with Singapore Airlines, both association and incentive business,” Radulovic said, adding that Canberra was also being positioned as the “Knowledge Capital”.
