Importantly, this included Launceston’s first major conference since the onset of the global pandemic, with the Australian Industrial Hemp Conference bringing together a hive of keynote speakers and industry experts from across the globe to Country Club Tasmania. Further events for Launceston are scheduled for the remainder of the year, with the Endocrine Society of Australia Annual Seminar 2022 next up, taking place later this month.
Hobart played host to nine events across both Association and Corporate & Incentive markets in March in what was also the busiest month for the city since the onset of COVID. The remainder of Tasmania’s 2022 business event calendar features multiple conferences and events each month all the way up until December.
Whilst the postponement of PCOA to December 2022 due to COVID related issues was disappointing, it does mean that when Tassie holds PCOA later this year we will be able to maximise the opportunities afforded to host destinations of this event for our members.
Pleasingly despite the postponement, we were able to proceed with the associated famil activity we had planned to run simultaneously to PCOA, with the sales team hosting a number of interstate famil attendees across the state at the end of January. Taking in the north, south and east coast regions, this was the second famil BET has run under the grant we received in 2021 from the Federal Government’s Recovery for Regional Tourism Program.
We know that famil activity is one of the most effective ways to convert new business for the state, and the sales team has already identified 60 pieces of business in our sales pipeline at varying stages of the bidding process that relate directly to the two famil groups we have hosted, with events with an EEI of around $5M already won and locked in.
We anticipate that this figure will grow significantly over the next six to eight months as markets continue to stabilise and enquiries relating to the high yielding Corporate & Incentive market which typically has shorter lead times, continue to rise. Expressions of interest for our next famil scheduled for May are currently being taken and we are working with members to showcase the best that Tasmania has to offer in this upcoming program.
In meeting with many members over the past few months, I know that the start to 2022 has been challenging as you all manage staffing issues and the impacts that the Omicron strain has posed on businesses almost daily. For us at Business Events Tasmania we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel, with consistent bidding requests and increased appetite for travel, and look forward to working with our members throughout the remainder of 2022 to take you on that journey with us.
As always, I encourage you to reach out to me or the team directly if you have any issues you wish to raise, as member feedback is vital to our regular meetings with government and informs my work on the boards of TICT, VXT and Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB).
Marnie Craig
CEO