Event planners can now book Sydney’s top venue with Sydney Tower’s new adrenalin attraction, Sydney Skywalk, open for breakfast group bookings. The attraction will team with Sydney Tower Restaurants’ Sky Lounge to provide the ultimate high flyers’ meeting package. Featuring panoramic 360-degree outdoor views from Sydney’s tallest building, Skywalk is a high altitude outdoor adventure located 260 metres above Sydney’s streets, offering an exhilarating outlook certain to inspire any gathering. Opened in October 2005, Skywalk tests thrillseekers’ willpower on the rooftop of the tower’s golden turret. The Skywalk experience sees Skywalkers venture out onto two glass-floored viewing platforms suspended over the Tower’s edge, with one platform moving up and down beneath participants’ feet before extending out over city streets. In conjunction with a morning group Skywalk booking, event organisers can now also book the Tower’s Sky Lounge for exclusive use from 8.30am to 10am making it the perfect location for a private breakfast, team-bonding exercise or pre-work gathering.
Sydney’s strong focus on the Asian incentive market is paying off, with the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau securing two high profile incentive meetings from China and Taiwan within one week. Around 1000 representatives of pharmaceutical company Roche China will hold their incentive meeting in Sydney during February next year, while about 1600 representatives of Shinkong Life Insurance in Taiwan will travel to Sydney on an incentive visit in April 2007. The two events, both confirmed in late October, are worth an estimated $16.6 million to the New South Wales economy.
Managing director of BI Worldwide, Richard Bandell, and CEO of The MINT Organization, Nigel Gaunt, have jointly announced the formation of a new communication and performance improvement company operating in the Asia Pacific and the Middle East. The new company has been created by the purchase of The MINT Organization by BI Worldwide, in an acquisition plan to be phased over the next five years. The new company, which will continue to be known as The MINT Organization, will retain its head office in Melbourne, with offices in Sydney, Shanghai, Singapore and Dubai. MINT founder, Nigel Gaunt, will continue as chief executive officer. BI Worldwide chairman, David Hackett, will be part-seconded to the new business, working out of both Dubai and the UK, and will play a key role in the integration of MINT into the BI family. He will also continue his non-executive chairmanship of BI in the UK. Mr Bandell said that MINT’s high compatibility with BI was a deciding factor in the purchase.
Qantas has replaced Qantas mainline operations between Sydney and Townsville with Jetstar flights. From October 29, 2006 Jetstar has been operating five 177-seat A320 services a week for the Qantas group. “Sydney-Townsville is predominantly a leisure route so Jetstar is the most appropriate carrier for these services,” said Qantas executive general manager, John Borghetti. “Qantas will maintain its 34 return services a week between Brisbane and Townsville, with QantasLink continuing to operate its current schedule of services between Townsville and Cairns, Mackay, Rockhampton and Gladstone.”
City of Sydney Rangers – also known as parking inspectors – are becoming tourism ambassadors under a new initiative. The city’s 120 rangers will now be using their street knowledge to provide helpful advice and directions to tourists and visitors, and will be armed with pocket-sized fold-out maps of the CBD, Darling Harbour, Kings Cross and Glebe.
The forecast for AIME 2007 is looking bright with exhibitors from across the globe increasing their presence at the Asia Pacific event. Hong Kong has increased its space from 180 to 225 square metres while Visit Britain, Hawaii, Canada, China, Dubai, Oman and Indonesia have also taken more space. The Gold Coast, Tasmania, InterContinental Hotel Group and Hyatt Hotels have also increased their floor space. In 2007 AIME is being held on February 13 and 14.
With so much to see and do in Townsville and North Queensland, a good night’s sleep is essential and delegates on the mice.net and Virgin Blue famil earlier this year experienced this first hand as guests at Quality Hotel Southbank which adjoins their convention centre. Delegates were greeted by general manager, Paul Burke dressed as a paperboy (pictured left) welcoming guests with a copy of a special Southbank business events bulletin. Townsville boasts a wide range of accommodation including the newly refurbished properties Jupiters Townsville Hotel and Casino and Mercure Inn Townsville, and the new Hotel Ibis which opened in August. More accommodation is due on-line soon, including a Grand Mercure in the city’s Palmer Street and five-star apartments on Magnetic Island. Discover more on pages 38-42 and fill in the expression of interest form on page 104 for your chance to go on a Townsville and North Queensland famil.
The Westin Sydney has been recognised internationally as Australasia’s Leading Conference Hotel for the second year running and Australia’s Leading Business Hotel at the 13th Annual World Travel Awards. The awards were a culmination of a voting campaign by a total of 167,000 travel professionals worldwide, including 110,000 travel agents.
Business Tourism Australia has launched Platinum Australia aimed directly at the corporate meeting and incentive market in Asia. It offers “Best of Australia” corporate meeting, incentives and VIP/honeymoon leisure information, products and itineraries, according to chief executive, Peter Colahan. Platinum Australia’s key objective is to convert the interest in Australia to the destination of choice for the next corporate incentive, meeting and VIP leisure visit. Platinum Australia includes a 40-page full colour brochure and interactive website, www.businesstourismaustralia.com.au, specifically aimed at the corporate client.
Newcastle has won the bid to host a major local government roads and transport event in July 2007. The National Local Roads and Transport Congress will take place in the city from July 8 to 10 next year. This annual congress is expected to bring around 500 delegates from across Australia to the city for three days and is estimated to be worth approximately $620,000 to the local economy. The National Local Roads and Transport Congress is organised annually by the Australian Local Government Association and is the main annual forum for all those involved in the planning, management, policy-making, funding, maintenance and construction of roads that fall under the responsibility of local governments around Australia.
In line with the Gold Coast’s strategy to achieve premier status as a meetings, conference and convention destination, Gold Coast Tourism has announced the city will host some of the world’s most influential business leaders early next year. The speakers’ list for the inaugural VeryGC Global Business Insights 2007 event includes some of the biggest names in North America, South America and Asia, including American economist and former Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve of the US, Dr Alan Greenspan and Ricardo Semler, CEO of Semco SA and champion of industrial democracy and corporate re-engineering. In the nine months to September 2006, Gold Coast Tourism had already secured more than $38 million of business tourism-related results, an increase of more than 30 per cent on last year.
Royal Randwick Racecourse has been chosen to host an overnight Vigil and Final Mass to be celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI during World Youth Day in July 2008 (WYD08). This will be the fourth Papal Mass staged at the venue. The AJC committee has commenced development of a management plan for the event to ensure minimal disruption to normal training and racing activities. Royal Randwick was chosen from 18 potential sites due to its combination of space, uninterrupted sight lines and public transport links. It also has the highest minimum temperatures of any site considered, an important factor for the mid-winter Vigil and open-air sleep-out.
Crown Towers has been given official hotel status for the 12th FINA World Swimming Championships in 2007. More than 2000 athletes from up to 175 countries, as well as team officials and staff will attend the event, with FINA representatives and members of the international media staying at the hotel during the championships, which will begin on March 17. As the Official FINA Family Hotels, Crown Towers and Crown Promenade Hotel will accommodate all visiting VIP’s and technical officials attending the championships.
There were plenty of smiling faces at the recent launch of the new ICMS Australasia office. Held at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, the cocktail party event was attended by industry players and clients.
 Sea World Resort is giving away a free adult Dolphin Aqua Adventure when you hold your conference at the Gold Coast-based resort between January 19 and June 30, 2007. Better still, you’ll also receive a family holiday (for two adults and two children) to the value of $2000, which includes daily buffet breakfast, full-day entry to Sea World plus a welcome gift of strawberries and sparkling wine. During the dolphin adventure you’ll join the dolphins and a Sea World marine mammal trainer in a beach-like pool, and then experience a shallow water interaction before observing these fascinating animals in a deep-water encounter. Plus a Sea World photographer will be on standby to capture the memory for you!
Following consistent customer requests for non-smoking rooms, Holiday Inn on Flinders, Melbourne has gone ‘no smoking’ from October 11. It’s the first of the Holiday Inn group’s 1406 hotels outside the US to do so. General manager, Jason Burnett said it was a case of giving the customers what they wanted – so much so, he’s ripped out and replaced all the carpets in what were the smoking rooms on the smoking floor and will be replacing the hall carpets shortly. The cigarette machine was removed last month.
The Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) has been awarded the internationally-recognised quality management system standard ISO 9001 certification from Lloyd’s Register Quality Assurance Ltd. This certification acknowledges the quality of the centre’s provision of integrated marketing, sales, event management and event support services for Australian and international clients. Lloyds conducted a rigorous quality assurance audit of the entire organisation before awarding the certificate to the BCEC.
Graham Muir has been re-elected chairman of the Perth Convention Bureau for a second 12-month term. In his role as Executive Chairman, Mr Muir is also combining the duties of managing director following the August resignation of Anne-Maree Ferguson. Professional conference organiser Debbie-Ann Scott, managing director of EventEdge Management Group, has been elected Vice Chairperson.
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