Sydney still the place to do business

Sydney has once again been confirmed as Australia’s number one destination for business events and conferences, according to the latest annual International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) Country and City Rankings.

8 May 2018

Minister for Tourism and Major Events Adam Marshall said the report, released last night, saw the Harbour city retain its top spot within Australia and climb from 10th to seventh place in the Asia Pacific region.

“Sydney’s global ranking has jumped a whopping 15 places from 41st to 26th and is proving a strong contender within the Asia Pacific region,” Mr Marshall said.

“This outstanding result shows Sydney’s enduring global appeal as a destination for major international events.

“Our success is carrying the rest of the nation, with Sydney’s popularity propelling Australia up the ranks from 16th to 14th most popular global event destinations.

“Last year, Sydney secured 76 international events, representing 30 per cent of Australia’s total, and contributing over 225,000 overnight stays in NSW.

“Securing these international events equates to big business for the State’s visitor economy, putting dollars in the pockets of local businesses bolstering our tourism industry.”

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) CEO Lyn Lewis-Smith said Sydney holding onto its status as Australia’s premier destination for international business events was good news for everyone.

“These kind of results are not the result of complacency – our continued success on the world stage are the outcome of invaluable cross-sector collaborations that show the world that Sydney understands the value of bringing global leaders together to shape agendas and solve some of the world’s most important challenges,” Ms Lewis-Smith said.

“In addition to the association events tracked by ICCA, BESydney also delivered a record-breaking 59 Asian incentive events. These record results continued the 20 per cent year-on-year growth for Business Events Sydney’s incentive business over the past decade.”

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