The 25th edition of the AIME meetings industry tradeshow was officially opened at the weekend at a press conference held at the host venue Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.
The Lord Mayor of Melbourne Robert Doyle; CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau Karen Bolinger; executive general manager for events at Tourism Australia Penny Lion; event director of AIME Ian Wainwright and MCEC CEO Peter King were all in attendance.
The Lord Mayor gave a city overview and welcome, pointing out that Melbourne had hosted many major events including the Australian Grand Prix, the Melbourne Cup, Australian Open tennis, the Moto GP and boasted the largest cricket ground in the country – the MCG.
Karen Bolinger launched ‘The Future of Business Meetings Industry Report’ which covered 25 years of change and a future forecast. Questions asked in the report included: ‘Who are the attendees of the future?’, What are their expectations?’, and ‘What can business events offer that cannot be found elsewhere?’
The overwhelming outcome was that 86% of respondents still believe that attendees continue to place a strong importance on meeting face to face. The networking element is seen as an increasingly important factor.
Other key findings included the conclusion that the industry has work to do to keep up with generation Z and delegate attention spans are getting shorter.
Other advice emerged from the report’s findings including: ‘Don’t assume that if you build it they will come, and ‘If we don’t have a digital presence, then in the lives of the emerging generations we don’t exist’.
Penny Lion outlined the importance of Tourism Australia’s Dreamtime programme for incoming international bookers and agents, with the previous event in Adelaide bringing in AUD$20m (US$15.35m) worth of business from 30 leads.
Wainwright highlighted a new partnership with NFC technology specialists Konduko which means AIME will become the first smart exhibition in the Asia Pacific region. And King outlined the expansion plans for MCEC, due to be completed in May 2018.
AUD$15m worth of new business already, he said, had already been booked for the new space.
Three hundred international and domestic hosted buyers and industry professionals were entertained at an exclusive Melbourne Edge event on the eve of AIME.
MCEC’s Symphony of the Senses performance captivated attendees, which included a live rendition of In the Hall of the Mountain King by the Melbourne Philharmonic Orchestra. Paired with a dramatic audio-visual production, Symphony of the Senses showcased what happens behind the scenes to deliver world-class events at MCEC.
MCEC’s director of customer experience and optimisation, Anne Jamieson said the performance was designed to recognise all of the people who contribute to a customer’s experience at the venue.
AIME runs at the MCEC 21-22 February 2017.
