Around 250 coal industry heavyweights from around the world will meet in Brisbane in September this year following Brisbane Marketing’s successful bid for the Coaltrans Australia 2005 conference.

The conference will inject $375,000 into the local Brisbane economy.  Brisbane won the bid to host the biannual meeting from a strong field including Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast.

Brisbane Marketing’s Director of Business Development Paul Lewin says three key factors combined to produce the win for Brisbane.

“Brisbane’s collaborative approach impressed the Managing Director whom we hosted from the UK on a site inspection of the city in January,” Mr Lewin said.

“Brisbane’s hoteliers, particularly the Sofitel and Stamford Plaza hotels, were incredibly supportive throughout the process.  We were able to gain valuable support from the Accor Hotel Group about their plans for the Sofitel Brisbane prior to their public release which proved incredibly persuasive.

“The extensive support lent by the Queensland Government through the Departments of State Development and Innovation and Natural Resources and Mines was also critical to the bid’s success.  Government staff supplied key industry information and sponsorship support to help sway the result Brisbane’s way.

“Thirdly, the strength of Queensland’s coal industry, worth some $8.3 billion in annual exports, was undoubtedly a major factor in influencing the Coaltrans Conference to move from its previous Australian headquarters in Sydney,” Mr Lewin said.

London-based Managing Director of Coaltrans Conferences, Mr Gerard Strahan said that in the end, the decision to hold the conference in Brisbane was an easy one.

“Having the opportunity to see first hand the world class facilities and infrastructure on offer in Brisbane was invaluable,” Mr Strahan said.

“The team at Brisbane Marketing put together a first class site inspection.  The fact that they were able to bring together so many different operators and government officials made a big impression and gave me great confidence that this city would be able to help us stage a successful conference in 2005,” he said.

The convention industry is worth more than $100 million a year to Brisbane’s economy.  With the Coaltrans conference now confirmed, this financial year to date Brisbane Marketing has achieved 27 conference wins for Brisbane worth over $57 million, 70 percent higher than the previous year.

Brisbane Marketing’s success in attracting convention business to the city is further evidenced by reports of Brisbane hotels achieving record occupancy rates.  The recent HotelBenchmark Global Performance Review of world hotel occupancy levels ranked Brisbane fourth in the world and number one in Australia.