The Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau has set a new record in winning business for its city, securing A$352 million worth of conferences and other events in less than nine months.

With more than three months still remaining in the 2005/06 financial year, the result has already eclipsed the previous annual record of A$291 million set in 2002/03.

SCVB Managing Director Jon Hutchison announced the result at the launch of the bureau’s 2006 Market Overview before a gathering of industry leaders in Sydney yesterday.

“The SCVB has already won bids for 33 major events during 2005/06, which will attract almost 245,000 additional delegates to Sydney,” Mr Hutchison said. “In bidding for these events, we’ve achieved a success rate of more than 76 per cent, which is an enviable strike rate for any city.”

The new record was set this week when Sydney was chosen as the host city for the 2014 Rotary International Convention, which will bring 22,000 delegates to Sydney and inject an estimated A$63.8 million into the local economy. The Rotary event is one of the world’s largest annual international conventions.

According to the SCVB Market Overview, the world business events sector will continue to prosper during 2006 and beyond. It says the global meetings industry is expected to grow for a third consecutive year, with meeting planners forecasting a 7 per cent increase in meetings and suppliers forecasting a 9 per cent increase in meeting budgets.

The Overview identifies a number of positives for the New South Wales business events industry, including the trend towards regional rather than global association meetings and the continuing increase in business from China.

The SCVB Market Overview session was also addressed by visiting executives from Visit Britain and Visit London who outlined the successful strategies of London’s 2012 Olympic bid and spoke of the need to market not just a tourism destination, but an experience.

Mr Hutchison said the SCVB’s results were likely to improve further during the remaining three months of the financial year, with several bid decisions still pending.

“While this has been a standout year for us, we are conscious that competition for international meetings is more intense than ever. Good event research and strong bids remain paramount to our success,” Mr Hutchison said.