The Perth Convention Exhibition Centre (Perth Centre) has been acclaimed the top business tourism venue in Western Australia, taking the coveted Meetings & Business Tourism title at the Western Australian Tourism Awards on Saturday, November 5.

Presented by the Tourism Council Western Australia, the Awards represent the benchmark for excellence in the State’s tourism industry.

The Perth Centre beat finalists, and previous winners, Burswood Conventions & Events and Hyatt Regency Perth and will now compete nationally against the best in the business at the Australian Tourism Awards in February 2006.

According to Ron Buckey, Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Council WA, such highprofile recognition of the Perth Centre is well deserved. “This accolade acknowledges the Perth Centre’s high quality approach across every facet of its operation, which ultimately delivers an impeccable end result for its clients, delegates and visitors,” he said.

Judging criteria for the Awards assessed the Perth Centre’s product and facilities; business plans; marketing; customer service; professional development; risk management; environmental sustainability; cultural and social responsibility; and involvement in the tourism industry.

In accepting the Award, Perth Centre Chief Executive Paul D’Arcy paid tribute to the professionalism and dedication of his team of 80 fulltime staff and 420 casual employees.

“To win such a prestigious title in our first year is a great honour and is a direct result of the amazing contribution our people make to every event we host,” Mr D’Arcy said. “To be recognised at this level required us to meet strict quality standards and confirms we are on the right track with our efforts to make the Perth Centre a true success story for WA tourism.”

Since its gala opening in August 2004, the venue has attracted a flood of praise from clients and visiting delegates from across the country and the globe.

The latest award is its third accolade in a matter of weeks, having won the Venue Caterers’ title at the 2005 Gold Plate Awards recently and the building services industry’s Golden Service Award (‘Venues’ category) in September 2005.

In its first year of operation the Perth Centre welcomed more than 600,000 visitors to around 400 events, including 25 exhibitions and trade shows. More than 20,000 conference delegates attended 183 conferences and meetings.

Major highlights included the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) for 2,500 attendees held in June and the Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) national conference, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) congress for 1,300 delegates and the Royal Australasian and New Zealand College of Surgeons congress for 2,100 delegates, all held in April.

Looking ahead, the Perth Centre has secured more than 450 international, national and local events through until 2009. Projections indicate that these bookings will attract up to two million visitors.

As Australia’s newest purpose-built convention, exhibition and meeting venue, the Perth Centre has invested heavily in leading edge client services, innovative marketing concepts and increased sales representation to boost its presence in the Eastern States and key overseas markets.

The venue recently appointed specialised sales representatives, Pennway in Sydney and MHF Consulting in Melbourne. On the international front, a focus on the associations market has been adopted in conjunction with the Perth Convention Bureau, with Tom Hulton of International Meeting Venues covering the United Kingdom/Europe region and Asad Shiraz of Singapore-based Pacific Leisure developing the Asian market.