South Australia‟s conference and convention strategy can drive further economic development if it is supported by key local growth industries, its industry leaders have been told.
Rohit Talwar, CEO of Fast Future Research and Project Director of Convention 2020, told a meeting of industry leaders in Adelaide recently that SA‟s conference and convention strategy should be closely linked to growth sectors including defence, mining, education and medical research.
This year‟s expansion of the Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC) provided the opportunity to unite government, business and the community behind a strategy to use business events to showcase South Australia‟s expertise to the world.
Mr Talwar said attracting targeted international conferences and events to Adelaide would promote stronger links between key SA industries and overseas decision makers, creating greater opportunity for inward investment.
“This can be achieved if local decision makers recognise the potential of using business events such as conventions as a platform for economic development,” Mr Talwar said.
“These partners will also need to work together to help deliver the best possible return on investment to event owners and delegates."
“They also need to ensure the city showcases itself correctly to get the best return in terms of attracting research funding, attracting inward investment and generating opportunities for local businesses and citizens.”
Mr Talwar is the author of the Convention 2020 report and the ACC is a Gold Sponsor for the second year of the study.
ACC Chief Executive Alec Gilbert said the Centre was delighted to be the first in the world to use the Convention 2020 findings to drive the design of its $350m extension project.
"We have been following Convention 2020 and could see the critical role the study was playing in helping the industry prepare to survive and thrive in a period of rapid change,” Mr Gilbert said.
“We want to ensure that our centre and organization are future-proofed against the very latest thinking on how tomorrow's customer will want to design and deliver their business events."
