Chair of the Australian Business Events Association, Peter King, says talk of the Victorian event sector decline is `exaggerated’.
In a statement on the ABEA website, Mr King acknowledged challenges do exist, however, the concept that the industry is in freefall is misleading and damaging.
Mr King’s statement came after some negative press in a number of publications about the state of the events industry, particularly in Victoria.
In early August this website published a story from Victorian event producer Simon Thewlis who said the latest data on events demonstrates how undervalued the sector is and that the Australian industry has not fully recovered from the pandemic.
In his statement, Mr King acknowledges challenges exist including workforce shortages, shifting audience behaviours, and the aftershocks of COVID… “but the idea that this industry is in freefall is not only misleading, it’s damaging.”
“Negative headlines may grab attention, and sell papers, but they don’t tell the whole story,” Mr King said.
“More importantly, they don’t help the thousands of professionals and businesses working tirelessly to deliver outstanding events every day.”
Mr King cited a recent article which suggested Victoria was suffering an `exodus’ of event organisers, pointing to ABS figures showing workforce decline.
“These statistics tell part of the story, but not the full one,” he said.
“The data doesn’t capture the agility of businesses that adapted, the new categories of event delivery that have emerged, the new job titles or the surge of growth in experiential and immersive formats.
“In fact, specifically for Victoria, Melbourne increased its world ranking (ICCA) in 2024 from 35th to 31st. It was also ranked 5th in the world for the average size of event in terms of delegates.
“The truth is that business events in Victoria – and across Australia – are not in retreat. They are in transformation.”
Mr King said COVID had reshaped the industry but what followed has been reinvention.
“Businesses that embraced hybrid formats, new technologies, and more personalised experiences are thriving,” he said in the statement.
“From corporate conferences to exhibitions, business events and meetings, congresses to incentive programs, world-class events are happening here every day.
“This is not an industry that can be written off. Nationally, business events generate over $36 billion in direct economic benefit each year and employ more than 229,000 people directly. This number does not include all the businesses and people who benefit from the ecosystem of events. Attendees spend almost twice as much as leisure visitors, benefiting hotels, restaurants, and suppliers across the state.
“The ripple effects go further: business events underpin trade, investment, research collaboration, and knowledge exchange. When business events thrive, Australia thrives.”
In our August 5 article, Simon Thewlis said figures from the Business Event Visitor data and Australian Bureau of Statistics Labour Force Survey give a very good picture of the state of the industry.
“I’ve said that they both give a very good picture of the state of the industry. They are both important datasets,” he said.
“I’ve recommended that people look at both. And actually point people to the TRA website.
“The TRA data shows that Victoria has gone from leading on business events to being third – a mile behind New South Wales and a little behind Queensland. It is a drop of marketshare that is similar to the drop in the number of people working as event organisers. Both sets of data tell the same story.”
He said comparing the Labour Force Survey Data for Event Organisers for the past full financial year prior to the pandemic with the just-finished financial year, results are quite alarming. It shows:
- The number of people working as event organisers in Victoria has dropped by 38.8 per cent.
- In New South Wales they are back to similar numbers to before the pandemic.
- In Queensland they have seen an increase of 70 per cent.
- NSW now has nearly twice as many people working as event organisers as Victoria.
- The number of people working as event organisers nationally has gone down by 15.2 per cent.
Looking at the latest Business Event Visitor Data for the full 2024 calendar year, Mr Thewlis said overall business event visitor numbers are down 5.4 per cent compared to the previous year although spend remains fairly constant.