View the AACB's submission on visa simplification.

On behalf of the Business Events industry, the AACB has welcomed the opportunity to give advice on streamlining Australia’s visa system to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.

In its presentation to the Department, the AACB emphasised the high yield of business visitors, especially delegates coming to Australia for business events or incentive experiences. READ MORE>

Photo left to right: Vin Barron, AACB Hall of Fame Inductee, and Andrew Hiebl, CEO of the AACB

We are thrilled to announce Mr Vincent Barron, past president of the AACB, as an industry pioneer and Hall of Fame Inductee for 2017. The induction ceremony took place at the AACB Gala Dinner earlier this month. The award was established in 2015 to acknowledge the AACB’s continued business events leadership, sponsored by the IMEX Group. His valuable contribution to the industry and the AACB has been duly recognised. READ MORE>

The AACB is pleased to congratulate Leah Muir, Business Development Manager at Business Events Tasmania on being awarded the prestigious AACB Staff Scholarship for 2017/18. 

The scholarship is co-sponsored by Tourism Australia and Qantas. Both recognise the important role that convention bureau play in attracting business events to Australia and therefore see this scholarship as an investment in the future leadership of the industry. READ MORE>

The latest edition of Australia Innovates, Tourism Australia’s bi-annual magazine for the association sector, will be launched on 10 October at IMEX America and will be available on the Business Events Australia website. The magazine features the stories of some of Australia’s brightest people who are excelling in their field of expertise such as Professor Mark Kendall who has created the Nanopatch, a safer and more effective way to deliver life-saving vaccines; Australian company Green Distillation Technologies, that has developed ground-breaking technology that recycles rubber tyres; and Australian company The Yield, whose technology is helping agribusinesses improve productivity and ultimately reduce waste.

View the event photographs

And that's a wrap! The 28th AACB Annual Conference concluded on 8 September after two packed days of learning from a group of experienced and inspiring speakers, and plenty of networking opportunities of course! 

Some highlights included presentations from Mel Kaplan, Chief Digital Advisor at Microsoft, Martin Enault, COO at C2, John O'Sullivan, CEO at Tourism Australia, John Joseph from Focus Education and the Tasmanian Students Against Racism. Check out the program and the presentation recordings. 

Rumour has it that this was the "best conference yet". The conference took place from 6 - 8 September in Hobart, Tasmania, hosted by the team at Business Events Tasmania. 

The AACB was invited to meet with the Hon Keith Pitt MP, Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism & Investment to update his office on the current challenges being faced by the business events industry. AACB CEO, Andrew Hiebl was able to reiterate the Association's top five policy priorities.

Photo left to right: Andrew Hiebl and Keith Pitt

Australian Bureau of Statistics: Year-on-year comparison of visitors arriving to attend a convention/conference for the 12 months to July 2017 shows an overall increase of 12.6%. There were a total of 25,600 arrivals in July 2017 whose main purpose of coming to Australia was a convention/conference. This translates to a 38% increase from July 2016 (18,500). ABS Overseas Arrivals and Departures, Australia, July 2017

IMEX America, Las Vegas
10 - 12 October 2017

Business Events Geelong 2018/19 Regional Planners Guide Launch, Melbourne
2 November 2017

Unconventional Uluru Showcase, Uluru
13 - 15 October 2017

Sell TNQ, Cairns
17 - 21 November 2017