Business Event’s Australia’s major incentive showcase, Australia Next (previously known as Dreamtime) kicked off in Cairns/Gimuy in Tropical North Queensland, 9 September, showcasing Australia’s best incentive experiences and products.

Over two days 80 international business events buyers, 15 media and 96 Australian industry sellers are taking part in the programme being delivered in partnership with Business Events Cairns & Great Barrier Reef. The international buyers and media will also take part in pre and post familiarisations in destinations around the country.

Tourism Australia managing director, Phillipa Harrison, said Australia Next 2024 was an opportunity to show Australia’s business events offerings to decision makers from Greater China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, North America and the UK.

“It is great to be welcoming international business events planners and media back to Australia for the second consecutive year. Our signature incentive showcase has traditionally been held every two years but we have brought it back again in 2024 to turbocharge efforts to build a strong pipeline of international business events,” Harrison said.

“We are already seeing international business events return to Australia, with the latest numbers from Tourism Research Australia showing they contributed $4.6bn (US$3.bn) to our visitor economy in the 12 months to March 2024.

“While that Total Trip Spend is above the levels we experienced in 2019, the number of visitors arriving in Australia for an international business event is at about 75% of what we have seen in the past and we hope hosting Australia Next in Cairns in 2024 will help to drive the industry’s recovery and future growth.”

Tourism Australia’s executive general manager of commercial and business events Australia, Robin Mack, said it is great to be able to take the event to Tropical North Queensland to cast the spotlight on Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef.

“Incentive planners from 10 key markets around the world will have the opportunity to experience first-hand the unique tourism experiences and world-class venues available in Cairns, and as a result generate further business leads for our industry,” Mack said.

“Last year our incentive showcase in Adelaide/Tarntanya generated 212 business leads across the country to date, worth A$192m,” he told CMW. “So we know the event works and we can’t wait to see the business created from this year’s event in Cairns.”

The Australia Next Cairns programme included a Business Session of pre-scheduled appointments between buyers and Australian industry sellers at the newly redeveloped Cairns Convention Centre. Buyers and media will also experience Tropical North Queensland’s diverse incentive offering and event delivery capabilities; from sampling the region’s tourism experiences on the Great Barrier Reef and in tropical rainforests, local cuisine and numerous networking events at unique venues across Cairns.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland chief executive Mark Olsen said delegates would experience the region’s business events expertise, unique offsite events, and extraordinary World Heritage landscapes.

“We will be especially proud to showcase Tropical North Queensland’s sustainability story with delegates transported on Tropic Wing’s new electric buses and 280 trees purchased through Reforest to offset the event,” Olsen said, adding that the city’s business events infrastructure is just a 10-minute drive from Cairns Airport and accommodation is within walking distance of the Cairns Convention Centre, restaurants and the marina.

Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Patricia O’Callaghan added that the state was looking to grow its international overnight visitor expenditure to A$11bn by 2032.

“We not only have world-class destinations but world-class facilities too and we are proud to be able to showcase Queensland as an ideal incentives travel destination in the lead-up to the Brisbane 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Tourism and Events Queensland’s Business Events strategy sees us aiming to achieve 20 per cent of the Australian market share by 2027, a growth of 4% which will bolster our international visitor numbers.

“We hope that those visiting for Australia Next can soak up everything that Queensland has to offer from our iconic beaches, stunning national parks and World Heritage-listed Great Barrier Reef.”

Australia Next Cairns 2024 runs to 11 September 2024 and the airline partners are Singapore Airlines and Qantas.