SCEC closure an opportunity for rivals
- MICEBTN Archive Stories Issue #47
- Wednesday, 30 May 2012
SYDNEY's decision to completely close the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre (SCEC) for three years while a new convention facility is built will have a major impact on the meetings and events industry in Australia - and could see significant business moving interstate to Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide.
All of those rival cities have seen significant investments in MICE facilities and are expected to ramp up their domestic and international marketing to capture large size meetings.
The SCEC will close late in 2013 and reopen in 2016, effectively giving rival cities up to a four-year window to challenge for meetings business that otherwise would have gone to Sydney.
BESydney will still be active in the market, but will be restricted by available space to bid only for tier 2 and smaller meetings.
The SCEC has been operating in its present buildings for 25 years and needs a complete overhaul to enable Sydney to compete more effectively in the market. However, many in the industry had expected it keep operating during the new build, to take advantage of a relatively strong business events market.
According to Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau (MCVB) chief executive Karen Bolinger, the closing of the SCEC will have an enormous impact on the business events industry in Australia.
“The closure will have an immediate negative effect on businesses in the area, particularly the hotels and restaurants located in Darling Harbour,” she said.
“This also provides an opportunity for some research to be undertaken during the closure to ascertain the real impact it has on jobs, not just in the direct businesses surrounding Darling Harbour, but the flow-on to their suppliers. By conducting such a study the “real” economic contribution to the destination can be determined.
“This will provide some sound results to ensure governments recognise the benefits of business events in their local economy.”
Bolinger said she had no doubt there would be opportunities for Melbourne to pick up new business from the SCEC closure.
“We already have received a number of enquiries, however whether we can take some of the larger conferences will be dependent on the availability of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre,” she said.
“I believe it’s important to work together within Australia so we can maintain our reputation as a country that supports business events no matter what.”
In other news, she said MCVB will launch its new, three-year strategy at IMEX, announcing the latest updates to the Melbourne IQ campaign which is being ramped up to drive association business to Melbourne.
Martin Radcliffe, director of sales and marketing at the Adelaide Convention Bureau (ACB) said the ACB planned to increase the profile of Adelaide and South Australia as a business events destination long before the planned SCEC closure was confirmed.
"What they plan to do with SCEC infrastructure is very important for Australia as a country. However, I also believe it is important to keep Australia in the eyes of domestic and international meetings and conference planners to make sure that all our clients still have successful events.
“Many business events and meetings are long-term projects taking years to come to fruition from the initial pitch to hosting the event. It could be three years before Sydney is back in the mix for the bigger meetings and events. From our perspective, now is an ideal time for PCOs and event planners to look to Adelaide and South Australia. We have had massive investment in our infrastructure, particularly on the medical side, with new institutes and hospitals. Add to these developments the expansion of Adelaide Oval facilities and it means that Adelaide is really ticking.
“We scheduled our expansion so that it would not interrupt existing plans for meetings and events. There was a time when our infrastructure and MICE facilities were too small. Adelaide now has exceptional facilities following the completion of the recent expansion and is competing on a level playing field.
“The next move is to integrate some of the medical research findings data created through the expansion of medical facilities into our databases.”
Lyn Lewis-Smith, chief executive for BESydney, is fairly confident Sydney will be able to cope without the SCEC for three years. The organisation charged with promoting business tourism for NSW declined an editorial opportunity to let MICEBTN readers know what alternatives would be available during the closure.
"The NSW government decision to close SCEC for three years gives the industry welcome certainty about timelines and the government plans to fast track the project," said Lewis-Smith. "Our focus will now be on winning business that is suited to the available facilities we have in Sydney until the new centre is completed."
Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre was too busy to respond.
