News from MEA on BECA
Dear Members
As you are aware MEA is an integral member of BECA and this is made possible by your membership of MEA. All relevant industry news that comes from BECA will be made available to you as a MEA member through this page. MEA has four representatives on BECA, being the Chair of the Board, the CEO and two meetings managers. Our meetings manager representatives are Roslyn McLeod of Tour Hosts and Kate Smith of WaldronSmith Management.
Linda Gaunt
BECA Update for Members
The Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) notes the results of the federal election and now awaits the announcement of the new Minister for Tourism.
BECA's efforts over the past year have been largely directed towards securing additional dedicated funding for Tourism Australia to market Australia as a business events destination.
Chairman, Geoff Donaghy, said BECA had undertaken an extensive bipartisan lobbying campaign over the past 12 months, highlighting the economic and profiling benefits to the country of attracting major conventions as well as the intensive competition Australia is facing, particularly from Asian countries.
"Australia needs to regain its global market share of the international association meetings sector, and government investment is critical to this.
“We are a long-haul destination but we have the reputation, infrastructure and the professionalism to deliver first-class events provided we are matching the marketing investments of our competitors.”
In the pre-election period, BECA concentrated its efforts on the two major political parties. It was pleased to have received unprecendented support from other industry bodies such as TTF, AHA and ATEC. While the funding call received a positive hearing, due to the nature of this election campaign, in the end neither party released a tourism policy. So there is no commitment by the incoming government at this stage.
However, BECA intends building on the positive hearing from Labor to continue to push for funding in the lead up to the May 2008 federal budget.
BECA will be seeking an early meeting with the new Minister for Tourism. Plans are already underway to review the documentation and arguments with a view to a renewed push, and it remains optimistic of a successful outcome.
In addition to BECA's work in the political arena, it has been lobbying the Board of Tourism Australia for a greater focus on Business Events and these efforts have proved worthwhile. BECA acknowledges TA's latest corporate plan in which business events is clearly identified as a priority target. Subsequently, there is evidence of an increase in BE resources and activities within TA. BECA will continue to work closely with Tourism Australia to ensure the best possible structure and strategies are in place to capitalise on the significant economic and social benefits that business events provided.
The considerable work undertaken over the past year has seen the profile of the business events sector reach a new high watermark. BECA will build on this strong base in its efforts to deliver more support for the industry.
26 November 2007
For further information, contact:
Elizabeth Rich, Executive Director, Business Events Council of Australia - 0414 969 140