Commonwealth Games Great For Melbourne
Melbourne, the events capital of Australia, struck gold with the recent Commonwealth Games. This spectacular sporting showcase, held in March, was not only the largest event ever staged in the city, it was also the biggest revenue earner to date for Melbourne hotels. According to the HotelBenchmark â„¢ Survey by Deloitte they achieved their highest ever revenue per available room (revPAR) at AUD$183 in March 2006.
Excellent planning, massive investment and the enthusiasm of Melbourne citizens made the Games a resounding success and sharpened up the city’s image as a great place to visit. Not content to rest on its laurels, the city is now making the most of the renewed interest from international tourists and building a brighter future.
Melbourne is popular with the Meetings, Incentives, Conventions and Exhibitions (MICE) market, which is estimated by Sport and Recreation Victoria to contribute around AUD$1.2 billion annually into Victoria’s economy. Some of the world’s top events, such as the Australian Open Tennis Championships, Melbourne International Arts Festival, Formula 1, Foster’s Australian Grand Prix, Australian Football League Finals Series and The Melbourne Cup horse race all contribute to the city’s busy diary.
The Commonwealth Games was a step up from these events, but terrific team spirit across the hospitality industry, Tourism Victoria and Tourism Australia, the government and the people of Melbourne made everything come together in time. Preparation was paramount to the success of the Games, and Melbourne gave a warm and friendly welcome to an estimated 90,000 visitors. The citizens of Melbourne - passionate about sport - were encouraged to get involved, and 15,000 national and international volunteers helped the Games run smoothly.
Both government and tourist authorities provided continued support during the planning stages. The Commonwealth Games Business Benefits program developed by the Victorian Government and The City of Melbourne helped prepare businesses to gain maximum benefit from the Games. A series of Business Ready forums also helped local companies plan ahead.
Infrastructure developments were extensive. Melbourne Airport’s AUD$220m development programme included a 5000m² international terminal expansion, a new access road off the Tullamarine Freeway and a AUD$40m car park expansion.
Not content to stage one of the largest sporting attractions of the year Melbourne went further and added extra appeal and value with Festival Melbourne. This was a free arts and cultural show piece which ran alongside the Games, and 2,500 performers from all over the Commonwealth entertained tourists with concerts, street performances, cultural and visual arts exhibitions.
Around 1.5m tickets were sold for the games and the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games Corporation expects visitors to have contributed an estimated AUD$270m to the State’s economy. The majority of visitors were from New Zealand, the UK, Canada, South Africa, Singapore, Malaysia and India.
The hotels performance in Melbourne saw double-digit growth during the Games, with hotels enjoying an 18.5% increase in revPAR compare to March 2005. This was driven by increases in average room rates which reached AUD$221.
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