hospitalitybiz.org

SYDNEY’s international conference delegates are staying longer and spending more, according to a study of international delegate conducted by the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB).

The average international conference delegate now stays an average 7.2 nights, up from 6.6 nights in 2001, and spends an average $6868 per visit, up from $4330 in 2001.

The increase means delegates now spend almost seven times the amount spent by an average holidaymaker in Sydney, making business events one of the city’s most important sources of tourism income, says SCVB managing director Jon Hutchison.

The 2006 International Delegate Study was conducted by Inside Story Research and Knowledge Management, on behalf of the SCVB and the Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD). It’s the first such study conducted since 2001 and surveyed almost a thousand delegates attending five major conferences held at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre in the second half of 2006.

Hutchison said the survey confirmed the importance of the conference sector to the State’s economy.

“Sydney is Australia’s leading city for conferences and other business events and one of the top 10 cities in the Asia-Pacific region,” Hutchison said. “Sydney routinely hosts international conferences worth tens of millions of dollars, so it is vital we continue to support this sector and respond to growing competition from interstate and overseas.”

On average, conference delegates spend $651 per night in Sydney, compared to an average $99 per night for leisure tourists. Conference delegates from overseas spend an average $677 per night, while delegates from interstate spend an average $502 per night.

Nearly two-thirds of overseas delegates said they would return to Sydney for a holiday within the next five years.

The revealed very positive perceptions about Sydney as a conference destination, with 90 per cent of delegates rating Sydney very good or reasonably good. Convention facilities were rated very good or reasonably good by 88 per cent, while accommodation was rated very good or reasonably good by 79 per cent.