International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) and the Property Council of Australia have welcomed an increase in events in Sydney and the boost they provide to the city’s economy as restrictions continue to ease.
Event attendees provide a boost through visitor spending across retail and hospitality, while business and entertainment events also add to the overall vibrancy of the city.
ICC Sydney’s pipeline of events is looking strong, with the venue set to host another 60 events before Christmas, with more than 250 additional events confirmed for the first half of 2022. The visitors these events will attract are expected to inject $900 million a year to the local economy.
The visitor spend of attendees to events at ICC Sydney was $900 million during the 18/19 financial year and was reduced to $80 million as a result of the pandemic during the 20/21 financial year.
ICC Sydney chief executive officer Geoff Donaghy outlined that less than 10 percent of the economic benefit of events held at ICC Sydney were linked to the venue itself.
“Event organisers, talent, attendees and exhibitors invest the majority of their economic impact in our hotels, restaurants, bars, retail outlets and tourist attractions, and more than that, the research and development discussed at conferences have the potential to attract ongoing business investment for our academic centres,” Donaghy said.
“In convening an increased number of in-person meetings and events, ICC Sydney and the industry we operate in will play an important role in revitalising Sydney’s CBD.
“Our events have far-reaching benefits for the local economy and into the regions through our extensive supply chains.”
One of the earliest events to be delivered is The Property Council of Australia’s Women in Property Lunch, which will attract 1,000 guests from across the state to ICC Sydney in November.
The Property Council of Australia’s NSW Executive Director, Luke Achterstraat said that venues such as ICC Sydney are home to critical business events that help draw visitation to the CBD.
“Not only is this a significant contributor to the city’s economic recovery, it is a signal that our city is a great place to work, visit and have fun in,” Achterstraat said.
“As we have made great strides in our recovery journey, we are ready to proceed with our COVID safe event plans with great confidence at ICC Sydney.
“People are eager to get back to face-to-face events, reconnect with their peers and networks, and embrace a sense of the new normal.
This level of confidence demonstrates that considered event planning for COVID-safe events is exactly what people are after as we take huge leaps towards a vibrant and activated city.”
