6
I N D U S T R Y N E W S
TOURISM INDUSTRY
WELCOMES DECISION
TO SEND WORLD
RUGBY TO AUSTRALIA
THE RUGBY WORLD CUP NEXT YEAR
will deliver a multi
million dollar kick for the Australian tourism industry, with
the world's rugby fans to head down under, Australian Tourist
Commission (ATC) Executive General Manager, Stephen
O'Neill said recently.
"Tickets to the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in Australia will
be in high demand and we are expecting around 40,000
international tourists spending up to $300 million during
their stay," he said.
"This is the most important event to be held in Australia
since the Olympic Games and the biggest sporting event
in the world for 2003, providing a great opportunity to
boost international visitation and keep Australia in the
world's spotlight.
Industry News
AS AN OPENING COMMENT,
I join with the President in
welcoming this new direction for our communication as an
organisation with the inclusion of our newsletter in mice.net. Helen
Batt-Rawden leads a very able team and we look forward to working
with them in the future.
Over the next six to twelve months, MIAA will be extensively
involved in the Federal Government's strategic review of tourism. To
do this effectively, not only does it need strong contributions from
members, but also it needs to work with other associations and
stakeholders in the industry to resolve the shocking state of industry
research. For many months key people, notably Dee McGrath
(Canberra CB), Elizabeth Rich (BECA), Michael Cannon (AACB) and
our own Leigh Harry, have been working behind the scenes on
finalising a project to provide up-to-date statistics on the size of our
industry. Hopefully, through the assistance of the ATC, the Tourism
Cooperative Research Centre and the industry itself, this invaluable
project can finally get off the ground.
The same too is hoped for the long awaited project termed
Statistics on Conferences & Events (or SOCE). Working with the
Southern Cross University, MIAA is hoping to use electronic means
to capture the wealth of information stored within the meetings
manager's events programs, such as Events Pro or Summit. Trevor
Gardiner from Amlink and Vivienne McCabe from Southern Cross
are at the centre of this venture. Cooperation by members will be
vital to its success.
In between now and the next issue of mice.net, I hope you have
the opportunity to read our regular email bulletins and to peruse
www.miaanet.com.au. Our website is
receiving a very strong visitation, with
both JobsMIAA and the Member
Search facility copping heavy traffic.
Any feedback on these communication
vehicles would be very welcome.
Regards
Jenny Lambert
CEO's Corner
WHERE THE
INTERNATIONAL VISITOR
DOLLAR GOES
THE IMPORTANCE OF INTERNATIONAL VISITOR
expenditure in Australia has been highlighted by the results of
new research released recently by Federal Minister for Small
Business and Tourism, Joe Hockey.
Show me the money! A market segment approach to
spending by international travellers, is the latest research by
the Bureau of Tourism Research BTR, and focuses on the
expenditure patterns of international visitors to Australia.
"This report is very timely and the results will be of use for
the Government's 10 year plan for tourism," Minister Hockey said.
"The plan will identify opportunities and obstacles to sustain-
able tourism growth and encourage the building of partnerships
between the various sectors of the industry and governments.
"The findings of this new report will assist Australian
businesses and governments in better targeting their overseas
marketing expenditures," Minister Hockey said.
