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CEO of Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau, Karen Bolinger gives her vision of Melbourne assets and weaknesses as a business travel city.
What makes Melbourne such a successful MICE and tourist destination?
Karen Bolinger- Melbourne turned over the years as the true capital in Australia for Conventions and exhibitions. They are many reasons to this successful positioning: we have spaces for MICE with a variety of venues second to none in Australia. The city is particularly well-known for its medical research and services. We have some of the best medical universities and medical schools in the country, world-class hospitals and laboratories. Research, finance are two important source of activities and employment. Of course, Melbourne lifestyle is an essential asset to our positioning as Australia’s number 1 MICE destination. Gastronomy, architecture, culture are part of Melbournians life style. As well as big international events and sport activities…
Is the city image a strong selling point for Melbourne?
K.B.- Melbourne retains an image of elegance. The city was built at the height of the gold rush and its grand architecture is a legacy to that time. A couple of decades ago Swanston Street was even compared to Australia’s “Champs Elysées”. I believe that our multicultural roots are also a strong selling point with the presence of an important community of Italians, Greeks and Asians. This certainly explains our passion for good food and good wines!
How do you work out your efforts in communication and marketing strategies abroad?
K. B.- We work a lot direct with trade associations and groups. We especially target our efforts in London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore. The rest of Europe will probably remain softer due to recession in most of the western part of the continent. In Asia, we are getting also more aggressive towards Indonesia, which is turning into one of the region’s market with the most potential. China remains a priority. We are closing our Hong Kong office but recently upgraded our office in Shanghai as we see that they are more Chinese companies doing today incentive travels.
Do you offer specific incentives to MICE organizers?
K.B.- We of course have supportive packages for MICE organizers, especially in the organization of an event. But the State of Victoria can also eventually provide financial support for the hosting of a world-class conference.
What are the best assets and and what are the weaknesses of Melbourne?
K.B.- One of our strongest assets is to be a safe destination, an important element as many associations are turning more risk-averse these days. We offer in the Asia Pacific region complete stability in our political and economic institutions. Among the weaknesses, the strong Australian dollar is certainly playing its negative role as we are far less competitive these days. But we try to compensate the strong dollar with an even better service and excellent infrastructures towards MICE organizers. We also try to help organizers to maximize their time in Australia. We then propose some combined packages. We work together with Queensland Gold Coast but also Cairns for the incentive market or also with Tasmania for people interested to discover some of Australia’s most unspoilt areas.
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
