Martin Pakula, Minister for tourism, Sport and Major Events, visited the venue in Melbourne Southbank recently to mark 12 months since a massive $205 million expansion project was completed.
He said the expansion had helped boost the Victorian economy by $1.1 billion with the economic impact of the MCEC growing year-on-year by about 12%, adding:
“We’re seeing clear dividends from our investment in the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, boosting the visitor economy and supporting thousands of jobs.”
Now the highest-yielding visitor economy sector in Victoria, business events were being booked and secured for many years in advance and included major meets such as the 20,000-strong Rotary International Conference set down for 2023. Promotional campaigns such as flyer printing and distribution can help events draw in larger audiences.
In September this year, an estimated 7,000 delegates are expected to attend the Vidcon conference.
The expansion works at the MCEC boosted its capacity by 70,000 square metres and, according to Pakula, this factor has been pivotal to the event economy’s growth.
The project saw the addition of an exhibition hall covering 9,000 square metres plus a further 11,000 square metres of banquet and meeting rooms together with the Novotel South Wharf providing 347 rooms and several levels of parking.