Wrapping up this week’s MICE news, Travel Monitor has the latest in meetings, incentives, conferences and events.
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Australia Tourism Exchange heads to Perth
The Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), Australia’s largest annual travel and tourism business-to-business event, will head to the West Coast in just over a week.
Organised by Tourism Australia in partnership with Tourism Western Australia, ATE19 will take place at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre from 8 to 12 April.
The event brings together Australian tourism businesses, and tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world through a combination of scheduled business appointments and networking events. It also provides international travel buyers with the opportunity to experience Australia’s tourism offering first-hand through pre and post-event familiarisations.
Around 1,500 Australian seller delegates from approximately 550 companies, 650 key buyer delegates from over 30 countries, and 70 international and Australian media attend this global event.
Karen Bolinger resigns as CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau
Karen Bolinger has announced her resignation from the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB). Bolinger held the top spot as the CEO of the MCB for over seven years, and is set to step down by 5 April 2019. MCB Board Chair Chris Barlow thanked Bolinger congratulated her successes as CEO, and thanked her for her service in a press release yesterday.
“Regretfully today I announce after seven and a half years the departure of Karen Bolinger, Chief Executive Officer of the Melbourne Convention Bureau. Karen has contributed significantly during her time,” Barlow said.
This financial year, the MCB is expected to have contributed $500 million to the Victorian economy – it’s “highest ever.”
Sydney Opera House will open new event space
Sydney Opera House will launch a new event space next month. Replacing the previous Opera Point Marquee, the space is located inside the Opera House on the north-eastern corner of Bennelong Point. The venue will offer views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and beyond and cater to seated events of up to 180 guests and up to 400 for cocktail events.
With Trippas White Group as the events partner, the venue will see ambassador chef Karen Martini take the reins of the 270-square-metre on-site kitchen. The new event centre is part of the Opera House Renewal program and has been designed by architects TZG, who also undertook the 2015 fit-out of the Opera House’s award-winning Bennelong restaurant.
Ubud Food Festival 2019
Ubud Food Festival 2019 Presented by ABC is three days of cross-cultural culinary discovery with Indonesian food as the star. Indonesia’s leading food event, the festival is a celebration of the archipelago’s diverse cuisines, extraordinary local produce and rich culinary heritage. Indonesia’s most outstanding chefs, producers, restaurateurs, entrepreneurs, food photographers, storytellers, scientists and activists will converge in Bali for the fifth Ubud Food Festival from 26–28 April.
UFF is renowned for bringing together local food heroes to collaborate with chefs from across the world, ensuring Bali and Indonesia shine among the world’s top dining destinations. The first speaker line-up for UFF19 is now live, with the remaining line-up of speakers and ticketed events live on 25 February, 2019.
