DECEMBER brought a bonanza for WA with the Perth Convention Bureau winning conference and incentive travel business worth over $5 million.
Collectively, the business won during the month represented 2,859 delegates and 16,168 hotel room nights.
It was a particularly successful month with several national organisations confirming Perth as their destination for conferences to be staged in the next two years.
An inaugural conference organised by the WA Department of Training is expected to attract 500 delegates.
The Australian Financial Advisors Association will hold its 2001 national convention in Perth which is also expected to draw 500 delegates.
Another 300 delegates are expected for a national steel convention.
Other national wins include the 150 delegate Aviation Medical Society conference, the 160 delegate Citrus 2000, The Australian Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology convention and a 140 delegate national university students’ conference.
Two international conferences were confirmed for Perth during December.
One is a forum being organised by the Australian Greenhouse Office and the other is The World Energy Cities Partnership to be hosted by Perth City Council Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass.
Perth has also been chosen by thirteen Asian companies for their incentive travel programs with most of the 709 participants arriving in the next three months.