Brisbane’s Newest Convention Centre Set to Celebrate a Successful First Year of Business

Brisbane’s new kid on the block, the Royal International Convention Centre (Royal ICC), is pleased with its first 12 months of business and will celebrate its first anniversary on 2 March.

“We gauge the success not just on profitability, but repeat business and feedback from our customers, which has been overwhelmingly positive,” says Sue Hocking, General Manager, Venue Sales & Marketing.

The Royal ICC welcomed a number of high profile events in 2013 including the Queensland Tourism Awards, DUG International, National Radio Conference and Australian Commercial Radio Awards, Brisbane Boat Show, Brisbane Maserati Launch and the nationally televised 58th Walkley Awards for Excellence in Journalism.

“We worked hard to provide our customers with a different level of service, flexibility, creativity and care and I believe this is what has really set us apart from the competition this year – as well as the stunning heritage design of the facility,” said Ms Hocking.

“The Royal ICC was well and truly tested in 2013 with so many diverse events in all categories and it has performed exceptionally.

“The space works well with the adjoining unique outdoor Plaza; and our kitchens (and chefs) managed back-to-back large scale events with ease and grace.

“Our investment in Australia’s only operable ceiling grid system was appreciated by our customers who were able to produce creative options, and at the same time save on budget and time in the set-up and pull down of event theming and lighting,” she said.

The Royal ICC is also looking forward to welcoming a number of new international and national clients in 2014 including the MOTO Expo, Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, General Practice Education and Training (GPET), QLD Education Resources Expo and the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth (RASC) Conference.

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Tourism Australia Launches New Online Events Calendar

This new online resource will make life much easier for those working in our industry, helping them to select the most appropriate events to participate in or attend here and overseas

Tourism Australia has launched a new online calendar, to assist the industry plan their participation in tourism events in Australia and key international markets.

Tourism Australia’s General Manager Destination Development, Katherine Droga, said the fully searchable calendar provided a valuable one stop shop for the tourism industry, providing an online hub of nearly 80 domestic and international tourism events.

“This new online resource will make life much easier for those working in our industry, helping them to select the most appropriate events to participate in or attend here and overseas,” Ms Droga said.

“Thanks to input from across industry, including our state and territory tourism partners and the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), we now have a simple, user-friendly tool which will greatly assist in planning for and participating in key international and domestic events such as G’Day USA, ATE14, Corroboree China and ATEC Meeting Place,” she said

Hamilton Island Enterprises General Manager of Sales, Philippa Harrison, welcomed the new online calendar as a much needed tool in an industry where trade events are a crucial part of business activity.

“Hamilton Island has a strong presence at industry events, it’s how we reach key decision makers in our target markets, so we are really pleased this new online events calendar will make the process of searching and selecting the right events for us a lot simpler,” Ms Harrison said.

The Tourism Industry Events Calendar is housed on Tourism Australia’s corporate website and allows industry to search by date, relevant market and host organisation, as well as add their own key events matching the set criteria. It will be regularly updated and acts as the central hub of event information, providing links to the host organisations’ websites for further event and contact details.

The creation of the new online calendar is the latest outcome of a recent review by Tourism Australia looking at ways to improve how Australian tourism product is sold and distributed at home and overseas.

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Perth To Go Gaga

It is shaping up as the biggest year of live music in Perth's history.

Following tour announcements already this week from Kanye West and Robbie Williams, Lady Gaga has revealed she will head Down Under in August with her artRAVE, The ARTPOP Ball tour.

The eccentric pop star, right, will open the Australian leg of the tour at Perth Arena on August 20.

Gaga's die-hard fans, known as Little Monsters, have the chance to get up close and personal with the Bad Romance singer if they are willing to spend big.

For $1499, fans can sit inside an on-stage viewing area, known as the ARTPOP Zone, and then have an after-show meet and greet with Gaga in a private lounge area with cocktails and beverages. They will also get a photo with the singer.

Tickets go on sale at noon on Tuesday through Ticketek, starting at $92.65

Taste Festival Sydney 2014 and NSW Food & Wine Festival

Food lovers, it’s that time of year again! The NSW Food & Wine Festival is starting this week and we can’t wait for all mouth-watering food and wine events lined up in this year’s program.

Running for one month from the 21st of February to the 21st of March, the festival is bigger than ever, with something for everyone.

The festival celebrates NSW’s finest produce, wine and wine regions, featuring growers, winemakers, artisan food producers, chefs, restaurants, sommeliers and bars across Sydney and regional NSW. Events include sparkling brunches and high teas, snacks and street food, dinners, classes and more.

One of the festivals biggest events, Sydney Cellar Door, will take place on February 21st to 23rd in Hyde Park South. As well as the famous wine tastings, Sydney Cellar Door will feature food stalls including Bar Pho, Nomad, Salt Meets Cheese and Gelato Messina.

Live music will fill the park as locals and travellers dine together amongst the greenery.

RESCU Recommends: the popular Tour the Regions Dinners. These special event dinners feature set menus prepared by the finest chefs and sommeliers in NSW, with a focus on local produce. The dinners will take place at restaurants around Sydney.

For more on NSW Food & Wine Festival visit: nswfoodandwine.com.au



Taste of Sydney



Taste of Sydney is the city’s biggest event during NSW Food & Wine Festival. The 6th annual Taste of Sydney will take place on Thursday the 13th to Sunday the 16th of March in the gorgeous Centennial Parklands.

Aside from the opportunity to taste delicious food and wine, the event will offer an array of interactive features from the Lurpak Cookery School to a Food & Beverage Matching Masterclass
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RESCU Recommends: Sensology’s ‘The Art of Cocktail Making’. In this class, expert mixologists shake things up with simple step-by-step demonstrations on creating and serving some of the world’s most iconic cocktails. Prepare to be a hostess with the mostest at your next party.

For more on Taste of Sydney visit: tasteofsydney.com.au

Events Choosing Sydney Despite Convention Centre Closure

Sydney, Australia is hitting the publicity trail with positive stories on the city despite not having a convention centre.

“Sydney expects 2014 to be a strong year for business events with close to 53,000 delegates spending more than 230,000 days in the city and delivering an economic impact (EI) of close to A$200 million to the New South Wales (NSW) economy.”

Lyn Lewis-Smith, ceo BESydney said: “New South Wales welcomes around 50 per cent of the 890,000 international business visitors to Australia each year. And of these total arrivals, conference and convention arrivals account for about 20 per cent of visitors."

“This year, Sydney is open for business even though we won’t have a convention centre for the next three years. The pipeline of secured events is strong and we are still seeing bid wins for short term Asian business that will continue to grow the event pool. The benefits from all of these meetings, incentives and conferences will be great.

“You only have to look at the events of all sizes that we are hosting this year - from 18,000 people to just a few hundred - to see that our venues are continuing to accommodate conferences, meetings and incentives in Sydney’s usual, exceptional manner.

"--Some 2014 highlight events secured by BESydney include: The 105th Rotary International Convention for 18,000 delegates with an EI of almost A$64 million; Pro-Health China Annual Conference for 4,500 delegates with an EI of A$22 million; International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) World Parks Congress for 3,000 delegates with an EI of A$24 million and the LG Group Long Service Staff Reward for 1,400 delegates with an EI of A$7 million.

“Rotary is one of the world’s largest annual international business events and will inject close to A$64 million into the local economy during the four official convention days in June, making it one of the largest business events ever mounted in Australia,” said Lewis-Smith. 

New Perth Zoo Additions are Otter-ly Cute

New Perth Zoo Additions are Otter-ly Cute

Four new members of the world's smallest otter species – the Asian small-clawed otter – have made their public debut at Perth Zoo.

Perth Zoo Chief Executive Susan Hunt said the tiny pups are part of an Australasian breeding program to help protect a wonderful species that is threatened in the wild.

"The otters at Perth Zoo have now had 16 otter pups which is four litters in the past two years.
"These latest pups are the third litter for parents Asia and Tuan," Ms Hunt said.

Asian small-clawed otters are highly social animals who pair for life. Males play a critical role rearing the pups, including nest building, swimming lessons and supplying food.
Older siblings also take a role in the care of new pups and two older sisters are currently helping rear the new babies.

The four pups were born on December 27 and recently started swimming lessons.

At this age, the pups are being carried out of the nest box and taken into the pool by the adults and then carried back inside again – but they will soon start venturing out by themselves.

The pups lined up for their first medical check on Monday by Perth Zoo veterinary staff to weigh, sex, microchip, vaccinate and examine their general health.

The vets identified two females and two males ranging in size from 520grams to 560grams.

Asian small-clawed otters weigh just 3.5kg when fully grown. They are native to parts of India, southern China, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Source: WA Today

Easter in Sydney - Accommodation for the Whole Family

Metro Hotels has the following Easter Accommodation Packages.  A great Sydney stay for the whole family

• Easter Holiday Special at Metro Hotel Sydney Central

• Easter Family Package at Metro Hotel on Pitt

• Aspire Family Easter Package

• Easter Break at Metro Apartments on Darling Harbour

Vsit http://www.metrohotels.com.au/special to view all Metro Hotel Accommodation Hot Deals currently available.

Sydney Tourism: FREE Sydney City Bus Route "555"

The CBD shuttle (Route 555) will get you around the City for shopping, business or to connect with other transport. 

It's frequent and it's free. The shuttle operates every 10 minutes in both directions between 9.30am and 3.30pm on weekdays (until 9pm on Thursday nights) and between 9.30am and 6pm on weekends.
The CBD shuttle connects with rail, bus, metrobus, ferries, light rail and the monorail. a free shuttle service which travels in a very convenient circle around the city, both ways, and stops at all the places you would want to visit. 

You can hop on, hop off at the Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Centre, Centrepoint Tower, Martin Place, Circular Quay, (a very short and interesting walk to the Opera House past numerous eateries and entertainment or The Rocks, with its historic buildings, and Harbour Bridge), the Domain, Hyde Park, Central Station, Chinatown and points in between. 

The exact route runs along George Street, down around Circular Quay, up Phillip Street and then Macquarie Street, Eddy Avenue past Central Station to run along George Street and back to Circular Quay.

The CBD Free Shuttle service makes staying at Sydney City Edge B&B very convenient.

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Hug time: NSW Targets India With New Tourism Campaign

The "jhappi time" campaign, which translates to "hug time", urges Indians to come to Sydney to reunite with loved ones abroad. Photo: David Porter

New South Wales is hoping to attract more Indian visitors with the simple promise of some "jhappi time", Hindi for "hug time", with their loved ones.

Australia's biggest ever tourism campaign targeted at the Indian inbound tourism market, launched by Destination NSW on Tuesday, is using the concept of "jhappi time" to increase Indian visitor numbers by at least 10 per cent over the next 12 months.

The campaign, which has been a year in the making, entices Indians to visit family and friends living in Australia. It features four 60-second commercials, in which Indian families fly to NSW for some "jhappi time" with their loved ones.

The commercials were directed by the famous Australian-Indian Bollywood director Anupam Sharma, and include scenes at Manly Beach, the Hunter Valley and the Blue Mountains. They will screen in cinemas in Delhi and Mumbai, promoted on billboards, and will be accompanied by print, online and social media campaigns in India and Australia.

"We are hoping to see a 10 per cent increase over the next 12 months as a minimum," chief executive Sandra Chipchase said at the campaign launch. That's an increase on the more than 77,000 Indian arrivals to NSW in the year to September 2013, which is worth an estimated $183 million a year to the NSW economy.

Arrival numbers from India have increased since Air India launched direct flights between Delhi and Sydney in August last year, says Chipchase, and is expected to rise with the growth of the Indian middle class.

NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell outside the MCA with dancers for the campaign. Photo: Ben Rushton

Premier Barry O'Farrell, who also attended the launch, said the campaign is "as important to NSW today as throwing another shrimp on the barbie was for Australia a number of decades ago".

"India is a young country with an expanding middle class and so trying to tap into that tourism stream is incredibly important," Mr O'Farrell said.

He said he believed the Indian community had moved on since a series of much-publicised attacks on students tarnished relations between the countries in 2010.

"We've all got over it," Mr O'Farrell said.