Business Events secured for Lorne

A 200 delegate conference by the Institute of Public Accountants (IPA) has been secured for Lorne in March 2018 thanks to a collaboration between Council and Business Events Victoria. In June 2017, the Economic Development & Tourism Unit worked with Business Events Victoria to host a 2-day famil of the Surf Coast region for eight conference organisers representing large legal firms, corporations and associations.

The famil included a tour of the key conference venues in Lorne, Anglesea and Torquay and presentations on the support activities and services available that make this destination the strongest conference region in regional Victoria.

All attendees were very impressed with the offering and our efforts have been rewarded in securing this IPA conference with hopefully more business to come. This is great news following a recent success we’ve had in retaining a long-standing medical conference in Lorne. It is actually series of 5 scientific conferences held annually in Lorne in February which attracts around 300-500 delegates per session.

Various arrangements for their conference had changed which meant that future conferences were likely to be unable to continue in Lorne. The conference organiser contacted Council seeking assistance and we were able to provide them with introductions to other suppliers and some planning support to find a venue in Lorne and continue their conference series.

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The benefits of Business Events & Conferences The benefit of focusing on business events and conferences is that they’re different to the leisure tourism market. Conferences are generally held mid-week and tend to occur in off-peak periods of visitation. Conference delegates spend more on average than a typical tourist and are likely to return for a holiday at a later date. Our competitive advantage in conferencing is not in the quality of the individual venues, but in the way that Council and businesses collaborate to promote Torquay, Lorne and the Surf Coast/Great Ocean Road as a conference ‘destination’. This collaborative destination focus is an environment we’ve worked hard to foster. A publication we produce to promote this advantage is the Great Ocean Road Conference Destination Guide. It includes a brief summary of each venue and also includes details on many of the off-site dining options and activities. You can view it online or download a pdf from www.businesseventsgreatoceanroad.com.au. [if !supportLineBreakNewLine] [endif]