Business Events

S.E. ANDREWS (Gibson) (14:33): My question is to the Minister for Tourism. Can the minister update the house on the calendar of business events being held in South Australia and the economic impact of business events to the state?

The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay—Minister for Tourism, Minister for Multicultural Affairs) (14:33): I thank the member for Gibson for her question. Early this week, we saw Business SA release their business confidence figures, and they highlighted how major events were incredibly important to building confidence here in South Australia. Of course, we know that that confidence is higher than in any other state, and it is a really good opportunity for us to see that positive momentum we are feeling.

While we are very proud of these results, I want to talk about business events because business events are very important and powerful. Business tourists spend, on average, three times more than visitors who are here for leisure events. That spend is obviously incredibly important, but it is not just the immediate economic impact of business events; it is the economic tail of those events that creates long-term impacts for our state.

I am really pleased to share with the house that already this month the Adelaide Convention Centre has hosted more than 4,000 delegates from around Australia and the world. The rest of the month is looking just as good, with a further 2,000 delegates yet to arrive. May 2023 is shaping up as the Adelaide Convention Centre's biggest month since the pandemic, with an influx of events this month, 102 in total, including 14 major conferences and exhibitions. This demonstrates the business events industry is well and truly back and that the heightened appeal of Adelaide is out there as a business events destination.

We know that, just like when we have our immersive sporting events, what people love about Adelaide is that they fly in, they are into the city in 10 or 15 minutes, they are at their hotel, they walk around connecting with different delegates, feeling that it's a great place to be, and they are welcome and wanted. We hear that feedback, whether it be a sporting event or a business event.

Hosting 14 major conferences and exhibitions, the Adelaide Convention Centre this month will collectively bring more than 6,000 interstate and international visitors to Adelaide, which will generate an expected 27,000-plus bed nights, injecting $23 million in economic benefit into the South Australian economy.

Australia's strong reputation for innovation, propelled by the ongoing development at Adelaide BioMed City and Lot Fourteen as key innovation and knowledge hubs, continues to be another major drawcard in attracting leading health, medical and innovation event organisers. These business events are significant. Just this month we are playing host to the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons, Austmine 2023, the Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association, the 15^th Australian Space Forum, the Planning Institute of Australia Congress, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nuclear Medicine's 53^rd Annual Scientific Meeting and the Australian Veterinary Association conference.

This month contributes to what is set to be the Adelaide's Convention Centre's best year yet. It's on track to return enormous economic benefit to this state. Of course, while it's operating to near capacity during this financial year to date, our forward bookings indicate that we are going to record an outstanding event again next financial year. This didn't happen by accident. This happened because we are out there selling who Adelaide is. People are turning their heads. They are interested in what is happening here. They work in close partnership, of course, with Business Events Adelaide and I recognise and thank them for the work that they do.