Organisers expect that this year’s event and conference organiser famil will lead to yet another $30 million dollars in conferencing business for the city in light of the major redevelopments happening in the Adelaide events precinct.

The upgrades include a $535 million upgrade to the Adelaide Oval that will see a footbridge link the ground the Convention Centre, a $350 two-stage makeover to the Convention Centre that will launch in 2014 and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute that will open later this year to house over 600 researchers.

“The big opportunity here was that we had a group of first timers who saw the conferencing opportunities South Australia first-hand,” Martin Radcliffe, Adelaide Convention Bureau Director of Sales and Marketing told SPICE.

Radcliffe concedes that it will take time for this introduction to convert into bookings but is confident that

The annual weekend famil kicked off with an afternoon tea at the Hilton, central market tours, hotel inspections and dinner split between upmarket city restaurants The Shiki, Rigonis and Jolley’s Boathouse.

Saturday saw the group divide. One group went to the Barossa valley for winetasting, blending and matching activities, as well as a hangover-curing Sunday morning flying fox ride across the Jacobs Creek property, while the second group headed for the Adelaide Hills and McLaren Vale wine regions to attend cooking school, go wine tasting and get creative with paint. Sunday saw this group cruising around the area in Mustangs. Sunday and Monday included a riverside redevelopment briefing and a gala dinner.