Delegates attending events at International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney) generated more than half a billion dollars for the New South Wales economy in the last financial year, the centre has revealed.
In its Annual Performance Review, ICC Sydney reported $510 million in direct expenditure for the 2019/20 financial operating year, despite the economic fallout from COVID-19.
The report shows the centre was initially on track for a strong year, that was then cut short by the pandemic, which shut down events across Australia from mid-March onward.
For comparison, in 12 months of events across the 2018/19 financial year, ICC Sydney generated $896 million in delegate expenditure for the state.
ICC Sydney CEO Geoff Donaghy said despite the impact COVID-19 has had on the centre and wider industry, the results are important to share.
“In just over three years of operation, ICC Sydney has generated over $2 billion in delegate expenditure for the state economy,” he said.
“We have hosted around 3.5 million visitors, who have created four million overnight stays in Sydney. We have directly supported more than 135 regional or NSW farmers, winemakers and other primary producers.
“While the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on our operations and output in what was set to be another extraordinarily strong year, our Annual Performance Review is an important reminder of the enormous cultural, social and economic value of ICC Sydney.
“I am confident that both ICC Sydney and the wider business events industry will play an important role in Sydney’s and Australia’s recovery from this crisis.”
Of the $510 million in expenditure generated in 2019/20, 73 per cent came from 70,593 international visitors, who also contributed to 981,445 overnight stays in Sydney.
Overnight stays were significantly down on 1.77 million in the previous year, due travel and event restrictions from mid-March.
ICC Sydney is open and currently running virtual and hybrid events, as well as in-person events that comply with current regulations.
