Funded by the Federal Government, the initiative to collate data to better understand the impact of business tourism to the nation has revealed the significant financial boost it provides.

Tourism Research Australia has created a public dashboard of official business events statistics and travel expenditure, which will be updated quarterly.

Of the $20.9 billion spent on business tourism in 2023, $10.4 billion was on accommodation, food and beverage; $4.4 billion on domestic airfares; and $1.1 billion on entertainment and tours.

This total spend represents 89 per cent of peak pre-COVID-19 business events spending.

In 2023, $2.6 billion was spent in Australia by international business visitors, and $1.4 billion on domestic day trips to business events.

Business event traveller numbers totalled 22,424,000 for the calendar year, with 742,000 being international visitors.

“Australia has a well-earned reputation as a global business events leader, encouraging domestic and international visitors to embrace the opportunity to attend our world-class business events and explore the country,” says Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell.

“We’ve long known that business events generate significant economic activity. They facilitate the exchange of ideas and products, and create new networks that, in turn, stimulate trade and investment, attract talent, foster innovation and improve productivity.

“The development of this new business events data dashboard will better measure that contribution and help identify opportunities for the industry.”