NSW is reaping the rewards of targeted strategies to attract visitors from the growing Chinese market as more than 3,000 Chinese delegates arrived in the State on Tuesday (9 July) for Perfect China’s Leadership Seminar.
Acting NSW Premier Andrew Stoner said the Perfect China Leadership Seminar 2013 is expected to inject approximately $21 million into the NSW economy.
“The Perfect China Leadership Seminar is the latest large-scale Chinese corporate incentive and leadership seminar that will take place in NSW this year,” he said.
“Events like these deliver a very substantial economic benefit to our State’s economy, as delegates stay, eat, shop and play throughout Sydney and regional NSW.
“Business visitors are an important component of our tourism industry, with nearly two thirds of those who visit our state for a business event reporting they will return to Sydney in the next five years for a holiday. A third plan to return for another conference.
“NSW welcomes around 50 per cent of all international business arrivals to Australia and it’s encouraging to see international arrivals for conferences and conventions in Australia growing at a rate of more than 4 per cent year-on-year.
“The NSW Government has also targeted inbound tourism from China through our China Tourism Strategy 2012-2020 and we’re already seeing results with the International Visitor Survey showing Chinese visitor numbers growing by 20 per cent.
“In the first quarter of 2013 we welcomed more than 380,000 Chinese visitors who contributed more than $1.3 billion to the NSW visitor economy.”
Perfect China, a leading health and personal care direct selling company, rewards and celebrates its high-performing sales force with an annual leadership seminar. The group will be in town 9-17 July, arriving in three overlapping waves.
The Perfect China Leadership Seminar 2013 was secured by the State’s convention bureau, Business Events Sydney (BESydney), in partnership with Destination NSW.
Perfect China delegates will explore iconic Sydney attractions and take part in shopping and food tours, and they will also journey into the NSW regions for sightseeing and a country farm experience.
BESydney CEO, Lyn Lewis-Smith, reiterated the value of China as a vital source market for business delegates, now and into the future.
“In the 2012/13 financial year, BESydney secured 11 Chinese corporate incentive events, which will see over 31,000 delegate nights spent in Sydney and throughout the NSW regions. These events represent over 50 per cent of the total economic impact the organisation secured for the overall corporate incentive market.”
“Welcoming Perfect China to our shores is a fantastic example of the opportunities that the Chinese business event market offers our visitor economy, ” said Sandra Chipchase, CEO of Destination NSW. “Through working strategically with Business Events Sydney, we will look to grow the number of these high-yielding events we attract – hopefully on a repeat basis – to Sydney and the diverse NSW regions.”
The Government recently announced that its 2013-14 budget would continue to support the activities of BESydney, as well as build on its already strong strategy for engaging with China and promoting NSW as a destination for business and leisure travellers.
