It’s been a long time coming.
For the first time since 2019, Tourism Australia’s signature biennial incentive showcase, Dreamtime, returned November 7-9 to Adelaide/Tarntanya, drawing 80 international buyers from Greater China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, India, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, North America and the U.K. to the South Australia destination.
The showcase, “designed to increase awareness and interest in Australia as an outstanding business events destination,” according to Tourism Australia’s website, was presented in partnership with Business Events Adelaide and connected qualified buyers to almost 90 Australian industry sellers at the Adelaide Convention Centre (ACC).
The two-day program across the city showcased some of Adelaide/Tartanya’s incentive offerings while allowing time for face-to-face business sessions, networking events and once-in-a-lifetime surprises, coupled with either pre- or post-event familiarization trips to other destinations around Australia “to see the full breadth and depth of what we have to offer from our iconic and diverse landscapes, world-class venues, unique experiences and friendly people,” said Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison in a press release.
I had the incredible opportunity to attend Dreamtime 2023 and visit Australia for the first time as a member of the showcase’s media program. Following are some of the biggest takeaways from the three-day event.
[Related: Business Events Australia Research Indicates Confidence in International Events and Incentives]
Boosting Business Events
Following pandemic-related setbacks in business events and travel, including a four-year pause on Dreamtime, Australia is moving forward with full force as the country continues to rebuild its pipeline of international business events.
“After having the event on hold for four years we are so pleased Dreamtime has returned in 2023, giving us the opportunity to welcome international business events planners and media back to Australia,” Harrison said. “The event in Adelaide, and the program of familiarizations around the country, have provided the visiting qualified buyers and media the chance to see first-hand some of the new product which has come online over the past few years.”
Some new developments this year’s Dreamtime attendees learned about include the recently opened W Sydney—Marriott’s largest W Hotel in the world—and the AUD176 million (approximately $119.3 million) expansion of Cairns Convention Centre, delivering an additional 113,021 square feet of meeting and exhibition space.
“In 2019 the business events sector was a major contributor to the Australian visitor economy, attracting more than one million visitors to our country who spent AUD4.5 billion [nearly $3 billion], and Dreamtime will play a key role in helping us get back to those levels,” Harrison said.
“Even with the disruption to global travel after the event, Dreamtime 2019 delivered solid results for Australia, generating 36 business leads in three months, worth AUD97 million [nearly $65.8 million],” added Robin Mack, Tourism Australia’s executive general manager of commercial and business events Australia.
The 2017 Dreamtime event, held in Brisbane, generated 200 business leads, of which 73 converted into business worth AUD50 million (just under $34 million).
So far, Dreamtime 2023 is already driving solid results for Australia, generating 149 business leads to date, worth AUD79 million (about $53.6 million). Post-event survey results shared that 100% of both buyers and industry sellers were satisfied with Dreamtime 2023, and 100% of buyers are more likely to consider Australia having visited for the event. Additionally, 100% of buyers post-visit are more likely to send an incentive or corporate meeting to Australia, and 90% of industry sellers intend to sell more as a result of attending Dreamtime 2023.
“My time in Australia was absolutely incredible!” said Kate Sergent, manager of event operations at One10 and a Dreamtime 2023 buyer. “Everyone I met was so kind and excited to share about their hotel, venue and city. You can feel the passion for our industry and the eagerness to show off the uniqueness of what they have to offer in their cities.”
Business Events Australia’s signature incentive showcase is typically held every two years but will return in September 2024 in tropical North Queensland under the new name Australia Next, in alignment with Business Events Australia’s bespoke magazine for incentive planners. The showcase will occur again in 2025 and return to its traditional biennial schedule.
“Dreamtime 2023 in Adelaide and the familiarization trip to Cairns was not just a triumph of event planning—I was truly wowed by all the surprise and delight elements—but a testament to the unique allure of Australia as a destination for meetings and incentive trips,” said Danielle Rhodes, account director, meetings and incentives at Fusion Marketing and a buyer at the showcase. “The recognition of the Indigenous culture, stunning landscapes and state-of-the-art facilities in both cities provided an unparalleled experience for us as attendees. Australia’s blend of natural beauty, modern amenities, amazing food and beverage and warm hospitality makes it an ideal destination for any event. This event demonstrated why Australia continues to be a top choice for businesses looking to inspire and reward their teams. Australia Next!”
[Related: Business Events Australia to Host Signature Incentive Showcase Under New Event Name]
All About Adelaide
This year, The Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2023 Global Liveability Index, which assesses cities around the world based on living conditions and factors including health care, education, culture, sustainability and environment, ranked Adelaide as the 12th most livable city in the world. Whether you call the South Australian city home or not, there’s no denying just how special it is. The city in a park—Australia’s first National Park City—provides planners and attendees big-city amenities with a boutique-city feel, all within easily walkable boundaries.
“Adelaide is a global boutique city. It’s a small city with big infrastructure. We’ve got everything, but we’ve maintained, and we will retain, that boutique, sustainable nature,” said Damien Kitto, CEO of Business Events Adelaide.
The ACC, the site of this year’s Dreamtime event, recently underwent nearly AUD400 million (approximately $268.2 million) in renovations, is within a five-minute walk of more than 4,000 hotel rooms and was the first purpose-built exhibition venue in Australia. Located where the city’s education, medical, cultural, sporting, innovation and entertainment zones merge, the ACC offers more than 215,000 square feet of event space across three interconnected buildings and is the world’s first convention center to achieve EarthCheck’s Master status, a 15-year commitment to best practice in business and environmental sustainability.
For the first time, the Dreamtime event was certified carbon neutral by Climate Active, “a rigorous, government-backed carbon neutral certification for businesses.” The certification means Tourism Australia reduced emissions where possible and compensated for the remainder by investing in carbon offset projects to fully balance all emissions from the Dreamtime event.
“Also, all of our really unique experiences that we have are so close,” Kitto said. “You’ve got the coastline that’s only 20 minutes away, and the Adelaide Hills are 20 minutes from us. Barossa Valley, the world-renowned best wine region in Australia, is only one hour away. Everything, from a sustainability point of view and transport in particular, is really close.”
Within a 30-minute drive from Adelaide’s 7,000-plus hotel rooms (with another 1,500 slated to open by 2025) are serene beaches, world-class wineries, master chef culinary experiences, wildlife adventures and immersive cultural activities, making the destination ideal for experiencing the incentive side of Australia. Whether we were sipping wine at Mount Lofty House, feeding kangaroos and petting koalas at Cleland Wildlife Park, exploring the Rubik’s Cube-inspired d’Arenberg Cube building, climbing the roof of the iconic Adelaide Oval or dining at Australia’s No. 1 restaurant, Restaurant Botanic, each and every experience provided the once-in-a-lifetime type of excitement you’d expect to feel on an incentive trip.
“CSR is really important to us, too, and the acknowledgement and respect to working with Kaurna Country, and also the other Indigenous landowners as well, is a really important overlay,” Kitto said. “When you’ve got global groups coming to Adelaide or Australia, the traditional landowners welcoming is really important.”
When members of the media program arrived at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, for example, we were greeted by Jack Buckskin, a proud Kaurna and Narungga man and the founder and director of Kuma Karru, an organization that provides cultural services and workshops for events. Buckskin led a Smoking & Cleaning ceremony before a bespoke native ingredient foraging tour at the gardens and lunch at Restaurant Botanic.
“We’re small, but we’ve got it all, and we do it really well,” Kitto said. “The important thing for groups out in North America to know is our team at Business Events Adelaide provides collaboration and support. We’re here to make it happen, whether it’s under the executive level of the South Australian Government, the Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide, my team, all of our suppliers. We’re here to help them support the organizer and the organization to deliver an amazing, successful, bespoke event. Their success is our success, and we’re here for them.”
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