Conducted by Professor Leo Jago and his team it identified and quantified the additional benefits associated with selected business events over a two-year period.

Left: Sandra Chipchase, MCVB’s chief executive officer

The survey covered four conventions and their associated exhibitions held in Melbourne in 2009, ranging in size from 400 to 800 delegates in the medical, scientific and environmental/sustainability fields. It also tracked the benefits pre-, during and post- event.

A year into the study the interim report revealed strong evidence of additional benefits from staging a business event. More than 50% of respondents from all four conferences stated they had personally experienced some of these key benefits as a result of their involvement at these events.

Professor Jago said the evidence was gathered from self-complete questionnaires at the conventions, and web-based and telephone interviews 11 months after the conferences.

Results include:

    • 50% of respondents gained immediate information that enhanced their personal or business performance.

    • 54% of respondents developed new business contacts and relationships.

    • 63% of respondents found their industry sector profile was enhanced because of the event.

    • 82% of respondents built relationships with speakers, delegates, exhibitors and/or organisers on-site.

Additionally, more than half the participants said they had:

    • experienced additional “expressions of interest” from potential customers or investors.

    • gained increased investor and/or competitor knowledge.

    • experienced innovation or opened business potential.

Sandra Chipchase, MCVB’s chief executive officer, said although previous industry studies had acknowledged the value of business events “beyond tourism” there was no attempt to quantify their additional benefits over a series of years until now.

“It has long been recognised that conventions create new and repeat visitors, attract accompanying persons, drive regional tourism and generate economic wealth and export orders for host cities.”

Chipchase added that the ongoing challenge was to quantify the additional benefits derived from business events such as the development of new business relationships, innovation, changing perceptions of a country, city or industry, increased market intelligence and/or improved performance.

Professor Jago and his team would continue to work with MCVB on this study over the next year to deliver more ground-breaking data for the business events industry,

Note: Download the full copy of the report here.