Sydney’s new business events forum

SYDNEY – Business leaders from across Sydney’s tourism and events sector have united to champion the city’s standing as a top international event destination, creating a Leaders’ Business Events Forum to provide industry cooperation and direction for Sydney.

The new forum is a joint initiative of the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) and the Tourism Industry Council of New South Wales (TIC NSW), and aims to give the city a united approach while capitalising on the combined expertise of its corporate leaders.

SCVB MD Jon Hutchison said the Forum would take advantage of the fresh impetus in the industry following the NSW Government’s creation of a dedicated events body, Events New South Wales, to develop Sydney and NSW as a centre for public, sporting and business events.

The new body will be chaired by TIC NSW chairman, Jayson Westbury, with members drawn from among the CEOs and senior executives of Sydney’s most important business tourism entities - the SCVB, Events New South Wales, Sydney Airport Corporation, Qantas, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, Sydney Olympic Park, Royal Agricultural Society, Hilton Sydney, the Australian Hotels Association (NSW) and the NSW Office of Science and Medical Research.

Westbury said the Leaders’ Business Events Forum would meet twice a year to address the over-arching issues facing Sydney’s events sector.