Big events yield $107m in WA

A record amount of money is due to be spent in Western Australia by people attending upcoming conferences and exhibitions.

The Perth Convention Bureau, which works to attract business events to WA, announced $107.9 million is expected to be spent as a flow on effect from booked future events, compared to $104.7 million secured last financial year.

193 events were secured by the PCB to occur in WA over the next year and beyond, compared to 184 events secured in the previous financial year.

PCB chief executive Paul Beeson said the expenditure which is directly attributed to international and domestic conference delegates and attendants had exceeded the bureau’s target.

Mr Beeson said conferences were WA’s highest yielding tourism sector.

58 per cent of the events PCB secured in the financial year just ended were from the medical and resources sector conferences, which are typically characterised as high yield due to how much delegates from those events spend.

PCB chairman Ian Laurance said the latest figures proved the organisation was punching above its weight in the business events industry, despite increasing competition from other Australian and Asian destinations.

In January Business News reported on plans to expand the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre to meet a growing demand for more and bigger events.