25 August 2016
The City of Gold Coast and the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre (GCCEC), part of the Star Entertainment Group, have been chosen to host the 2017 IEEE International Communications Energy Conference (INTELEC®), the premier forum for science and engineering of energy systems for Information and Communications Technologies.
More than 700 delegates are expected to converge on the Gold Coast in October, 2017 over five days exploring, deliberating and presenting the latest in communications power systems, energy storage and energy conversion.
The Centre works in close partnership with Gold Coast Business Events (GCBE), part of Gold Coast Tourism Corporation, to elevate and tirelessly promote Australia’s Gold Coast as the nation’s premier Business Events destination. The conducive collaboration bore yet another highly sought after win for the destination, having successfully trumped six competing venues across Australia and Singapore for hosting honours.
Director of Gold Coast Business Events, Anna Case, welcomed the announcement and said the Gold Coast is a destination in high demand for conferences and meetings.
“In cooperation with our industry partners, Gold Coast Business Events secured 27 national and international conferences for the Gold Coast in June, with an estimated economic impact of around $17 million for the local economy,” she said.
“The Gold Coast has an incredibly compelling offering for business events and GCCEC is a vital partner in positioning the city as a world-class destination for conferences,” Ms Case said.
The liquidity in economic benefit from international conferences stretches across the city, yielding profound delegate spend across accommodation, off-site attraction visitation, hospitality and leisure. Infrastructure including the G:link light rail network, refurbishment of Pacific Fair and major development in the Broadbeach precinct only strengthen the destination and the appeal of the Gold Coast to conference organisers and their delegates.
Pertinent to the continued growth of Australia’s largest regional city, the destinations ability to bid for, and successfully secure high profile international conferences and events requires the assistance not only of GCBE but that of Tourism and Events Queensland, through bid support and subvention which are critical elements of a host city’s bid process.
Minister for Tourism and Major Events Kate Jones said business events were a significant contributor to the local tourism economy.
“The Gold Coast welcomed more than 430,000 business-related visitors in the year to March 2016,” Ms Jones said.
“Events like INTELEC® 2017 further enhance the Gold Coast’s reputation as a premier business events destination.
“The Palaszczuk Government is proud to support INTELEC® 2017 through Tourism and Events Queensland and we look forward to welcoming visitors from all over the world to the Gold Coast.”
With over 50 percent of the delegation travelling from the international community, this conference provides industry counterparts the opportunity to participate in technical presentation sessions, educational tutorials and workshops. The conference will also feature a comprehensive technical tour and social program for networking opportunities amongst industry peers.
Celebrating its 39th conferencing year in 2017, INTELEC® will be held from 22 – 26, October at the GCCEC.
As an industry-leading venue located within one of Australia’s most attractive tourism destinations, the GCCEC will continue to entice business events having injected over $1.9 billion into the local economy over the past 12 years.