The Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) is calling on members of the public to vote for the city in the category of Australasia’s Leading Meetings and Conference Destination in the 2013 World Travel Awards.
MCB’s Chief Executive Officer, Karen Bolinger, said that Melbourne has successfully hosted global meetings and major events for more than 100 years and would be an extremely deserving recipient of the prestigious award.
“Melbourne has a number of unique selling points, which enables the city to compete on a global scale including: that it’s Australia’s knowledge capital; it has the nation’s highest concentration of convention facilities located in the city centre; and it’s officially the world’s most liveable city,” she said.
“Melbourne excels in the fields of medicine, science, technology, engineering and education, which is a major drawcard for international associations looking for a host city where they can capitalise on this intelligence.
“In addition, Melbourne’s convention district is home to almost 198,000 square metres of conference space and over 15,000 accommodation rooms, spanning just four square kilometres in the heart of the city.
“What’s more, Melbourne has an array of incredible activities for delegates to experience in their down time; from world sporting events and fashion, food and arts festivals, to iconic attractions such as the Melbourne Cricket Ground and a maze of hidden laneways – the city caters to just about every taste and budget.
“These attributes have enabled MCB to secure the rights to host some of the world’s largest and most prestigious conferences, such as the 22nd World Diabetes Congress for 12,500 delegates (December, 2013) and International AIDS Conference for 14,000 (July, 2014).
“Vote for Melbourne in the World Travel Awards and see it rightly acknowledged for the outstanding meetings and conference destination that it is.”
The World Travel Awards were established in 1993 to acknowledge, reward and celebrate excellence across all sectors of the tourism industry. To submit your vote for Melbourne in the category of Australasia’s Leading Meetings and Conference Destination, please visit www.worldtravelawards.com/vote-for-melbourne-2013. Voting closes on 1 September, 2013.
Conferences coming to Melbourne:
> IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium – IGARSS
21-26 July 2013
www.igarss2013.org
> Conference of the International Lactation Consultant Association – ILCA
25-28 July 2013
www.ilca.org
> Prostate Cancer World Congress
6–10 August 2013
www.prostatecancercongress.org.au
