Brisbane is set to benefit from a new business events “boom” over the coming years with the economic benefit from the sector predicted to contribute over $112 million, reports choosebrisbane.com.au.

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrianne Schrinner said conferences, meetings and incentives locked in for the city are up year on year. 

“In the year to July, Brisbane Marketing and partners secured 91 business events worth $112.2m for Brisbane – a jump of almost 20% compared to a year ago,” Cr Schrinner said.

“That’s a lot of coffees, meals, hotel rooms, travel costs and entertainment dollars being spent right here and supporting local jobs.

“Brisbane is becoming an increasingly sought-after destination for major events and conferences, as more people recognise our world-class infrastructure, venues, accommodation, leisure offerings and leading industry sectors,” Cr Schrinner said.

These events are made up of over 47,600 attendees who will stay a combined total of 185,200 days. 

Keys events confirmed for 2020 include conferences of two bio-tech companies from China and the Flight Centre Global Gathering. Just these three events alone will generate around $17 million for the local economy with approximately 8,500 people attending. 

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said securing big conferences such as the Flight Centre Global Gathering shows Brisbane is a world-class destination for global events in the multi-billion dollar world-wide industry. General tourism is also playing a huge part. 

“With six major hotel openings in the last 12 months and a raft of new dining, cultural and lifestyle experiences on offer, Brisbane’s tourism industry is growing rapidly,” she said.