Melbourne’s Conference and Business Events Infrastructure
Meeting Planners and Event and Conference Organisers know the value of good infrastructure, which can make or break a successful Business Event, expo or conference. Melbourne is an Event Organiser’s dream, with a range of impressive facilities.
- Melbourne is home to Australia's most flexible meeting facilities, including the new Melbourne Convention Centre, which opened in June 2009. The 6 Star Green Star energy rated centre boasts a 5,540+ seat plenary hall, 52 meeting rooms, a grand banquet room for 1,500 guests, a magnificent entry level foyer for 8,400 guests, 30,000 square metres of pillar-less exhibition space and is within a five minute walking distance of seven major convention hotels.
- Melbourne has Australia's highest concentration of convention facilities located in the city centre.
- The Melbourne Tourism Region has around 25,500 accommodation rooms with 16,100 of these rooms located within the City of Melbourne and 9,400 in the central business district.
Melbourne's Transport and Access
Whether by planes, trains, automobiles, trams or buses, travelling to and within Melbourne is a breeze with its well-integrated public transport system.
- Melbourne International Airport is open 24 hours, is curfew free and currently has approximately 635 international flights and 3,200 domestic flights per week.
- Twenty-seven leading airlines currently fly to international destinations from Melbourne Airport
- Melbourne Airport was named the 'Low Cost Airport of the Year' in 2009 (Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation).
- The compact city grid network and transport facilities in Melbourne allow easy access to all major hotels, meeting venues and local attractions. Many venues can be reached on foot.
- Melbourne's Southern Cross (railway) Station features an airport-style transport interchange able to handle more than 30,000 passengers at peak hour times.
- Melbourne offers a free City Circle Tourist Tram and Tourist Shuttle bus for travelling around the city. These services link with other tram, train and light rail services in and around Melbourne. The City Circle Tram takes passengers past shopping malls and arcades, major attractions such as the Old Treasury Building, Parliament House and the Princess Theatre, as well as parks and gardens (City of Melbourne).
Melbourne: A Business Centre
With renowned universities and a focus on innovation, Melbourne has established an excellent reputation in many industries including medicine and education.
- Victoria is home to 139 biotech companies, 13 major medical research institutes, seven teaching hospitals and nine universities (DIIRD SGV, April 2009).
- Australia has eight institutions in the world's top 100 universities, as well as six in the ‘top 50 universities for life sciences & biomedicine’
- Melbourne is the headquarters for four of the world’s largest corporations – BHP Billiton, Australia & New Zealand Banking (ANZ), National Australia Bank (NAB) and Telstra – more than any other Australian city (Fortune 500, 2010).
- Melbourne is home to 50 per cent of the top 20 biotech companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange.
- Melbourne has developed breakthrough products such as the Relenza anti-flu vaccine, the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, the cochlear implant, which has provided hearing for thousands of people throughout the world, and the atomic absorption spectrometer (CSIRO & DIIRD SGV, April 2009).
- Melbourne is a founding partner of the BestCities Global Alliance – an international convention bureau network dedicated to the delivery of the world's best service experience for the meetings industry www.bestcities.net.
Melbourne's Attractions
Just name your area of interest and Melbourne is sure to entice you; from the arts to sports, from shopping to festivals, Melbourne’s attractions abound.
- Melbourne is famous for its many and varied shopping experiences, including outdoor markets, international boutiques, and local designers in historic laneways.
- The city is alive with a year-round calendar of annual festivals and events such as the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival, Melbourne International Flower and Garden Show, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and Melbourne International Arts Festival.
- Melbourne is the only city in the world with three retractable roof stadiums.
- Federation Square has become an icon in Melbourne; centrally located, ‘Fed’ Square is visually spectacular with its unusual design, and houses bars and restaurants, regular live entertainment, public events and exhibitions.
- Enjoy a walking tour of Melbourne and experience a range of public art, including the city’s dynamic Laneway Commissions. Melbourne also features an abundance of museums and galleries.