What are the features of the new Melbourne Convention Centre?
Melbourne is home to Australia's most flexible meeting facilities with the new Melbourne Convention Centre that opened in June 2009. The new ‘6 Star Green Star’ energy rated centre boasts a 5,553 seat plenary hall, 32 meeting rooms, a grand banquet room for 1,500 guests, and is within a five minute walking distance of five major convention hotels.
How many hotel rooms are there in Melbourne?
The Melbourne Tourism Region has more than 24,400 accommodation rooms located within one hour of the central business district with approximately 15,400 of these rooms located within the City of Melbourne.
How many international flights operate out of Melbourne International Airport?
The Airport currently has 484 international flights per week to and from major destinations, with 27 leading airlines flying to international destinations.
What public transport is available in Melbourne?
Melbourne has a comprehensive, efficient and well-integrated public transport system incorporating trains, trams and buses. Melbourne's busiest train station, Southern Cross Station, features an airport-style transport interchange able to handle more than 30,000 passengers at peak hour times. Melbourne also offers a free City Circle Tourist Tram and Tourist Shuttle Bus for travelling around the city.
How many people are employed in the Business Events industry?
Business Events are directly responsible for more than 22,000 jobs in Victoria.
What is the value of Business Events to the Victorian state economy?
Business Events generate $1.2 billion annually for the Victorian economy.
In which industries does Melbourne have a strong reputation?
Melbourne is recognised internationally as a centre of excellence in medical research and education.
- Victoria is home to 139 biotech companies, 13 major medical research institutes, seven teaching hospitals and nine universities (DIIRD SGV, April 2009).
- Fifty per cent of the top 20 biotech companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange are in Melbourne (DIIRD SGV, April 2009).
- 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).
- Australia has eight institutions in the world top 100 universities, as well as six in the ‘top 50 universities for life sciences & biomedicine’ (Times Higher Education-QS World University Rankings 2009).
What is Melbourne renowned for nationally and internationally?
- Since 2002, The Economist Intelligence Unit has selected Melbourne as Most Liveable City three times, and has placed Melbourne in the top three every year.
- In 2008, Melbourne was voted the nation's number one Australian destination for business travellers for the third year in a row, according to a wotif.com survey.
- Melbourne was named a UNESCO City of Literature in 2008 – only the second city in the world to receive this accolade.
- For the second year running, Shop Til You Drop magazine readers voted Melbourne the best shopping destination in Australia in 2008.
- Melbourne was recognised as Best Sports City in the 2009 SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards.
For further information including time zone, climate and visas, see our Melbourne Guide.