Melbourne Conferences: AIME Still Going Strong in its 20th Year - AIME 2012

The Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) may be celebrating its 20th year in 2012, but this premier industry event is proving as dynamic as ever, with new initiatives and a range of new sponsors coming on board; AIME is still the event for the business events industry.

A sponsor in previous years, Saxton Speakers Bureau, which is returning to AIME for a third consecutive year to run the impressive Saxton Ultimate Event Experience, has now become a major sponsor of the show.

AIME also welcomes new sponsors: Corporate Traveller; Air New Zealand; The Association of Corporate Travel Executives (ACTE); the Professional Conference Organisers Association Inc (PCO); and International Special Events Society (ISES).

Sally de Swart, Reed Travel Exhibition's (RTE) Director for AIME, says that the new sponsors are a sure sign that the 20th anniversary show will be as successful as ever.

"We are delighted to have so many new sponsors and association partners on board and we know these partners will help keep AIME fresh and exciting," she said.

The addition of new association sponsors will also add a boost to AIME's Education Program.

"We are asking our existing and new association partners to contribute to our refreshed Education Program which will assist us in delivering relevant and interesting content that addresses the current challenges and issues facing the meetings and incentives industry," said Ms de Swart.

AIME 2012 is also shaking things up on the show floor with a new Association Lounge for association members to use for meetings, as well as an additional Globe restaurant, sponsored by Singapore Tourism, SingaporeXpress, which will offer quick and delicious Singaporean-style meals. In addition, the Globe Restaurant and Bar, sponsored by South African Tourism, will offer a variety of options to entertain clients.

Other new initiatives include two new Pre Touring options that give Hosted Buyers the chance to experience Melbourne and regional Victoria first hand.

The new Hume City Council full-day tour gives Hosted Buyers the opportunity to sample wines and experience the beauty of the region, while the new, half-day Melbourne Coffee Tour introduces buyers to cosmopolitan Melbourne.

AIME's exceptional networking opportunities are always a huge draw card for many attendees and Ms de Swart reveals that the social side of AIME will be bigger than ever in 2012.

"It's AIME's 20th birthday, so of course this year's networking functions will be second to none. From our Welcome Reception to a new, Tuesday night event - we want everyone who attends to meet fantastic people and have a memorable time," Ms de Swart said.

The 20th anniversary of AIME, owned by the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and organised by RTE, will be held on 21-22 February 2012 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) in Melbourne, Australia.

If you’re attending AIME and need to book accommodation then try Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne.

Located in the heart of Melbourne CBD and only a short taxi ride to the AIME venue, Metro Apartments on Bank Place provides exhibition exhibitors and delegates with a comfortable, affordable apartment accommodation with friendly service.

For further information or to make a booking log on to www.metroapartmentsmelbourne.com

Melbourne Conferences: AIME Still Going Strong in its 20th Year - AIME 2012

Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne: Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne as Featured on Eat, Play & Sleep

Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne as Featured on Eat, Play & Sleep



See the Metro Apartments on Bank Place website

Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne: Metro Apartments on Bank Place, Melbourne as Featured on Eat, Play & Sleep

Melbourne Conferences: Exhibitor Presence Increases for AIME 2012

The Asia-Pacific Incentives & Meetings Expo (AIME) is experiencing an increased demand for exhibitor space giving further credence to reports that the meetings and incentives industry in Australia and the surrounding region is going from strength to strength.

AIME, owned by the Melbourne Convention + Visitors Bureau (MCVB) and organised by Reed Travel Exhibitions (RTE), will be celebrating its 20th anniversary on 21-22 February 2012 at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC), and based on early feedback from registered exhibitors, organisers expect exhibitor presence to be strong.

Sally de Swart, RTE Director for AIME, says she is impressed but not surprised with the interest from new exhibitors for 2012, as well as the desire for past exhibitors to expand their presence at the show.

"This year we are seeing destinations increasing their numbers of trade partners at the show and therefore needing to increase the size of their stands. Also organisations which have previously shared a stand are branching out and committing to their own stand in order to have more exposure at AIME," Ms de Swart said.

"It's fantastic to see that early interest in AIME is very promising and that the strong interest in the Asia-Pacific region as a MICE destination gives the industry a positive outlook moving forward."

In June this year, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported a three per cent year-on-year increase in convention and conference arrivals to Australia. The UFI, Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, also reported a 10 per cent profit increase for Asia-Pacific companies in the exhibition industry in 2010*. Both reports confirm the region's growth in popularity as a meeting and incentives destination.

Australia is also proving to be a strong market for outbound conferences, which has led to AIME exhibitors like Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) to significantly increase their presence at the show.

Jane Scribner, Manager of Consumer Marketing & Business Tourism at HKTB in Sydney confirmed that Hong Kong has almost doubled their stand size at AIME for 2012 in addition to increasing the number of trade partners from 24 in 2011 to 35.

"Australia is one of the primary source markets for the meetings and events industry in Hong Kong and we have enjoyed strong growth from this segment in recent years," Ms Scribner said.

"AIME 2012 will represent a milestone for HKTB as we mount the largest presence for any trade show in recent times where we are joined by 35 Hong Kong trade for what we hope will be another very successful show and start to the new year."

Marriott International, a leading worldwide hospitality company, has previously been represented at AIME through individual hotels and on destination stands, however in 2012 they are expanding their presence by holding a dedicated Marriott International stand for the first time.

Avril Northridge, South Asia's Regional Director at Marriott International, said they are delighted to be taking a major stand at AIME 2012.

Melbourne Conferences: Exhibitor Presence Increases for AIME 2012

Sydney Tourism News and Information: Aussie Surf Tops World Beaches

AUSTRALIA has the world's best surfing beaches, according to an international gathering of scientists, legislators, environmentalists and wave riders.

At the Global Wave Conference in France this week attendees from more than 20 nations gave a thumbs up to Australia's surfing beaches as they considered an increasing threat to surfing environments.

"Australia has long been regarded as having many great beaches," National Surfing Reserves chairman Brad Farmer said.

"Now this conference is recognising Australia's 10,000 plus beaches as the world's best."

Founder of the organisation he represents, Mr Farmer is lobbying for the establishment of a Ministry for Coasts in Australia to help protect beaches.

"The world is looking to Australia (for) how to manage and protect beaches. It's an honour for us to be leading the way forward," he said.

Aussie Surf Tops World Beaches

Royals Visit Australia: Queen Bids Farewell to Melbourne After Whirlwind Visit

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh left Melbourne's sunny skies and arrived to inclement weather in Perth.

A crowd of more than 400 people braved the wet weather to sneak a peek at the royal pair touching down at Perth International Airport at 4.20pm, five minutes ahead of schedule.

WA Premier Colin Barnett and his wife Lyn, as well as Defence Minister Stephen Smith, were on the tarmac waiting for the Queen to arrive.

As she emerged from the plane, the Queen was greeted by loud cheers from the waiting crowd who had been gathering all afternoon.

Earlier in the day during her whirlwind tour of Melbourne, the Duke of Edinburgh was every inch the exasperated commuter when he took a tram ride through the city with the Queen.

As soon as the royal couple stepped aboard the public transport vehicle he waved his hand and ordered driver Joyleen Smith to set off as they were running late.

It is the first time the monarch has travelled by tram since she boarded one during the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002.

In honour of the royal passengers the white Z3-Class vehicle had been transformed with a red, white and blue exterior colour scheme and inside it had been refurbished and restored.

A dot-matrix screen at its front displayed the words "royal tram" while a smaller one was lit up with the monarch's initials "ER''

Ms Smith, a tram driver for almost seven years, described today's event as an honour.

She added: "When they got on I said hello to the Queen, and Philip said 'come on driver lets go, were running late', so I thought we better go.

"He said it with a smile on his face and I know hes got a wicked sense of humour."

The pair boarded the tram at Stop 13 in Melbourne's Federation Square and travelled along St Kilda Road to a reception and lunch with local politicians at Government House, before flying to Perth late this afternoon.

Royals Visit Australia: Queen Bids Farewell to Melbourne After Whirlwind Visit

Queen Takes a Tram Ride in Melbourne

After opening the new Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, the Queen went for a short hop aboard the Royal Tram on the eighth day of her state visit to Australia.

Royals Visit Australia: Hail Victoria! Long May Melbourne's Royal Reminders Reign

Doing away with monarchy's monuments would be madness - even for a republic.

WHEN the Queen arrives this morning on her visit to the state named in honour of her great-great grandmother, it is worth recalling Queen Victoria's profound influence on a place she never visited, but probably thought of occasionally.

India may have been her jewel in the crown - this at a time when the crown was clustered with imperial gems - but I am sure little old Melbourne, tucked down among the garnets, below the diamonds and sapphires, warranted an occasional look through the royal loupe.

Melbourne is really Queen Victoria's town. Not perhaps as much personally - even if her majesty had visited, it would have been hard to imagine her taking the No. 8 tram down St Kilda Road - but more in terms of civic heritage and the very formation of this great city. Melbourne's beginnings were more or less contemporaneous with Queen Victoria's: our settlement began two years before she ascended the throne in 1837. Our inner-suburban terrace housing, along with the parks and gardens that allow the city breathing space, evolved with stately enterprise and care, providing grace and dignity.

The apogee of Victorian Melbourne was William Wardell's Government House, which surmounts the Royal Botanic Gardens like the topmost tier of a wedding cake. I think of William Delafield Cook's painting of the house's belvedere tower poking up through the foliage of the surrounding gardens - a view now destroyed, in modern actuality, by the Eureka building, whose erectile presence would not have amused Queen Victoria.

The present Queen will be at Government House today for lunch. Although the menu, fashion and guest list might have changed, the architecture itself remains absolutely of its period. Even though it is Italianate in style, the house is a prime example of mid-Victorian splendour, as outrageously dignified in its own sedate way as the Royal Albert Hall, in London's Kensington, is a monument to the more adventurous realm of arts and sciences. The difference is that while the hall is a public venue, frequently jammed up to the last letter on its rooftop frieze, Government House is still a vice-regal citadel; it should, as I have said before, be open more to the public.

Royals Visit Australia: Hail Victoria! Long May Melbourne's Royal Reminders Reign