Tourism Conference under canvas

Excited media and operators in Northern New South Wales and even on the Gold Coast have used this week’s ATEC Symposium taking place in a marquee erected opposite the Tweed’s Twin Towns Services Club to push the local case for improved conference facilities in the area.

With reports saying, “Hundreds of tourism heavyweights are doing multimillion-dollar deals in a tent because the Tweed does not have its own major conference centre,” and “A temporary rainproof marquee erected opposite Twin Towns Services Club is catering for 600 delegates in town for the annual Australian Tourism Export Council symposium,” with, “The visitors, representing the who’s who of Australia’s tourism export industry, are credited with attracting thousands of holidaymakers to the region every year.” it is a bit of mystery why ATEC would choose to hold their conference under canvas and what are described by delegates as many spread out and fragmented locations in the Tweed, when there are actually plenty of excellent conference facilities in many other locations throughout New South Wales and Queensland.

Matt Hingerty, ATEC’s CEO was not available yesterday at his office in Sydney for comment as he was probably still pitching is tent on the Tweed and The Mole was not at the Symposium, but the answer may be that Tweed Shire chipped in $12,000 towards what is described as a 45sqm mega-marquee, which is housing a gala dinner, business workshops and registration desks during the three-day event.

Twin Towns Services Club CEO Rob Smith told local media that the ‘big tent’ was proof the region desperately needed a large-scale conference facility, adding, “This region has worked hard to provide the accommodation and the attractions,” and “Now we need a major conference facility to really complete this jigsaw puzzle.”

Although ATEC describes itself as non political, it is though recognised as being more aligned to the Liberal Party than any other, The Mole thought that there might be political reasons for the location of the conference in the Tweed and under canvas, but the Federal Member for the electoral Division of Richmond (NSW) is Justine Elliot MP and she is Labour and in the NSW State Parliament the Member is Geoff Provest, who is a National Party member, so perhaps The Mole is reading too much into the political angle or perhaps not!

More interestingly though, last September Twin Towns unveiled plans to build a three storey conference centre catering for up to 1000 delegates as part of a $25 million redevelopment of its Tweed site, with the plan open for public consultation in May and Mr Smith saying with community support, it was likely the club would be “looking for a builder by Christmas” and the works completed by late 2008.

It seesm a pity if the Symposium had to be on the Tweed that ATEC could not wait until then!

Mr Smith said the project’s centrepiece would be two large function rooms across an entire floor capable of hosting 1000 people and the proposal involving rebuilding the club’s existing first floor bars and gaming areas, building two premium class cinemas, adding a large outdoor smoking area, and adding two conference breakout areas for 100 people apiece, with Mr Smith saying, “We are not looking to go head to head with the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre,” adding, “That centre has been a huge success story but they are public and we are private and we are not trying to be another Gold Coast.

He also told local media, “What we do want to offer Tweed is a major conference facility with flow-on benefits for this region of millions and millions of dollars and a typical group of 500 delegates will inject $3 million to $4 million into the local economy.”

Tweed Tourism GM Terry Watson estimated ATEC delegates would spend $1.5 million in the area this week and in an interesting twist said that people who are comfortable in tents, backpackers, are estimated to have injected $2 billion into the Australian tourism industry in 2006, with backpacker operators from across the country converging on Byron Bay for a one-day conference as part of ATEC’s symposium event, with ATEC MD Matthew Hingerty saying 545,000 backpackers last year spent an average of $5161 each, with the backpacker market totalling 545,000 people last year.

Report by The Mole from local Tweed and Gold Coast media