Tweed's Business Events Sector On Show

Hosted by the Tweed Tourism Company and Destination North Coast, the guests were in region following AIME 2020 (Asia Pacific Incentives & Meetings Event), a 3-day B2B event in Melbourne that connects corporate travel decision-makers from across Australia and the Asia Pacific region with product and destinations to grow business opportunities.

The 3-day Tweed itinerary highlighted the region’s meeting, event and conference spaces along with a range of inspiring break-out options for event delegates, including wellness in nature with GreenX7, an art class at M|Arts Precinct, distillery tour at Husk Distillers and a Tweed Eco Cruise experience.

International delegates travelled from New Zealand, India, Germany, the USA and Cambodia and said that their expectations were exceeded when it came to the Tweed’s business venues as well as its food, nature, hinterland and hospitality.

Dr Manoj Verman from ISRM, an association in India, said that the future opportunities and high quality of experience delivered in the Tweed were a stand-out.

“Normally I think about venues in cities or urban centres, but I’ve been so impressed with The Tweed – the variety of small and large venues and its proximity to the Gold Coast International Airport are a real plus.”

Tweed Tourism Company General Manager Bradley Nardi said that the delegate visit was an ideal way to showcase the region’s professional and distinctive offerings to the lucrative MICE market (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions).

“The MICE market is an important sector in our overall tourism mix as it can help fill seasonal gaps outside of holiday travel periods and corporate groups will tend to engage with a lot of our businesses, from hotels and venues to restaurants, attractions and tour operators.

Having this opportunity to showcase our tourism operators to key decision-makers from across Australia and beyond has been the perfect way to work at growing this sector, which generates upward of $145m in spend for regional NSW.”

The Tweed visit also supported Destination NSW’s tourism recovery campaign, Share the Love in NSW, which aims to boost tourism across the state following devastating drought and bushfire, using the hashtag #LoveNSW and #MeetinNSW on social media, along with a hand-made heart shape, to ‘share the love’ of affected towns and cities.

Delegates on the Tweed familiarisation stayed at Peppers Salt Resort in Kingscliff and Twin Towns, Tweed Heads and inspected meetings spaces at Ancora and Twin Towns, the Surfing Australia High Performance Centre and Osteria in Casuarina and Halcyon House at Cabarita Beach.

A tour of the Tweed hinterland took guests to Farm & Co, Mavises Kitchen and Tropical Fruit World while the region’s dining experiences were also on show at Seasons Restaurant at Mantra, Taverna in Kingscliff and Osteria in Casuarina.

These and other Tweed businesses working in the MICE sector are also profiled in the official 2020 Tweed Business Events Product Manual which was launched at AIME in Melbourne and will be circulated online to inspire and inform business event partners.

The 2020 Tweed Business Events Product Manual can be found online at https://issuu.com/thetweedtourismco/docs/ttc_mice_2020_screen

ENDS

Media enquiries: Louise Terry | lterry@thetweed.com.au | 0419 743 143

Image 1: International delegates enjoying the Tweed’s hospitality at Husk Distillers

Pictured at Husk Distillers: (LtoR) Heath Batterham (Destination North Coast), Sen Sereyroath (Keness Travel Cambodia), Harriet Messenger (Husk Distillers), Sally Scott (Tweed Tourism Co), Nga Nguyen (Sharp Healthcare USA).