AUSTRALASIA - The Exhibition and Events Association of Australasia (EEAA) has welcomed the near completion of Sydney Exhibition Centre @ Glebe Island in time for the start of the 2014 exhibition season.
EEAA chief executive, Joyce DiMascio (pictured) said the new facility was now an impressive reality on Sydney Harbour adjacent to the Anzac Bridge.
“The completion of this project in just six months has been a major collaboration between the New South Wales (NSW) Government, Infrastructure NSW, Lend Lease, AEG Ogden and our industry,” DiMascio said.
“This has been a big team effort and the EEAA would like to thank NSW deputy premier Andrew Stoner for backing this project and ensuring that our members have a place to do business in 2014, 2015 and 2016 while the permanent facilities at Darling Harbour are being built,” she added.
More than 500 people attended a ‘commissioning’ event at the site on 24 January, run by venue operator, AEG Ogden.
“Our members were pleased to see that Sydney Exhibition Centre is a high standard venue and that transport to the site worked well,” added DiMascio.
“The close working partnership between the NSW Government’s project delivery team and the members of the association ensured that what was built could meet the requirements of the industry.
“Valuable feedback has been provided and this will be used for final refinement of the facility and access to it.”
The SEC hopes to be open for business when Reed Gift Fairs February Sydney kicks off as its first exhibition on 15 February.
Meanwhile, the AIME industry trade show has announced the signing of two significant strategic partnerships: with the Australian Federation for Travel Agents (AFTA), and Sabre Pacific travel technology company.
AIME will this year celebrate its 22nd year as a key Asia-Pacific two-day exhibition for those involved in organising business travel, meetings, incentives and events.
According to exhibition director of AIME and CITBM (China Incentive, Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition), Jacqui Timmins, partnering with both AFTA and Sabre Pacific is crucial to AIME’s growth plans, although it is currently the largest international business exhibition in Australia.
“These strategic partnerships demonstrate to our audience and peers the importance of business travel to the business events arena,” Timmins said.
“The fact that these renowned organisations have chosen to invest in AIME provides a major opportunity for the business travel industry and opens up the event to new audiences,” she added.
AFTA will take the opportunity at AIME to officially announce the launch of ATAS (AFTA Travel Accreditation Scheme), effective in April 2014.
A feature at AIME’s Innovation Zone will be Sabre Pacific’s TripCase tool for the popular trip management app.
James Quinlan, general manager of Marketing & Service Delivery, Sabre Pacific, sole sponsor of the zone, said the organisation was looking forward to attending AIME for the first time in an official capacity and is pleased to be able to share its new developments with AIME delegates.
“We have chosen to sponsor this year's AIME in order to support this sector and provide attendees with a glimpse at the future of our products.”
AIME will this year also launch a new business travel stand award to be sponsored by AFTA.
Do you have a news story for Exhibition World? Email abyrne@mashmedia.net
