1 December 2023
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) proudly received the Business Event Venue of the Year Award at the VTIC Victorian Tourism Awards Gala Ceremony last night.
The Victorian Business Event Venue of the Year Award recognises venues that achieve excellence, provide high quality facilities and events for business visitors, and have a positive impact on tourism.
In 2022-23, MCEC hosted 694 events that brought more than 787,000 visitors from Australia and overseas to the venue and the city. In total, MCEC welcomed more than 2.6 million visitors and generated $805 million in economic impact for Victoria.
MCEC Chief Executive Natalie O’Brien AM said that it was great to be recognised as an industry leader. “MCEC’s ambition is to be the best, to lead and to bring real value to our customers and community. This award recognises our work and confirms our reputation as a leader in Australia’s event sector.”
Ms O’Brien noted that 2022-23 was a very positive year for the events industry and for MCEC. “There were many highlights over the year. We continued to innovate and offer new immersive experiences to cater to the diverse interests of our customers and visitors, strengthening our position as a premier destination for events.”
This year, MCEC proudly hosted the first ever Melbourne Bluesfest, which attracted over 10,000 blues and roots fans from around Australia and the world, bringing the venue to life with theatres, stages, food trucks and family entertainment.
MCEC is also home to not one, but two immersive experiences, THE LUME Melbourne and the BBC Earth Experience. MCEC delivers bespoke, immersive events within THE LUME gallery, offering a unique opportunity to customers. As the only place to host the renowned BBC Earth Experience in the Asia-Pacific region, MCEC continues to attract new visitors to the venue.
“While successfully delivering a diverse range of events, MCEC also built on our commitments to sustainability and community. We moved closer to our goal of eliminating single-use plastic, saving more than 1.3 million disposable cups from landfill, and improving disposal of organic waste.
“We grew our community partnerships program to make a total in-kind contribution of $2.2 million to leading Australian charities who share our values of sustainability, inclusivity and unconventional thinking.”
Ms O’Brien acknowledged the efforts of the MCEC team. “Of course, while we have a remarkable venue, we also have remarkable people. The entire MCEC team helped to design and deliver memorable events; continuously improve and expand our products, services and operations; and generate benefits for Melbourne and Victoria,” she said.
MCEC is excited to represent Victoria at the Australian Tourism Awards in March next year.
Also announced at the gala ceremony last night, MCEC will host the Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference in August next year, proudly supported by VTIC. As a venue that welcomes diverse visitors from around Australia and the world, MCEC is proud to host this important event that will help shape the future of the tourism industry and improve accessibility and inclusion for all.