As the $1.5 billion International Convention Centre at Darling Harbour gets closer to completion, the list of bookings for events and conferences gets longer.
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With nine months left before the December opening, ICC Sydney, which is being developed by Lendlease, has confirmed 50 exhibition events to launch its 2017 business events season.
The events are tipped to generate about $100 million per annum for Sydney and will increase the competition for events with the biggest rival, Melbourne.
NSW Trade and Tourism Minister Stuart Ayres said recently the state government's investment in ICC Sydney – a $1.5 billion project within the $3.4 billion revitalisation of Darling Harbour – was attracting serious interest across the convention, exhibition and entertainment precinct's market segments.
"The amount of interest and excitement about ICC Sydney is booming and we are thrilled to see the exhibition industry returning to its rightful home in Darling Harbour," he said.
"A major contributor to the NSW economy, the exhibition industry attracts more than half a million people each year and generates about $100 million annually in economic benefit to . . . NSW."
ICC Sydney chief executive Geoff Donaghy said exhibitions were critical to the business mix of a global city.
In addition to the 50 events already announced, a further 30 were under negotiation.
Events have been secured with all of the major exhibition operators in Australia, including Reed Exhibitions, Diversified Communications Australia, Expertise Events, Australasian Gaming Expo and the Boating Industry Association, which runs the Sydney International Boat Show.
Sydney's hotel sector is also preparing for the influx.
The new Sofitel at Darling Harbour, owned by Jerry Schwartz, will be ready to take in event visitors.
Business Events Sydney chief executive Lyn Lewis-Smith has said hotel operators and developers need to step up and invest in more accommodation if Sydney is to meet the projected demand from delegates at conferences and corporate incentives.
"We at BESydney have secured over $1 billion in conferences for the local economy over the past five years and our future pipeline is looking extremely strong, with nearly 150 events to take place in Sydney up to December 2023, worth an estimated $400 million in direct expenditure," Ms Lewis-Smith said.
"There is $300 million in the pipeline and beyond the benefits to delegates who attend business events, and the lasting benefits from the outcomes of learnings reached through these events, business events are critical catalysts for trade, investment, and global talent recruitment, which underpin the health of our knowledge economy."
However, she said urban renewal was critical to helping position Sydney as a modern, innovative and desirable destination.
"Investment in our hotels is critical if we are to meet increasing demand in supply, but also in the requirements from our business travellers," Ms Lewis-Smith said.
In the year ending September 2015, Sydney welcomed 360,000 international overnight business visitors.
"While this is fantastic news for our accommodation market, this news is even more compelling for the NSW economy, which saw this business market spend a total of $680 million during the past year, an increase of 3.2 per cent on the previous year," she said.
