Outgoing Business Events Council of Australia independent Chair acknowledged for business events advocacy and contribution to the industry during challenging COVID-19 period.

The Business Events Council of Australia (BECA)​ has announced that Independent Chair of the peak industry body, Dr Vanessa Findlay, has stepped down from the role after leading the business events industry’s advocacy and federal government lobbying efforts throughout the turbulent period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On completing her tenure as Chair, Dr Findlay said, “the business events industry makes an incredibly valuable contribution to the Australian economy. It delivers more than 440,000 business events annually, making a direct contribution to the economy of $36b and supporting 230,000 jobs but its impact extends far beyond this to the facilitation of the knowledge economy. The industry is far too important to lose so when COVID hit it become imperative that we focus our attention on getting the best possible settings in place to ensure its future. 18 months on from the most serious of downturns and the industry is poised for recovery and rebound. It has been a challenging and very rewarding period to work with an industry of such importance”.

Speaking on behalf of the BECA Board, Deputy Chair, Mr Geoff Donaghy, said “we acknowledge and greatly appreciate the work and contribution made by Dr Findlay in the time she has been in the BECA role.

Her services were secured just before COVID-19 arrived in Australia and she has been instrumental in taking the business events message to Ministers, Departments and Agencies in Canberra and greatly advanced our industry’s standing and recognition within Federal Government channels.”

Donaghy said that BECA’s immediate priorities are providing input into the Reimagining the Visitor Economy 2030 strategy which was recently workshopped at the highly successful Business Events Industry Roundtable delivered by Tourism Australia and BECA at International Convention Centre Sydney involving 75 industry leaders and senior executives.

The Council will also start preparing election policy advocacy and strategies on behalf of the business events industry in the lead up to Federal Election.