Darwin showcases its ‘unconventional’ assets
The NT Convention Bureau recently staged a four day Unconventional Darwin Showcase which attracted 20 event planners from the association and corporate sectors, as well as Business Event planner specialists.
Similar Showcase events will follow in Uluru in mid-October and Alice Springs in early May next year.
The Showcase highlighted Darwin’s status as a business centre of global significance, with its range of specialty sectors such as tropical and remote health, critical and emergency health care, mining, aquaculture and agribusiness.
A tour of the renowned National Critical Care and Trauma Response Centre’s warehouse facility and a visit to local not-for-profit organisation, Helping People Achieve, demonstrated Darwin’s scope for off-site technical tours.
The program highlighted the city’s impressive harbour and waterways. A creative transfer provided on the first evening by Sea Darwin took participants from the city right into the heart of the renowned Mindil Beach Sunset Markets for canapes and drinks.
The following morning, it was Darwin Harbour Cruises who provided a great start to the day with a leisurely harbour cruise and breakfast aboard their impressive multi-level Charles Darwin catamaran.
The final evening saw SeaLink NT deliver participants aboard one of their high speed vessels to a surprise location on beautiful Mica Beach for a spectacular sunset viewing, before returning to the Cullen Bay Marina, only eight kilometres away across the harbour.
Kerrie Lanyon, Executive Assistant with Reward Hospitality provided glowing feed-back on her Darwin experience.
“I think that any distance and travel time perceptions about Darwin are really not relevant because once you’re there, they’re well and truly offset by the on-the-ground affordability and experiences available,” she said.
“Some Darwin Showcase highlights for me included the lovely surprise VIP drinks area set aside exclusively for us at the Mindil Beach Sunset Markets; also the Pudakul Aboriginal Cultural Tour experience – so genuine and educational.”
The Showcase also included ‘NT Meets the Market’ business sessions at the Darwin Convention Centre, where participants heard from NT-based speakers and also met in one-on-one appointments with 17 Darwin and Top End operators.
Accommodation was hosted across three properties – Club Tropical, Hilton Darwin and DoubleTree by Hilton, Darwin. Site inspections were also arranged of other Darwin residential meeting facilities including Oaks Elan Darwin, Vibe/Adina, DoubleTree by Hilton Esplanade and the adjacent Darwin Entertainment Centre.
Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au
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