17 April, 2020

BECA submits COVID-19 ‘Response & Recovery’ framework

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The Business Events Council of Australia (BECA) has submitted an industry-specific framework to the federal government, including a suite of measures to sustain the MICE industry.

The ‘Response & Recovery Framework’ was designed to fill in gaps specific to the events industry that were not alleviated or solved by the federal government’s existing stimulus and support measures, according to BECA.

It comes as the events industry continues to sustain enormous losses due to social distancing and travel restrictions enforced countrywide and around the globe, to arrest the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The council added that its proposal includes measures aimed at sustaining the events industry over the next 12 months.

“With finite resources, it is critical that efforts are concentrated on those areas that are expected to bring the largest benefits to the industry and Australian economy more broadly,” BECA chair Vanessa Findlay said.

The first phase of the Response & Recovery Framework response aims to enable the industry to effectively hibernate during the COVID-19 pandemic and to build “domestic demand, industry capacity and strategy” for the future market.

Initiatives outlined in this step include encouraging the government to become an events leader through the outsourcing of public departments’ and agencies’ meetings and events.

See more: BECA reveals industry is losing $2.5bn per month due to COVID-19

And the development of a national business event strategy that sits alongside, or as part of, Tourism 2030, as well as a major event cancellation relief fund, among other measures.

The second phase of the framework is preparing the events industry for recovery, with a focus on research, marketing, promotion, and facilitation.

Initiatives outlined in this step include the renewal and extension of the ‘Australian Government Bid Fund Program’, and the refinement of criterion in the ‘Export Market Development Grant’, among others.

Findlay said she expects to hear from the office of Minister for Tourism Simon Birmingham “in the coming days” regarding the Response & Recovery Framework.

“BECA is staying in close contact with [the] government during this critical development phase of industry-specific support,” Findlay said.

“From there, our work will focus on the design and implementation of the agreed business events COVID-19 package.”

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BECA COVID-19 Minister for Tourism Response & Recovery Framework simon Birmingham