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MICE.NET.Magazine September 2001
Cairns
a Winner for Super Delegates
There
is nothing quite like a crisis to test the professionalism of a
venue and a destination and the events of September 2001 saw Cairns
and its convention centre more than rise to the occasion.
The terror attacks
in the US and the collapse of Ansett Australia came just days out
from the prestigious annual conference of the Association of Superannuation
Funds of Australia (ASFA) in Cairns.
This was the
first time ASFA had taken its conference out of Australian state
capitals, a decision which Events Manager Angela Bain said was due
to the facilities on offer at Cairns Convention Centre and the quality
of accommodation in the North Queensland city.
“Our members
came from all parts of Australia and have high expectations in terms
of the technical production of the conference, which has to be as
good as any other convention centre in the state capitals.
While the tragic
events in New York and Washington caused the cancellation of only
one speaker, it was the grounding of the Ansett fleet four days
later that tipped the organisation of the ASFA conference into a
tailspin.
Angela Bain:
“We had arrived in Cairns the day before Ansett shut down and spent
the entire weekend working with our accommodation agents, Ozaccom
in Brisbane, to rearrange the flights for more than 350 of our 1,100
delegates. It was a marathon job that went around the clock.”
Such was the
desire of the more than 1,000 delegates to make their conference
that there were some who drove to Cairns from Melbourne, with one
party flying from Perth to Alice Springs and then driving all the
way to Cairns.
“The events
certainly helped build a sense of solidarity among the delegates
and there were plenty of ‘war stories’ being traded at the Welcome
Reception which was held on the first evening in the Cairns Convention
Centre exhibition hall,” said Angela. ASFA conference delegates
include superannuation funds managers, trustees, accountants, lawyers
and a wide range of service providers to the superannuation industry.
The technical
demands of the ASFA conference were significant, with plenary sessions
and five concurrent presentations underway with some 110 speakers
in two and a half days. The plenaries required high production values,
with video rolls and a wide range of speaker support.
“On top of our core technical staff from Sydney
said we had outstanding service from the technical team in Cairns
” said Angela Bain. “All our presentations were done on Power Point,
with the presentations being transmitted directly from the speaker
ready room to the session rooms. We didn’t have speakers having
to bring their laptops to do their presentations. All they had to
do was simply arrive and start talking.”
“What most impressed me about the Cairns Convention
Centre was the flexibility of the service staff. At an event like
this there are always last minute changes that have to be made and
nothing was too much trouble for the team at the Centre.”
The event was less formal than the previous ASFA conferences in
deference to the tropical destination, with “smart casual” the dress
style throughout. This helped create a friendly, collaborative environment.
Even the conference manual had a tropical feel about it, with the
conference theme being “Factor 50+, Providing Essential Cover”.
The conference meals were held within the expo hall, giving the
50 or so exhibitors plenty of
access to the delegates. The exhibitors comprised government departments,
regulatory organisations like APRA,
banks, insurance companies and information technology providers.
The Conference Dinner was held at the Cairns Showgrounds, with an
underwater theme and catering from Red Ochre creating a memorable
highpoint for the conference. The evening had minimal formalities,
with guests having the chance to network in a convivial atmosphere
before the band started at around
“Cairns really worked for us. Our guests expect
four and five star standard accommodation and there’s plenty available
within close walking distance of the convention centre. The exhibition
space worked well for the exhibitors and it is good to have the
full run of the convention centre. The Cairns Convention Centre
is certainly one of the best centres I’ve ever worked with,” said
Angela Bain.
“We’re delighted that ASFA has joined the list
of happy and successful clients at our Centre,” said Geoff Donaghy,
Managing Director of the Cairns Convention Centre. “This is by no
means the first time we’ve accommodated meetings from the financial
services sector, having also hosted the Financial Planning Association,
which is Australia’s largest association event, as well as National
Insurance Brokers Association, Australian Credit Unions and National
Mutual.
“With our expanded exhibition hall and communications
systems in place, we are increasingly attracting national and international
conferences that normally only meet in major cities and they are
finding that Cairns is a cost-effective and very attractive destination
to do business.”
Indeed, the ASFA conference coincided with school holidays from
several states and many delegates stayed on to enjoy the Great Barrier
Reef, Skyrail, Kuranda and the many other attractions of Tropical
North Queensland.
For More Information:
Geoff Donaghy
Managing Director
Cairns Convention Centre
Telephone: 07-4042 4200
Facsimile: 07-4052 1152
Email: gdonaghy@cairnsconvention.com.au |
