Easy accessibility and a host of sporting and cultural attractions make the Victorian capital a favourite business and event destination
While it doesn’t have the endless postcard-perfect beaches of its northern rival Sydney, anyone from Melbourne will tell you that’s what makes it a uniquely appealing place to do business. Melbourne works hard for its reputation as a thriving hub of industry, from high finance to cutting-edge scientific research, from iconic sports culture to fashion and high art.
Melbourne, the coastal capital of the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, is widely regarded as a premier destination for leisure, business and the meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) sector. The confluence of ambition, talent and opportunity draws the best and brightest to Melbourne, and the result is a cosmopolitan culture that combines the industrial ambition of Asia-Pacific with a certain European flair and appreciation for the finer things in life. It’s not unusual for a dinner meeting in Melbourne to extend well into the night, as deals are struck over some of the finest wines in the world.
For a global, 24-hour city, it’s also remarkably easy to enjoy and easy to navigate. Much of Melbourne was built after the advent of mass transit, resulting in traveller-friendly infrastructure with a neat city grid and comprehensive public transport system.
The central business district (CBD) is bordered to the south by the Yarra River, with an arts precinct and a world-renowned sports and entertainment precinct to the east, globally famous for showcasing the best in competitive sports – from the sunshine and glamour of the Australian Open to the Melbourne Cricket Ground, a hallowed ground for fans of cricket and Australian Rules Football alike. Melbourne rates highly as a travel destination, and visitors are spoiled for choice when it comes to accommodation. From no-frills mega-hotels large enough to house entire companies through to boutique art hotels, Melbourne’s city and surrounding suburbs cater to every need.
The South Wharf area, just a brisk walk from the CBD, is the hub of conference activity centred around the Melbourne Conference and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) – its wind-dispersing architecture has been an iconic feature of the Melbourne skyline since 1996. After a massive expansion and upgrade in 2018 the MCEC became the largest exhibition space in the Australia, and one of the largest in the southern hemisphere, attracting around a million delegates a year.
MCEC chief executive Peter King says that since the expansion’s official opening in July 2018, the MCEC has been inundated with interest, hosting 247 events including a diverse range of meetings, conferences and exhibitions, and helping to increase MCEC’s 2018/19 economic impact to more than A$1.1 billion (US$756 million). “The flexible space and customer-friendly design has really hit a sweet spot for event organisers, opening our venue up to a number of new business opportunities,” he says.
King adds: “The MCEC is Melbourne’s destination for big ideas and inspirational events. Hosting more than 1,300 events each year, we’re internationally renowned for our incredible range of spaces, innovative design and jaw-dropping food. We’re passionate about creating inspirational environments. We do this by delivering a personalised service and partnering with our customers to offer ideas, insights and imaginative solutions. We tailor every experience because we realise it’s the little details that make all the difference.”
In addition to the MCEC’s offering, King says that when it comes to location, it doesn’t get much better than Melbourne, which is regularly voted one of the world’s most liveable cities, and provides an ideal opportunity to uncover world-famous laneways, restaurants, galleries and boutiques. “As a 24-hour city, there is always some form of cultural or dining experience to be had, any hour of the day,” he says. “We are a thriving and inclusive community that delivers great experiences to our visitors. Our venue is distinctly Melbourne and we’ve been inspired by the creative, cultural and diverse delights of the city we call home.”
This idea is echoed by Craig Bonner, general manager at Pan Pacific Melbourne, the premier five-star property in the South Wharf precinct. “The collaboration really starts with the State Government of Victoria and Visit Victoria and trickles all the way down to the hotels, restaurants, taxi drivers and tour operators,” he says. “In terms of providing funding and having a united voice, it’s not uncommon for senior government figures to participate in site inspections for visiting international decision-makers interested in hosting an event or conference in Melbourne, to help secure the business for the city.”
He provides an example of the regular Telstra event, in which the Australian Telecom giant typically occupies the MCEC and the entire surrounding district. “All surrounding hotels and the precinct’s restaurants and bars come together to provide an exceptional experience for delegates and create a cohesive experience at every chance.”
Pan Pacific Melbourne has a comprehensive MICE offering, with 396 rooms, concierge support, direct access to the MCEC, and over 450 sqm of flexible conference facilities and eight versatile meeting spaces. These can be configured to accommodate any event – from intimate gatherings to seated banquets for 150 – as well as boasting the Italian-leaning Dock 37 Bar and Kitchen, which recently won Victorian Restaurant of the Year (Hotel Category) at the Restaurant and Catering awards.
Bonner is enthusiastic about the capacity for growth in the MICE sector. In addition to current facilities, redevelopment is under way on the heritage-listed sheds on North Wharf, which will bring about more event space in a more contemporary warehouse style to service a different clientele. The existing shed structure will be refurbished and repurposed as a function hall fronting the wharf’s edge. “We will have both first-class facilities in MCEC and more contemporary spaces available just across from Pan Pacific Melbourne and MCEC in North Wharf,” he says.
Let’s face it, half the appeal of travelling for meetings and exhibition is the downtime, when you can tour the CBD via the trams that are the lifeblood of Melbourne, and free to ride within the inner city. One of the most iconic tram rides is the 96, which rumbles all the way from the cosmopolitan seaside enclave of St Kilda in the south, to the city’s bohemian north, via the Bourke Street mall, a pedestrian arcade where upscale eateries and designer boutiques coexist peacefully alongside a jumble of buskers and ramshackle second-hand bookstores.
Hop off the tram at Pellegrini’s Espresso Bar, a café on Bourke Street that’s been serving pasta and watermelon granita since 1954 by migrant brothers from Italy, and is considered to have been the first in Melbourne to use an espresso machine. In a proudly multicultural city coffee remains the most ubiquitous unifying interest for all Melbournians, and it started at Pellegrini’s.
Cast a glance upwards above the dumpling houses and bubble-tea shops on Swanston Street to the grand architectural facades of “Marvellous Melbourne”, dating to the 19th-century gold-rush boom when the city was briefly the second-largest in the British Empire after London, and reportedly the richest in the world.
Melbourne is also the gateway to untold natural riches – gateway to a stunning convergence of elegant rural hospitality and rugged surf coast. The Great Ocean Road is both an unforgettable travel experience and a slice of Australian history. A winding, thrilling drive, it wends through sleepy seaside towns, delectable wineries, and past unforgettable ocean views, including the iconic Twelve Apostles rock formation.
No trip along the coast is complete without a visit to Captain Moonlite in Anglesea, a restaurant that captures the essence of the Melbourne bay like no other. Owned by couple Gemma Gange and Matt Germanchis, who is perhaps known for his time at Pei Modern in Melbourne and Sydney, and Heston Blumenthal’s visionary gastro-pub The Hinds Head, Captain Moonlite’s focus is on seasonal offerings that celebrate the bounty of Australia’s southern coast.
“Captain Moonlite was loosely based on taverna food in the Mediterranean and from Matt’s time working in the Greek islands,” says Gange. “He loved the process of watching the day’s catch coming in and putting it straight on the menu. The Australian palate is very much accustomed to Asian flavours, and Matt still wanted to bring a little of that philosophy to the Surf Coast.”
It’s the taste of a million happy childhoods, refined for the grown-up palate. “We think it’s important to challenge tastes and to take people out of their comfort zone. We have some of the best and most unique produce in the world and it should be highlighted.”
For overnight trips a visitor should go east, where wineries, golf courses, charming settler-era pubs and teahouses nestle alongside animal sanctuaries – an hour’s drive will take you to Healesville Sanctuary, where your team can get up close and personal with Australia’s wildlife. Two hours’ drive along the Mornington Peninsula will land you on Phillip Island, a protected habitat where every evening at sunset hordes of miniature fairy penguins come in from a day of hunting on the waves and waddle up to their nests.
From there, the world is a business traveller’s oyster, whether travelling solo or as a team. It is a quintessentially Melbourne experience to take a leisurely weekend drive down the Peninsula, stopping at cellar-door wineries to chat to viticulturists. The wine from the reaches of Melbourne’s bay area are rightly famous for combining the best of mineral-rich soil with centuries of European winemaking tradition. If you had to choose one, make it Pt Leo Estate, a A$50 million (US$34 million) vineyard/restaurant complete with a critically acclaimed sculpture garden whose pinot noir is on every self-respecting Victorian restaurant’s menu.
A bottle of the wine makes a perfect souvenir to take home from Melbourne, although truly, once you’ve experienced the city and surrounds as a MICE destination, it won’t be long until you find a reason to come back.
Liam Pieper
