A survey of regional and rural events throughout Australia was conducted in September 2018 to provide us with a better understanding of what their main challenges and opportunities are.

With close to 40 responses, the sample size provides some interesting insights and trends.

Regional events are dying due to a declining volunteer workforce.

I read this ABC News article with a great fear that we will continue to lose many of the great regional and rural events that drive visitation into their communities - rural communities that don’t often have any other tourism attractions or leisure-based experiences to create this economic and social impact.

Business events provide the highest yield of any tourism segment and are estimated to generate up to six times the average expenditure of leisure travel visitors.

Grant funding offers incredible support to events and festivals.

Events cost a lot of money, and grants are important sources of funds to pay for marketing, entertainment, and even infrastructure.

As a way for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games to meaningfully include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, they has done something no other major sporting event in the world has done: develop a Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) to leave a lasting and meaningful legacy for Indigenous Australians beyond the traditional inclusion of culture in Opening Ceremonies.

As an event manager, crowd and visitor safety is at the forefront of my mind when I plan an event.

The Australian Strategy on Terrorism by Australian National Security requires events to be even more mindful of their crowds of visitors.

I presented at the Australian Events Symposium on a topic that is extremely close to my heart

The 2017 Event Symposium was about events, technology and the Art of the Unexpected

Griffith University’s ‘Gold Coast business and the Commonwealth Games: Impact, legacy and opportunity’ paper, highlighted how the business community could gain benefit from this great opportunity.