The 2023 financial year saw yet another enormous lift by the ASM Global team at ICC Sydney. An extremely dynamic year meant our financial results outpaced our initial targets, allowing us to announce the delivery of A$600 million in economic impact for the Sydney community. This result, driven by event delegate and patron spend, has not only invigorated the businesses of Sydney, but through our direct supply chain, has also reverberated across New South Wales.
At the heart of our operation are the exceptional individuals who comprise our extraordinary team. We take immense pride in cultivating an inclusive environment that nurtures the growth and fulfillment of our personnel. With talented, experienced professionals positioned to orchestrate service excellence for event organisers, we fostered an environment that enables careers to flourish rather than simply providing jobs.
Throughout the fiscal year of 2023, we scaled up our workforce to meet client needs recruiting 923 casual and permanent team members. We reported 83% team member engagement and as a testimony to our commitment to professional development, we have invested 7,014 hours in training enabling us to deliver 500 core events. In a celebration of growth, we are pleased to report 61 internal promotions, along with the nurturing of 14 promising traineeships.
Despite the headwinds we faced to scale and train up our delivery teams to match business demand and reengage with our evolved distribution and supply chain, we reported 99% client satisfaction and 96% delegate satisfaction during the period.
Consumer exhibitions and national conferences performed well. On an international front, similar to the international leisure tourist, our international event bookings and international delegate attendance are yet to fully recover. We expect it will take another two to three years for all international markets to fully stabilise.
At ICC Sydney, we are committed to ensuring the success of our clients, as we believe this means we too have been successful. We are likewise committed to making a difference for all our stakeholders — the venue’s owners and partners, visitors to events and the community at large.
Propelled by the resounding success of the Sydney WorldPride Human Rights Conference, ICC Sydney ramped up its commitment to champion inclusivity. We built upon our Accessibility and Inclusion Guide for visitors, with the creation of a client tool kit to ensure all events delivered at ICC Sydney are as inclusive as they can possibly be.
Through our Legacy Program, which was activated 115 times at events last financial year, we built opportunities for local First Nations businesses and cultural representatives, creative industries, entrepreneurs and emerging talent from Sydney universities and beyond. We worked with clients to reduce and report on event carbon footprint.