Strong sustainability leadership, a culture of innovation and focus on community impact sees ICC Sydney attract 1M+ visitors and contribute A$600M in expenditure to the NSW economy in FY2022/23.
International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney), managed by ASM Global, has reported that it has fulfilled its dual purpose of driving economic and social contributions through an increase in event visitor attendance and spend in the community since the previous financial year following the release of its 2022/23 Annual Performance Review today.
ICC Sydney, Australia’s premier convention, exhibition and entertainment venue, attracted 500 events and welcomed over one million visitors that delivered close to A$600 million in expenditure during FY2022/23. The results saw visitation more than double the 470,000 visitors and the economic contribution more than triple the A$190 million in FY2021/22.
New South Wales Minister for Planning and Public Spaces, The Hon. Paul Scully said ICC Sydney was contributing to an energised city where economic and social benefits were made possible through the team’s ability to draw business and talent to Australia’s leading global city.
“ICC Sydney’s global reputation for service excellence, innovation, sustainability and social impact is at the core of its success. The events that the venue team hosts have great benefits to our broader economy and society as they are on their way to delivering A$1 billion in economic contribution within the next five years,” Mr Scully said.
ICC Sydney CEO and ASM Global (APAC) Group Director of Convention Centres, Geoff Donaghy said the efforts of the team to build its ranks, partner with organisers on successful events and prioritise social impacts were recognised by event planners, the business events industry and community alike.
“At ICC Sydney we are committed to ensuring the success of our clients, as we believe this is a true measure of our success. At the heart of our operations is our mission to make a difference for all our stakeholders – the venue’s owners and partners, visitors to events and the community at large.
“Despite the headwinds we faced to scale and train our delivery teams to match business demand, we are proud to have reported 99% client satisfaction, 96% delegate satisfaction and 83% team member engagement during the period,” Mr Donaghy said.
Over the year, ICC Sydney hosted a healthy calendar of domestic and consumer events and a rising number of international events including 18 international conventions, 106 national conventions, 54 exhibitions, and a record breaking number of 84 live entertainment events helping the venue team to exceed its revenue and profit targets for FY2023 – all while supporting a range of social causes and community programs.
Events for consumers, including entertainment shows, have celebrated particular bounce-back – performing stronger than in pre-COVID years with patrons rating their satisfaction highly at 96%. ICC Sydney welcomed audiences of 360,000 patrons to sold out concerts and entertainment events including Lorde, The Script, OneRepublic, The 1975, Sting, Mike White and Jennifer Coolidge in Conversation, and looks forward to a host of cultural events in the pipeline including SXSW’s first ever event in the Southern Hemisphere in October.
Mr Donaghy advised that similar to the international leisure tourist, international event bookings and international delegate attendance were yet to recover, and it is expected to take another two to three years for all markets to fully stabilise.
“In spite of the broader geo-political and economic conditions throughout the financial year, in alignment with the ASM Global ACTS worldwide sustainability and equity program, ICC Sydney remained steadfast in delivering more sustainable outcomes and positive social impact. This winning focus drove strong results for the venue and city alike and built on our ‘employer of choice’ position through an active diversity, accessibility and inclusion program across the workforce,” he said.