Melbourne lines up five events

MELBOURNE Five international conferences have been added to the list of major events being held in Melbourne between 2003 and 2008. Events include the 18th World Conference on Health Promotion and Health Education, the World Congress of World Organisation For Early Childhood Education, Zonta International Convention, the 2003 Crime Stoppers International Training Conference and the Tenth World Congress on Endometriosis. The conferences will bring around 7,000 people to Melbourne who will spend more than 30,500 room nights in hotels in Melbourne and other parts of Victoria. The Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau (MCVB), which promotes Melbourne internationally and bids for major events, facilitated the bid wins. "Melbourne is seeing a resurgence of business from Asia, Europe and New Zealand," a MCVB spokesman said. "Singapore, Thailand, Taiwan, and Malaysia are some of the countries currently looking to hold events in Victoria." "There is real confidence in the future growth and potential of the business events industry for Melbourne and regional Victoria." Melbourne is ranked number three in the world for international conventions behind Barcelona and Sydney.