Australia looks to boost business appeal

The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Leaders' Summit will be held in Sydney, Australia in September and the country's tourism associations are using the event as a chance to showcase their capability to host major business events.

Apec is an inter-governmental forum comprising 21 member nations with the goal of promoting mutual economic growth, prosperity and cooperation.

Geoff Buckley, managing director of Tourism Australia, said that the occasion presents a valuable opportunity to promote the country's ability to cater for business travellers.

"Australia's hosting of Apec will reinforce and build upon Australia's strong reputation internationally as a destination for staging world-class business events," he said.

"Australia has a track-record of delivering outstanding major events including the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the Rugby World Cup and the Commonwealth Games."

Business tourism is an important sector within Australia's economy, with statistics from Tourism Research Australia showing that the country received $20.5 billion (£8.38 billion) in revenue from international travel in 2006, with commercial customers accounting for 16 per cent of all visitors.

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