Business leaders from across Sydney’s tourism and events sector have united to champion the city’s standing as a top international event destination, creating a Leaders’ Business Events Forum to provide industry cooperation and direction for Sydney.

The new forum is a joint initiative of the Sydney Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) and the Tourism Industry Council of New South Wales, and aims to give the city a united approach while capitalising on the combined expertise of its corporate leaders.

SCVB Managing Director Jon Hutchison said the Forum would take advantage of the fresh impetus in the industry following the NSW Government’s creation of a dedicated events body, Events New South Wales, to develop Sydney and NSW as a centre for public, sporting and business events.

“By creating a collaborative forum, we can build on the Government’s initiative and further strengthen Sydney’s whole-of-city approach to winning business events,” Mr Hutchison said.

He said Sydney remained Australia’s top destination for business events and one of the top 20 cities in the world, but faced increasing competition from other destinations overseas.

“To compete with emerging destinations overseas we need a united front from both government and industry and our new Leaders’ Forum will be a valuable force in achieving that.”

The new body will be chaired by Tourism Industry Council of New South Wales Chairman Jayson Westbury, with members drawn from among the CEOs and senior executives of Sydney’s most important business tourism entities - the SCVB, Events New South Wales, Sydney Airport Corporation, Qantas, the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, Sydney Olympic Park, Royal Agricultural Society, Hilton Sydney, the Australian Hotels Association (NSW) and the NSW Office of Science and Medical Research.

Forum Chairman Jayson Westbury said the Leaders’ Business Events Forum would meet twice a year to address the over-arching issues facing Sydney’s events sector.

“Sydney has a new energy behind its events sector and we want to build on that with a strong and united voice from our corporate leaders,” Mr Westbury said.