AACB STAFF SCHOLARSHIP 2021 - Association of Australian ...
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AACB STAFF
SCHOLARSHIP 2021
“Understanding how inconsistent communication
around domestic border closures impacts the
rebound and recovery of the business events
industry”
Submission by Mia Oesterberg
Project and Events Executive
Northern Territory Business Events
Introduction
Nature of my role
My role as a Project and Events Executive within Northern Territory Business Events (NTBE)
involves planning and delivering NTBE in-destination activities in the Northern Territory,
including familiarisation programs. In addition, I also plan and deliver NTBE in-market
activities such as interstate trade show participation. With the onset of the Covid-19
pandemic, the majority of my work tasks were severely impacted as planned activities had to
be postponed and/or cancelled. It impacted not only our team but our industry partners on
the ground and clients interstate. It is evident the unpredictable opening and closing of
State & Territory borders have lowered confidence in the business events industry.
Skills
I have fifteen years of tourism and business experience that includes management roles in
hospitality, business development, dynamic operations, and stakeholder relationship
management. I am a highly organised and strategic person with a curious mind and I have a
keen interest in utilising existing and new technology to increase efficiency of operations.
Further, I am an advocate for informed decision making based on research, experience and
facts to optimise service delivery to internal and external stakeholders and contribute to the
future viability of the business events industry in the Northern Territory and Australia.
Future plans
My current role with NTBE has afforded me great opportunities for career development and
expanded my knowledge in a wide range of areas, especially the local Northern Territory
machinery of government. I hope this project will grant me a deeper insight into the
business events industry in Australia and the federal machinery of government.
AACB Staff Scholarship 2021 - Mia Oesterberg
2Project Description
Research and understand how inconsistent communication around domestic border
closures impacts the rebound and recovery of the business events industry.
Furthermore, the project seeks to demonstrate how discrepancies in language, used by each
State and Territory, adversely impacts decision makers within the business events industry.
Project Summary
The project will investigate the idea that each State & Territory needs to be using consistent
language in order to re-establish confidence in the business events marketplace and make
recommendations based on the findings.
Context
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit Australia in early 2020, the business events industry was
one of the first to be impacted with mass gatherings immediately banned. Almost 12
months later and the sector is still reeling and not likely to recover until 2022, with effects to
be still felt years after.
Although confidence to stage face-to-face business events was increasing at the end of
2020 the swift three day lockdown of Brisbane, QLD in early January 2021 has again created
uncertainty in the marketplace. This is likely to continue into 2021 so long as each State and
Territory continues to control their own borders.
The fact that State and Territories employ different systems to classify hotspots and make
inconsistent border closure decisions is seen as the biggest risk for business events planners
trying to plan face-to-face (F2F) business events.
It is apparent that there are many organisations providing advice on the Covid-19 situation,
however they are mainly linking to various State & Territory department websites, which all
ultimately use differing language to communicate.
For example, Northern Territory Government uses the term ‘hotspots’ for an area subject to
inbound travel restrictions due to confirmed local community transmission of Covid-19. NSW
Health lists case locations per state but no inbound travel restrictions applies. Victoria on the
other hand utilises a ‘traffic light’ permit system, different travel restrictions apply
depending on if you have visited a ‘Red, Orange or Green zone’. Meanwhile, Western
Australia lists the risk level of entire State and Territories and travel restrictions will vary
accordingly. In addition, all State and Territories have their own Covid check-in apps using
different software and app names.
This adds to the workload of business events planners as they have to decipher a multitude
of regulations and travel advice to assess if delivering their event is viable. We have already
seen how our major industry event AIME 2021 was forced to cancel due to low confidence in
interstate travel and uncertainties around the border situation.
AACB Staff Scholarship 2021 - Mia Oesterberg
3Aims/Outline
• Engage with business events peak bodies BECA, AACB, MEA, EEAA and PCOA
• Engage with bureaux across Australia
• Meet key federal stakeholders in Canberra i.e. Tourism Minister’s office and Treasury’s
office
• Engage with two (2) business events organisers and/or venues in Northern Territory,
Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra
• Interview representatives from Northern Territory Department of Health
• Engage with a major events organisation i.e. Tennis Australia
• Engage with ANU School of Literature, Languages and Linguistics
Key Targets / Objectives
• Demonstrate the impacts of inconsistent State and Territory border closures on
confidence within the business events marketplace.
• Demonstrate how inconsistent language used around Covid-19 regulations, border
restrictions and travel advice impacts business events planners negatively
• Evaluate support for, and development of, a common language and system for travel
advice and/or border closures within Australia to support the business events industry’s
recovery.
Benefit to the NTBE and AACB members across Australia and the future recovery
and rebound of Australia’s business events industry
Major bureaux in-destination activities, in particular familiarisation programs and site
inspections, are key functions in generating new business events opportunities for
destinations.
The project would assist the business events industry in demonstrating the impacts of
border closures in past months and for future events in 2021 and beyond, and lobbying for a
more consistent language to be used by all State and Territories.
A common language around border closures could give business events planners greater
certainty when planning F2F meetings and instil confidence in the marketplace in the short-
term and lay the grounds for a long-term rebuilding of the industry.
A common language would minimise the need to interpret State & Territory’s regulations,
reduce time spent researching an events’ viability and make it easier for planners to develop
Covid-19 safe risk management plans.
In addition, event delegates would be able to travel interstate with more confidence as a
common language would make it easier to assess their personal risk of travel and potential
implications should there be a local outbreak of Covid-19 at the event destination.
A common language would also benefit NT Business Events and my role in particular as it
would allow us to plan familiarisation programs with greater certainty and develop Covid-19
border closure scenarios applicable to all interstate delegates.
AACB Staff Scholarship 2021 - Mia Oesterberg
4How/where will you be undertaking various elements of your project
• Northern Territory
• Canberra
• Online
Timeline of activities
Date Activity
Identify key stakeholders, plan project approach, define
01 - 15 Feb 2021
questions, organise meetings.
Meet with NTG Health Department and/or NT Chief Health
Officer Dr. Hugh Heggie to gain a health perspective on
15 - 19 Feb 2021
border closures. Meet with NTG Department of Industry,
Tourism and Trade’s communications team.
Travel to Canberra via Adelaide. Engage with two (2) business
events organisations/venues in Adelaide during stopover as
01 - 08 Mar 2021 part of the research into market impact of border closures.
Full appointment schedule in Canberra to be confirmed upon
project commencement.
Conduct further research as required to support insights and
feedback from in person interviews. Contact two (2) business
08 - 31 Mar 2021
events organisations/venues in Brisbane as part of the
research into market impact of border closures.
01 - 14 May 2021 Compile findings in a project report.
14 - 21 May 2021 Seek feedback on report and make adjustments as required.
25 May 2021 Final project report ready for presentation.
AACB Staff Scholarship 2021 - Mia Oesterberg
5Budget
Item Estimated Cost
Return flights Alice Springs Canberra with Qantas
$900.00
via Adelaide
Accommodation x 7 nights in Canberra @$250 per
$1750.00
night
Car Hire in Canberra x 7 days $700.00
Stakeholder meetings $0.00
Online research access – journal subscription services
$150.00
e.g. JSTOR, ScienceDirect, ProQuest
Voice recorder app for iPhone for 4 months $20.00
TOTAL ESTIMATE COST $3520.00
*Any expenses incurred above the grant amount will be covered by myself
AACB Staff Scholarship 2021 - Mia Oesterberg
6NT Business Events
Department of Level 1, Alice Plaza
INDUSTRY, TOURISM AND TRADE Todd Mall, ALICE SPRINGS 0870
Postal address
GPO Box 3200
DARWIN NT 0801
E rebecca.mccaig@nt.gov.au
T +61 428 400 115
22 January 2021
Andrew Hiebl
Chief Executive Officer
Association of Australian Convention Bureaux Inc
PO Box 5094, Kingston, ACT 2604
Dear Andrew,
I am delighted to nominate and support Ms Mia Oesterberg’s submission for the 2021 AACB Staff
Scholarship 2021.
Mia joined the NT Business Events (NTBE) team in November 2019 in the capacity of Projects and
Industry Events Executive based in NTBE’s Alice Springs office. Before joining NTBE, Mia was part of
Tourism NT’s international operations team where she developed a wealth of experience delivering
familiarisation programs whilst enhancing her outstanding stakeholder engagement skills. These skills
positioned Mia for great success in her new role with NTBE however, with the rapid onset of COVID-19 in
early 2020, Mia’s traditional role was significantly impacted.
Mia’s proactive attitude and enthusiasm for her new role saw her quickly adapt and refocus her energy
into projects that would optimise her levels of service delivery, to both internal and external stakeholders,
once the sector could begin to rebuild and recover. These projects included researching and procuring a
new software solution to deliver famil programs, CRM and CMS enhancement, internal policy development
around delivery of famil programs including flow charts and operations manuals as well as continuing to
support severely impacted industry partners through regular and meaningful engagement.
Mia’s meticulous manner and common sense approach to everything she does is the fabric of her
personality and aligns perfectly with her project concept to “understand how inconsistent communication
around domestic border closures impacts the rebound and recovery of the business events industry.”
Mia is genuinely passionate about contributing to the recovery of the business events industry and also
intimately understands the importance of familiarisation programs to a destination such as the Northern
Territory. The outcomes of her submission will therefore not only be of value to other Bureaux but will
assist any organisation involved in the delivery of any type of event.
I wish Mia every success in her submission.
Best regards,
Rebecca McCaig
Director, Business Events
Page 1 of 1 nt.gov.auAACB APPLICATION: AACB Staff Scholarship 2020/21
Mia Oesterberg Project and Events Executive
Northern Territory Business Events
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Rebecca McCaig Northern Territory Business Events
22 Jan 2021
Rebecca McCaig Northern Territory Business Events
Mia Oesterberg
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