ITS World Congress has a bigger than expected impact on Melbourne’s economy

The 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, in Melbourne, has had a bigger than expected economic impact on the local economy and is now estimated to be US$34.5 million (AU$46.6 million), nearly twice the initial projection. The increase has been attributed to the higher than anticipated attendance figures. More than 11,500 Australian and international delegates participated, 4,500 registrations more than the target figure of 7,000. The high volume of visitors had a positive impact on the loca
May 15, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The 23rd World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems, in Melbourne, has had a bigger than expected economic impact on the local economy and is now estimated to be US$34.5 million (AU$46.6 million), nearly twice the initial projection.


The increase has been attributed to the higher than anticipated attendance figures. More than 11,500 Australian and international delegates participated, 4,500 registrations more than the target figure of 7,000. The high volume of visitors had a positive impact on the local economy with benefits felt, in particular, across hotels, transport companies, restaurants and places of interest. The state of Victoria also benefited, with many visitors opting to make additional trips to regional Victoria and interstate.

Delivering the 6456 ITS World Congress to Melbourne was a collaborative effort, involving many partners including the Victorian Government, Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC).

The ITS World Congress showcased Melbourne’s multi modal transport network, taking more than 650 delegates to key air, sea, road, train, tram and freight centres. Albert Park’s internationally-recognised Formula One track was one of multiple locations for 3,500 booked live vehicle technology demonstrations. Almost 250 plenary, executive, special interest, scientific and technical sessions, 278 exhibiting partners, a hackathon and the student and public community projects were held at the MCEC.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • ITS World Congress 2025 in Atlanta will look to tomorrow
    June 11, 2024
    'Deploying Today, Empowering Tomorrow' is theme of ITS America-hosted event
    Read More
  • Global smart cities market expected to reach US$1,265.85 billion by 2019
    June 12, 2014
    According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Smart Cities Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast, 2013 - 2019", the global smart cities market is expected to reach a value of US$1,265.85 billion by 2019, growing at a CAGR of 14.0 per cent from 2013 to 2019. Increase in migration from rural to urban areas is the major factor responsible for the growth of smart cities market, globally. North America was the largest contributor to the smart ci
    Read More
  • Canada to host 2017 ITS World Congress
    November 29, 2013
    Canada has been selected to host the 2017 ITS World Congress. Three Canadian and nine American cities vied to host the conference and after lengthy deliberation the International Committee settled on Montreal. The last World Congress in Canada was in Toronto in 1999 which attracted over 5,000 delegates. ITS Canada says the Montreal Congress will be even bigger and is promising it will be a year the world of transportation will remember!
    Read More
  • Mobile payment technologies for Australia
    October 11, 2016
    Contactless technology, the ability to tap your bank issued card or enabled mobile device to make a payment, has brought speed and simplicity to the in-store shopping experience. Doug Howe explains how innovations, like Contactless, in the mobile and banking industries have the potential to transform public transportation. Q Why is public transportation ripe for transformation? A Today, more than half the world’s population lives in cities; that’s a figure set to increase to 70% by 2050. International
    Read More

Highlighted Content