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 2019’s Expression of Interest deadline 28 February
    February 8, 2018
    The Expression of Interest Demonstrations deadline for ITS World Congress 2019 has been confirmed for the 28 February 2018. The event will provide exhibitors with an opportunity to showcase their products and solutions to over 10,000 ITS professionals, decision makers, government officials and media from the 21-25 October 2019, at the Suntec Singapore Exhibition & Convention Centre. Demonstration themes include Connected & Automated Vehicles; Crowdsourcing & Big Data Analytics; Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
    Read More
  • Ertico – ITS Europe looks ahead to 30th ITS World Congress
    April 18, 2024
    The 30th ITS World Congress, orchestrated by Ertico – ITS Europe and co-organised with ITS America and ITS Asia-Pacific, is proudly hosted by Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). This premier event, scheduled for September 16-20, anticipates attendance up to 20,000 participants, establishing a crucial convergence for the intelligent transport systems (ITS) and smart mobility sectors.
    Read More
  • Bigger and more focused Traffex for 2013
    August 6, 2012
    Traffex 2013, the 26th international traffic engineering, road safety, parking and highway maintenance exhibition will take place in Hall 5 at the NEC Birmingham from 16 - 18 April 2013. According to the organisers, the event is set to be one of the largest in its thirty year history, and will once again be co-located with Parkex; Europe’s largest dedicated parking exhibition. The combined Traffex, Parkex Exhibition will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to see over 500 exhibitors from the worl
    Read More
  • GTT appoints dealer for Australasia
    October 3, 2016
    US-based traffic systems supplier Global Traffic Technologies (GTT) has appointed Aldridge Traffic Controllers (ATC) as its dealer for Australia, New Zealand and China. GTT will join ATC on its booth at the ITS World Congress to be held in Melbourne in October, where the two companies will host a live demonstration of GTT's Opticom system, which provides public transport and emergency vehicles with priority at traffic signal intersections. ATC provides traffic management and signalling products and syste
    Read More

Highlighted Content