Business Events Adelaide has appointed Amanda Pelvay as associate director of partnerships, UK and Europe, in a newly created role as part of the convention bureau’s drive to grow its international business.
Pelvay brings more than 12 years’ experience across conferences, incentive travel and business events in the UK, Europe and North America.
She joins Business Events Adelaide from Pan Pacific London, where she played a key role in establishing the hotel within the luxury meetings and events market and built strategic partnerships with leading global agencies.
Originally from Adelaide, Pelvay has built her career in London since 2013 and brings an established network across the international business events and luxury hospitality sectors. In her new role, she will work with clients and industry partners to build relationships and create opportunities to bring more international business events and incentive groups to Adelaide and South Australia.
“There’s something really special about having the opportunity to represent my home city in a market where I’ve spent so much of my career,” said Pelvay. “Even having grown up in Adelaide, I’ve discovered so much more about what the city has to offer the business events and incentives sector since I started researching for this role.
“It’s such a compact and accessible city, but there’s also real depth to the proposition, from its strengths in AI, space, defence and health and medical research to its sporting credentials and incredible food and wine. There are so many different stories to tell, and I’m really looking forward to taking those out to the UK and European market.”
Her appointment is part of a wider expansion of the bureau’s international representation, with Frances Iacono also joining as associate director of partnerships, North America, based in New York City.
The two new appointments complement Business Events Adelaide’s existing resources in Australia and Asia, giving the organisation an on-the-ground presence across four continents.
Business Events Adelaide CEO Damien Kitto said: “We are really pleased to welcome Fran and Amanda to the Business Events Adelaide team. As we press forward with our ambitions to position Adelaide as a tier two destination of choice, it is crucial to have representatives present in our target markets.
“These additional resources will ensure we can be proactive in attracting prominent business events and corporate incentive groups from North America and Europe.”
Like Pelvay, Iacono originally hails from South Australia and has more than 20 years’ experience delivering conferences, corporate events and strategic business events across Australia.
The international push comes as Adelaide continues to strengthen its proposition for both conferences and incentive groups. The compact city is home to the Adelaide Convention Centre, with more than 4,000 hotel rooms within walking distance, while Adelaide Airport is around 15 minutes from the CBD. Beyond the city, South Australia’s Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Adelaide Hills wine regions are within easy reach, offering additional options for incentive programmes and pre- and post-event experiences.
Business Events Adelaide is also stepping up its wider international activity through a new partnership agreement with the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA).
One of only 12 such partnerships globally, according to the bureau, the agreement provides access to association leads and market intelligence to support Adelaide’s efforts to attract more high-value international congresses.
The expansion follows Adelaide being named among the world’s top three emerging international business travel destinations by American Express, further strengthening the bureau’s ambitions to raise the South Australian capital’s profile among international event planners.