On Saturday 1 February travel restrictions were imposed by the Australian Federal Government in response to the novel coronavirus. Currently, travellers arriving from mainland China (who are not Australian citizens or permanent residents) from this date are unable to travel to Australia.

Unfortunately as a result this may impact a small number of hosted buyers, exhibitors or visitors from mainland China travelling to the Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) in Melbourne this month.

The restrictions being enforced may impact a small percentage of the show’s total buyers and exhibitors and AIME will continue as planned from 17 to 19 February at the Melbourne Convention and Centre.

As a representation of the Asia-Pacific region, AIME 2020 will see more than 330 exhibitors, 270 hosted buyers and an expected visitor attendance in excess of 2,000.

We are monitoring the situation closely and will work to ensure appointments are filled for the event.

We have seen a year-on-year increase in AIME visitor registration, which highlights the opportunity the event presents to offset some of the impact of both the bushfires and recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus. This further emphasises the resilience and desire to get on with business by the industry.

While some of our Chinese community may be unable to attend in 2020, we wish them the best and we are looking forward to welcoming them to AIME in 2021.