• Sunday 18 February – Uncover Melbourne Experiences – exclusive to hosted buyers and media
• Monday 19 February – Knowledge Program (all day) & Welcome Event (evening)
• Tuesday 20 February – Day 1 Tradeshow including the Ideas Academy (9am to 5pm)
• Wednesday 21 February – Day 2 Tradeshow including the Ideas Academy (9am to 5pm)

Travel restrictions and Covid-19 requirements have been relaxed across Australia.

It is no longer mandatory to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to enter, Australia, the state of Victoria or the AIME 2024 venue, Melbourne Exhibition & Convention Centre.

It is also no longer mandatory to wear masks, however, we recommend you make your own judgement on whether you would prefer to wear a mask. We also recommend keeping this in mind if you have an upcoming event in the weeks immediately leading up to or following AIME.

As AIME 2024 gets closer, please also keep up with developments via the Victorian government website

• Saturday 17 February - International arrivals
• Sunday 18 February - Domestic arrivals / Uncover Melbourne Experiences
• Monday 19 February - Domestic arrivals / Knowledge Program / Welcome Event
• Tuesday 20 February - Tradeshow & PSAs
• Wednesday 21 February - Tradeshow & PSAs / Departures – domestic & international

Sunday - Uncover Melbourne - casual

Monday - Knowledge Program - business casual with comfortable footwear

Monday evening - Welcome Party - casual - Bring your brightest!  Whether it's a touch of fluorescent flair or a full spectrum of neon colors, choose an outfit that's as vibrant and lively as the carnival itself.  Hot tip - comfy shoes will be your best friend for a night of non-stop fun. 

Tuesday & Wednesday - Show and Ideas Academy - business casual with comfortable footwear

Hosted Buyers (HBs) are:

• Experienced and senior event planners with at least 5 years’ experience in the business events industry organising events.
• These experienced planners can come from different sectors of the business events industry including, associations, PCOs, event management agencies, corporate in-house event planners, incentive planners etc.
• Event planners who research, organise, influence, contract and make budgetary decisions for business events.
• Planning and/or booking business events on a weekly or monthly basis - at least on average 5+ per year with 50+ attendees.
• Venue ‘finders’ or venue sourcing companies with a history sourcing venues for business events

Note: planners from outside Australia must be:

1. Organising 6+ business events per year outside their home country with at least 50+ attendees at each event.
2. Some of the events must have been held in Australia in the past or there are definite plans to organise events in Australia as well as the Pacific or Asian destinations in the next two years.
3. Business event planners and not travel agents organising group travel for a business event.
4. Relatively fluent in English - enough to conduct meetings at the show without an interpreter.

Note: Business events are association or corporate conferences, corporate incentives, corporate events. We do not consider weddings, school groups, community / special interest groups etc. to fall under the umbrella of business events.

• Australia
• New Zealand
• South-East Asia (Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia)
• North Asia (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and South Korea)
• India
• Europe (UK, France, Germany, Italy and Israel)
• The Americas (USA and Canada)

It is complimentary to attend AIME, and as a hosted buyer you can take advantage of:

• economy flights to/from Melbourne
• group coach transfers to/from Melbourne airport
• accommodation - 2, 3, 4, or 5 nights depending on your location, flight availability and the mandatory or optional events you undertake
• hotel buffet breakfast each morning
• the educational Knowledge Program sessions and networking lunch on Monday
• a casual dinner at the Welcome Event on Monday evening
• morning/afternoon tea and lunch on show days - Tuesday / Wednesday
• ‘invitation’ only special events on Tuesday evening

Semi-hosted buyers are provided with the same benefits above, with the exception of flights and transfers – these are covered at your own expense. In return you will be required to conduct less exhibitor appointments (20 PSAs instead of 32 as a fully hosted buyer)

The below costs are not included in the hosted buyer program:

• additional accommodation over and above the nights covered by AIME (see travel and accommodation section below)
• meals outside those provided in the catering provisions
• personal extras at the hotel eg. extra meals, snacks, mini bar etc., these will be settled by you on departure from the hotel
• transfers to/from Melbourne airport if arriving outside the nominated group transfer times on Saturday 17,  Sunday 18 and Wednesday 21 February (more info will be provided in January)
• visa application costs
• travel insurance

The benefits in attending AIME are numerous including:

• meeting Australian venues and event industry suppliers
• meeting venues and event industry suppliers from around the globe – Pacific, Asia, MEA, Europe, The Americas
• educational sessions at the Knowledge Program on Monday
• inspiration at the Ideas Academy on Tuesday & Wednesday
• keeping up with the latest trends and developments – making your future events even better
• networking with industry suppliers from Australia and around the globe – we’ve all learnt over the past few years that strong supplier relationships help us to create better events
• networking with like-minded event professionals – many of us learn as much from each other as we do from a speaker at an educational session
• having fun – at the end of the day when the serious business is done it’s time to let your hair down at the Welcome Event on Monday evening and ‘invite only’ exhibitors’ functions on Tuesday evening

Hosted and semi-hosted buyers are provided with:

• buffet breakfast in the restaurant of your nominated hotel
• lunch on Monday 19 February for those attending the Knowledge Program
• casual dinner at the Welcome Event on Monday 19 February
• morning, afternoon tea and lunch in the Hosted Buyers Lounge on Tuesday 20 & Wednesday 21 February

Hosted Day Buyers are provided with:

• Casual dinner at the Welcome Event on Monday 19 February
• Morning, afternoon tea and lunch in the Hosted Buyers Lounge on Wednesday 21 February

Hosted buyers have flights, group transfers and accommodation included and in return, agree to completing 32 PSAs.

Semi-hosted buyers are provided with accommodation and pay for their own flights and transfers - they only commit to 20 PSAs providing a little more flexibility in their day.

Hosted day buyers commit to 10 PSAs on Wednesday 21 February and are not provided with flights, group transfers or accommodation.

All buyer types are provided with:

• Uncover Melbourne Experiences on Sunday 18 February
• A ticket to the Knowledge Program on Monday 19 February (education sessions)
• A ticket to The AIME Welcome Event on Monday 19 February
• Morning, afternoon tea and lunch on show days – Tuesday & Wednesday
• Tickets to ‘Invite Only’ exclusive events
• Access to the ‘Buyers Lounge’ in the middle of the show floor

A PSA is a Pre-Scheduled Appointment with an exhibitor.

Tradeshows all work a little differently, and at AIME we curate a diary of PSAs for you, reducing the time and pressure on buyers and sellers to create and fill their own diary.

Fully hosted buyers commit to 32 x 15-minute PSAs and semi-hosted buyers receive 20 x 15-minute PSAs. These PSAs are taken on the show floor on Tuesday 20 and Wednesday 21 February.

Hosted day buyers commit to 10 PSAs which are scheduled on Wednesday 21 February.

A five (5) minute break will be provided between appointments.

No PSAs are scheduled during morning, afternoon tea or lunch breaks - although many buyers use some of this free time to meet exhibitors not scheduled in their diary.

Wednesday 21 February – show hours are 9am to 5pm – PSAs are between 9.30am and 4.40pm

Fully hosted buyers: 32 x 15-minute PSAs - these are generally spread across two days with 16 each day between 9.30am and 4.40pm.

Semi-hosted buyers: 20 x 15-minute PSAs – these are spread unevenly across two days depending on the availability and compatibility of the buyers and exhibitors' diaries.

Hosted day buyers: 10 x 15-minute PSAs – these are spread unevenly across Wednesday 21 February depending on the availability and compatibility of the buyers and exhibitors' diaries.

Yes. It is a condition of being hosted that you complete a full diary of appointments – 32, 20 or 10 depending on the nominated buyer type – ie. hosted, semi-hosted or hosted day buyer. In return you receive flights and transfers (fully-hosted buyers only), accommodation (excluding day buyers), meals, networking events and access to the Uncover Melbourne Experiences, Welcome Event, Knowledge Program and all exhibitors on the showfloor.

Both fully hosted and semi-hosted buyers receive complimentary accommodation and buffet breakfast at a 4 or 5-star hotel in Melbourne within a close distance to the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre.

• domestic buyers are provided with 2 nights accommodation (Monday & Tuesday). Domestic buyers attending the Uncover Melbourne Experiences on Sunday 18 February will also be provided with Sunday night accommodation
• international buyers are provided 4 or 5 nights’ accommodation – Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday night and check out Wednesday morning. If flights are not available on Wednesday night after the show, one extra night’s accommodation will be covered by AIME.

Additional nights over and above those listed above will be at the individual buyers personal expense.

Most definitely, however additional nights are at your own expense.

Information will be provided on how to extend your stay - it will involve either clicking on a link provided by the hotel or alternatively emailing the hosted buyer manager to extend on your behalf and will depend on hotel availability.

No. If everyone could choose their own hotel, then we’d have everyone choosing the most popular, well-known international 5-star properties and the lesser-known properties could have none, or very few requests.

Your accommodation is covered by AIME and to be fair to our hotel partners, the hosted buyer team will allocate each buyer to a hotel. This is done once the applications have closed and we know exactly how many buyers are attending AIME and exactly how many rooms are required from the blocks we have negotiated with hotels.

It is not an option to swap hotels after they have been allocated by the hosted buyer team.

In some instances, where you are a regular or frequent user of a particular hotel or chain, you may be personally invited by them to stay at their property. In that situation the hotel will provide us with the names of those buyers who have accepted their invitation and we will allocate those accordingly.

Buyers will be notified of their accommodation in January 2024.

We allocate accommodation once the applications have closed and we know exactly how many buyers are attending and exactly how many rooms are required from the blocks we have negotiated with our partner hotels.

Flight costs are included for fully hosted buyers only. Semi-hosted buyers are required to pay for their own flights.

More information will be provided once your hosted buyer application has been confirmed.

Group coach transfers are included to/from Melbourne Airport to the CBD hotels for hosted buyers only on Saturday 17, Sunday 18 and Wednesday 21 February. If your flights are outside the group transfer times, then you will be required to fund your own transfers to/from the Airport.

Semi-hosted buyers cover their own transfers but are welcome to take advantage of group transfer if there is one available coinciding with your flight.

The transfer schedule will be made available closer to the event when we can see the spread of flight bookings and where group transfers will be required.

International hosted buyers will be required to book their own flights to/from Melbourne and will have their flight costs reimbursed after AIME 2024, once we’ve established that all PSAs were undertaken during the show.

Domestic hosted buyers are unable to book their own flights. Domestic flight reservations will be made by the AIME travel agency in conjunction with hosted buyers’ requirements.

International buyers (except NZ) are required to arrive on Saturday 17 February or early on Sunday morning prior to the commencement of the Uncover Melbourne Experiences (exact time TBC).

The show concludes at 5pm on Wednesday 21 February and flights should be booked departing after 8pm on Wednesday evening.

The Uncover Melbourne Experiences scheduled for Sunday 18 February are now optional for Australian and New Zealand buyers. Flights to Melbourne should either arrive on Sunday morning in order to participate in the Uncover Melbourne Experiences or Monday morning for the Knowledge Program or Monday afternoon for the Welcome Party on Monday night.

Departures should be on Wednesday 21 February. The show concludes at 5pm and the airport transfers will commence at 5.15pm from the Melbourne Convention Centre.

Exhibition booths will be sold until mid-December at which time we will make the list of 2024 exhibitors available on our website.

In the meantime, here is a list of the exhibitors who attended AIME 2023 and below is an overview of the types of exhibitors who attend AIME:

• Destinations – Australia, Pacific, Asia are the majority with some additional destinations in Europe and the Americas
• Convention bureaux or tourism offices with a business events focus
• Convention centres
• Hotels and resorts
• Boutique and specialty venues
• Attractions and activities relevant for groups and events
• Caterers – many offering unique venues as part of their portfolio
• Event technology companies inc. registration platforms, apps, video conferencing etc – from within Australia and around the globe
• Production and AV suppliers
• Destination Management Companies (DMCs)
• Travel and tour operators
• Airlines
• Cruise companies
• Support services for events eg. promotional goods, photographers and videographers, event designers and stylists, florists etc.

It is important to note that a large number of the exhibitors are from Australia and in order to fulfil the commitment of 32 quality PSAs you must have some upcoming event business for Australia.

The Australian government website contains a range of information for those who wish to enter the country on a temporary basis, and you will find answers to many of your questions on their site.

Please check your passport is valid before applying to become a hosted buyer. As we’ve seen around the world in recent times, there are long delays to have passports reissued. The Australian government does not impose six month passport validity for travellers entering the country, however, some airlines insist on the validity as part of their terms and conditions to board a flight – please ensure you have checked this.

Please check visa requirements for entering Australia on this site - visas are dependent on which country issued your passport.

From the list on the government site the main purpose of your visit is ‘attending a conference or expo’ which is about halfway down the list on the link above.

Visas applications must be covered at your own expense, and you should apply once your hosted buyer status has been confirmed. Please be advised that, due to high demand, visas are taking longer to process and can take months in some cases.  Please book early to avoid disappointment.

If you require a letter to support your visa application, please complete the form on the Visa and Passport Requirements page of this Hub.

Once your participation has been confirmed you can access the Hosted Buyer Hub to find answers to most of your questions.

If you have any additional queries please contact:

Jackie Caldwell - Hosted Buyer Manager | Email | +61 403 89 22 89