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DESTINATION ADELAIDE: EVOLVING CITY OF PROGRESS
Evolving city of progress
Business is booming in Adelaide, with the South Australian capital forging a path as an innovation and business events hotspot, writes Gavin Dennett
Adelaide prides itself as being one of the world’s most liveable cities, but it is also one of Australia’s premier places to visit. It has long been an attractive destination for visitors seeking world-class food and wine, but it is also forging an international reputation as a top-tier city for business.
The South Australian capital has undergone significant transformation in recent years. It has powered out of the COVID-19 pandemic with clear direction to elevate its standing as a business events hotspot.
The South Australian Government has plans in place to propel Adelaide’s reputation as a progressive city of tech and research, and its crowning jewel, knowledge hub Lot Fourteen, is a seven-hectare innovation district featuring more than 100 businesses and 61 startups working across space, defence, critical technologies, biotech, medicine and creative industries.
Set on the site of former Royal Adelaide Hospital, Lot Fourteen is home to multinationals Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Cisco and Salesforce, as well as being the headquarters for research institutions Australian Institute for Machine Learning, Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre and Australian Space Agency.
We have a targeted growth strategy for the city to attract business and everything that comes with it.
Tony Saulters, general manager of strategy and public affairs at Business Events Adelaide.
Adelaide’s focus on garnering a global reputation as an innovation leader mirrors the progression of Texas city Austin, which is one of the world’s top locations for tech advancement.
“Austin is actually our sister city,” says Tony Saulters, general manager of strategy and public affairs at Business Events Adelaide. “We have a targeted growth strategy for the city to attract business and everything that comes with it.
“We have a great relationship through the Department of Premier and Cabinet, directly with the Premier [Peter Malinauskas] and his team. They’ve put money on the table for us to go out and win events. As far as possible, we try to align those with strategic priorities of the state because that adds to the economic tail of those events.
“Adelaide’s innovation sectors help us from an economic perspective, and we are grateful to have alignment from government downwards to bring more business events to South Australia.
“Seventy per cent of the business we do has a health, medical services and life sciences slant so it is a priority area for us. There is so much synergy with the universities and research and tech institutions.”
An unmissable sign of the changing face of Adelaide as a business events destination is the number of new-build hotels rising into the sky.
“Things are certainly changing here, and postCOVID-19 we are coming out stronger,” Saulters tells Spice. “We’ve now got many quality hotels that international visitors expect. Marriott is coming online [with the cover star of this issue of Spice, Microhire, announced as the hotel’s provider of AI-driven event technology] and Westin is coming as well. Our hotel infrastructure is evolving and those international brands give the city more profile.”
Saulters knows Adelaide needs to punch above its weight to secure business events in a competitive domestic and international landscape.
“The competition is fierce, but people now view Adelaide as an international city,” he says. “That encompasses everything such as tech and innovation, and the big-chain hotels. People coming from overseas see those hotels are here and can depend on their loyalty programs.
“The Chinese and southeast Asia market is a key focus for us, especially corporate incentives. We are looking at ways to improve aviation access. At the moment we’ve got daily aviation access to Asia through Singapore, but we hope to get other connections through Indonesia and Malaysia, up into Europe. We’ve currently got daily transfers with Qatar, and Emirates is coming back online at the end of this year.”
Adelaide may not have the size of Sydney and Melbourne, but it leverages its compact layout as an advantage.
“We are a small city, and we can’t pretend otherwise,” says Saulters. “But we can use it to our advantage: connectivity, unity and everything being strategically placed and accessible. It’s enough for large corporations such as Tesla, Salesforce, Amazon Web Services and Saab to have a base here.”
Adelaide Oval
One of the iconic wonders of destination South Australia is spectacular Adelaide Oval. A picture-perfect blend of old and new, this modern stadium has a capacity of 53,500 and is home to a range of spaces for conferences and events of all sizes.
Nestled on the banks of River Torrens in picturesque parklands, Adelaide Oval hosts tailored events from small group meetings and intimate dinners, to large functions and corporate conferences such as AHICE Asia Pacific.
It is also home to adjoining Oval Hotel, which offers convenience for people attending events at the stadium and features stunning parkland views. Opened in 2020, the premium boutique hotel has 138 rooms, two restaurants and is a one-of-a-kind experience.
In addition to hosting concerts and world-class sport, the venue ticks all boxes in the incentives space with RoofClimb Adelaide Oval being where daring groups can suit up and climb the heights of the stadium’s grandstands to take in spectacular views of the oval, parklands and city skyline.
Accommodation choices
There is no shortage of hotel options in Adelaide’s CBD, with the past five years seeing an explosion of new openings giving visitors to the city a world of options for places to rest.
TFE Hotels’ contemporary 123-room Vibe Hotel Adelaide opened its doors in March 2023, and the Flinders East site has already scooped coveted design gongs, including being highly commended in the new-build category at the 2024 Australasia Pacific Hotel Design Awards.
Also in the CBD’s east end, 5-star Pullman Adelaide offers luxury accommodation across 308 rooms, as well as newly refurbished meetings and conferencing spaces that offer sweeping views of the city.
In the centre of town, opposite Victoria Square, Hilton Adelaide is a well-established high-end hotel with modern rooms and facilities, while 8km southwest of the city is beachside suburb Glenelg, with Stamford Grand Adelaide being just metres from the sand, making it a destination that blends business with an ocean breeze.
Event facilities
Adelaide is home to many large-scale event facilities in and around the city centre. Located on the northern edge of the city, Adelaide Convention Centre is a versatile venue offering 20,000 square metres of light-filled and pillarless function spaces, including large conference halls, theatres and meeting rooms for expos, galas, seminars and cocktail gatherings.
Directly next door is Adelaide Festival Centre, South Australia’s home of performing arts since 1973. Just metres from both venues is SkyCity Adelaide, an entertainment hub adjoining the city’s historic central railway station. It features a hotel, casino, events spaces, restaurants, bars and sophisticated Sôl Rooftop perched atop Eos Hotel that offers panoramic views of the CBD, Adelaide Oval and parklands.
In the city’s northwest corner sits the spectacular Immersive Light and Art (ILA) centre, a philanthropic venue where creativity, hospitality and technology mesh to create engaging, cutting-edge experiences. The not-for-profit social enterprise houses multiple spaces showcasing art, dazzling LED displays and interactive elements as a conduit for storytelling and memories.
