The city’s latest developments, its increasingly green credentials and leading business events suppliers are all highlights of the Melbourne Convention and Visitors Bureau (MCVB) Planner’s Guide 2008-09.

The guide is the flagship publication for Melbourne’s business events industry, providing essential information on premier venues, accommodation, products and services, as well as touring and leisure programme ideas, for meeting planners and event organisers.

Launching the MCVB Planner’s Guide 2008-09, MCVB’s chief executive, Sandra Chipchase, said: “In addition to providing all of the information needed to organise a successful and memorable conference, exhibition, meeting, incentive or corporate event in Melbourne, the guide highlights why Victoria, with its capital city Melbourne, really is the best destination to host Business Events.

This is an exciting time for the city, with many major developments due for completion within the next 12 months, including Melbourne’s new Convention Centre – the first in the world to be awarded a six-star Green Star environmental rating.

“The Convention Centre will be complemented by new hotel developments – including a 396-room Hilton and one at Crown Entertainment Complex, which will become Australia’s largest with 658 rooms – as well as by Melbourne’s exciting new entertainment and lifestyle precinct, Waterfront City,” explained Chipchase.

Waterfront City combines retail, commercial and residential developments and will also become home to a major new Melbourne icon, the Southern Star Observation Wheel, offering a venue space with a difference when it opens in late 2008.

As well as detailing new developments, Chipchase revealed that this year’s Planner’s Guide includes a Green Checklist for Business Events for the first time, to assist in planning environmentally sustainable events.

“MCVB is committed to leading and supporting green initiatives in the business events industry in Australia,” she said. “As a part of this commitment, earlier this year MCVB published Melbourne’s ‘Green Credentials’ Summary Report, identifying green initiatives undertaken by various Melbourne and Victorian government bodies and suppliers to the business event industry, which was the first of its kind for an Australian Convention Bureau.

"We have now gone one step further, and published a Green Checklist for Business Events in our Planner’s Guide 2008-09 to assist in planning environmentally sustainable events – yet another reason to hold business events in Melbourne.”

MCVB’s Planner’s Guide also details the Asia Pacific Incentives & Meeting Expo (AIME), held annually in Melbourne, which was awarded Event of the Year at the prestigious Victorian Meetings & Events Australia Industry Awards held earlier this year. The win followed a record attendance at AIME 2008, up 25% on 2007, confirming AIME’s reputation as one of the world’s premier incentives and meetings events.

AIME was also the first business events trade show to run as a Climate Friendly™ event.

The Melbourne Planner’s Guide is available free from the MCVB website at www.mcvb.com.au/plannersguide