Destination Adelaide
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.
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delaide 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, 64 Spice Spring 2024
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. 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.