Melbourne and regional Victoria have hosted 50,000 delegates from across the world for a Jehova’s Witness convention.
A massive delegation of evangelicals from 71 countries gathered in Melbourne at Marvel Stadium over the weekend, filling the sports and entertainment precinct to capacity, according to Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB).
Delegates were attending an annual gathering of their faith, the International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The event was supported by the Victorian government, the City of Melbourne and industry suppliers.
According to projections from MCB, the convention is expected to have injected $60.9 million into the state economy.
Close to 6,000 hotel rooms across 199 properties in Melbourne CBD and Metro areas were occupied by the convention’s delegation, translating into 35,000 room nights.
And not only did the convention take over Melbourne for three days, the pre-convention touring program drove 12,400 visitors into Victoria’s most popular regional areas.
These included the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and the Bellarine, and the Goldfields region.
