Today events are central to our culture as perhaps never before. Increases in leisure time and discretionary spending have led to a proliferation of public events, celebrations and entertainment, making the events sector one of the fastest growing segments of tourism in the world. Countries and cities compete vigorously for mega events such as the Olympics, World Cup and World Fairs while societies are increasingly holding smaller scale events such as fairs, festivals, markets, parades, anniversaries or sporting events. Governments now support and promote events as part of their strategies for economic development, nation building and destination marketing.

Events serve to attract visitation and to create an image of and awareness for a destination. Managed appropriately, events can produce sizeable economic and social benefits. Inappropriate management can lead to negative economic, environmental and social impacts. Events require considerable investment, planning and organisation to safeguard the health, safety and security of visitors and participants to ensure operators, visitors and the community derive the maximum possible benefit from the event. This unit will provide students with the knowledge and skills required for planning, managing and staging a variety of events in order to realise positive economic, social and environmental outcomes otherwise known as the ‘triple bottom line’.