Quick Facts

Accolades

• The New York Times included Melbourne in its "Where to Go in 2011" travel section, declaring "splashy new hotels and restaurants helmed by brand named chefs puts Sydney on notice."
• Melbourne has been selected within the world's top three 'Most Liveable Cities' by the Economist Intelligence Unit every year since 2002, taking out the top spot three times.
• Melbourne is rated by Australians as the leading destination for: major international sporting and cultural events; interesting cafes, bars and nightlife; theatre; quality food experiences and world class restaurants; shopping; and regional experiences 1.5 hours from the city (Roy Morgan Research, 2010).
• Melbourne was awarded first place in the Knowledge Metropolis category at the 2010 Most Admired Knowledge City (MAKCI) Awards, run by the World capital Institute.
• In 2010, Melbourne was one of three cities to gain an honourable mention in the inaugural Lee Kuan Yew World City Prize, which is awarded to individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to the creation of vibrant communities around the world.

Attractions

• The State of Victoria has five wine growing regions and more than 170 wineries within 90 minutes of Melbourne city.
• Melbourne was voted one of the 'Top 10 Food & Wine Destinations in the World' in the TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice 2010.
• Melbourne is famous for its many and varied shopping experiences including outdoor markets, international boutiques and local designers in historic laneways.
• Melbourne is a truly global destination for major events, and is home to five of the six most significant annual sport events held in Australia - the Australian Football League Grand Final, the Spring Racing Carnival featuring the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Open Tennis Championships, the Boxing Day Cricket Test and the Formula 1™ Australian Grand Prix.
• For the third time, Melbourne was awarded the world's 'Ultimate Sports City' in 2010, ahead of Singapore, London, Berlin and Sydney (SportBusiness Group).

Diversity

• Melbourne is one of the most cosmopolitan and multicultural cities in the world; Victorians come from over 200 countries, speak over 180 languages and dialects and follow over 110 religious faiths, each enriching the cultural life of the city.

Business, Education and Expertise

• Victoria is home to 139 biotech companies, 13 major medical research institutes, seven teaching hospitals and nine universities (Department of Innovation, Industry & Regional Development [DIIRD] State Government of Victoria [SGV], Australia, April 2009).
• Melbourne scientists, clinicians and researchers have developed breakthrough products such as the Relenza anti-flu vaccine, the Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine, the cochlear implant which has provided hearing for thousands of people throughout the world, and the atomic absorption spectrometer (CSIRO & DIIRD SGV, April 2009).
• As a centre for business, Melbourne is the headquarters for four of the world's largest corporations - BHP Billiton, Australia & New Zealand Banking (ANZ), National Australia Bank (NAB) and Telstra - more than any other Australian city (Fortune 500, 2010).
• Melbourne is a founding partner of the BestCities Global Alliance - an international convention bureau network dedicated to the delivery of the world's best service experience for the meetings industry.
• The city has a big heart - eighty percent of Australia's philanthropic trusts are in the state of Victoria (The White Hat Guide, 2011).

Infrastructure

• Melbourne has around 25,500 accommodation rooms located in the Melbourne Tourist Region with 16,250 of these rooms located within the City of Melbourne and 9,400 in the Central Business District.
• Melbourne has Australia's largest and most flexible meeting facilities; the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre offers 52 meeting rooms of various sizes including a state-of-the-art 5,500+ seat plenary and 30,000 square metres of pillar-less exhibition space.
• Melbourne has Australia's highest concentration of convention facilities and special event venues located in the city centre.

Transport and Access

• Melbourne International Airport is open 24 hours (curfew free) and operates approximately 585 international flights and 3,200 domestic flights per week (Melbourne Airport Aircraft Movements 2010).
• Twenty-seven leading airlines currently fly to international destinations from Melbourne Airport.
• Melbourne Airport's domestic and international terminals are co-located, offering the best minimum connection time in Australia.
• Melbourne's compact city grid network and transport facilities allow easy access to all major hotels, meeting venues and local attractions; many venues can be reached on foot and the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre is within a five minute walking distance of seven major convention hotels.
• Melbourne offers a free City Circle Tourist Tram and Tourist Shuttle Bus for travelling around the city. These services link with other tram, train and light rail services in and around Melbourne.
• Melbourne is committed to improving its accessibility for disabled travellers. All metropolitan trains are wheelchair-accessible, nearly 100 low-floor trams operate on Melbourne's tram network, and over 70 per cent of Melbourne's bus services are wheelchair-accessible, rising to over 95 per cent on weekends. Melbourne also offers a CBD Mobility Map. The Map identifies the smoothest and least interrupted path of travel along city streets, as well as the locations of accessible toilets, parking spaces, pay phones and public TTY phones.
• Melbourne has introduced a new environmentally conscious Bike Share Scheme, allowing users to hire one of 600 bikes at the 50 docking stations around the city centre with the first 30 minutes of every trip free of charge, followed by a tiered pricing structure.