#24MillionMates campaign launches in the UK

Tourism Australia launched a new campaign in the UK this week introducing some of the 24 million friendly Australian locals who are all potential mates just waiting to share their inside knowledge with British visitors. The campaign features engaging videos and user-generated content on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube as well as Australia.com alongside a media partnership with The Telegraph. Some of the #24MillionMates introduced so far include: Ben from South Australia; Brian from Western Australia; Janine from Victoria; Penny from New South Wales; Marcus from the Northern Territory; and Madison from Queensland. Industry are encouraged to take part by uploading clips and photos to social media using the tags #24MillionMates and #SeeAustralia.

#DestAus18 conference sold out

Tourism Australia’s fourth annual Destination Australia Conference has sold out. Over 350 Australian tourism industry leaders will gather for the event in Melbourne on 15 March to hear from a range of business and marketing experts from around the world.

Australia in Top 10 WeChat Moments in 2017

One of Tourism Australia’s ads on China’s leading social network, WeChat, has made the top 10 list of WeChat Moments in 2017 for advertising. Over 600,000 WeChat users voted for the Tourism Australia ad which featured a stunning areal shot of an Australian beach, showing the appeal of the destination amongst Chinese WeChat users. TripAdvisor’s WeChat ad featuring Australia also made the list of top ads. WeChat is a mobile text and voice messaging service developed by Tencent in China, with 300 million active users making it one of the most popular social apps in the world. Also in China, TravelZoo’s ‘Producer’s Picks’ selected Australia as their 2018 preferred travel destination.

Product development forums held in South East Asia

More than 60 trade partners attended Product Development Forums hosted by Tourism Australia in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia last month. Held annually, the sessions bring together marketing and product specialists from key distribution partners in the region to learn about Australia’s latest tourism offerings. Australia’s state and territory tourism organisations participated in the forums. The forums are timed to assist buyers in preparation for the Australian Tourism Exchange 2018 taking place in Adelaide from 15 – 19 April.

Walkabout Japan 2018

Forty-four Japanese travel agents and wholesalers met with 49 delegates from 43 Australian tourism business at Walkabout Japan last week, Tourism Australia’s annual premier trade event to engage with Japanese travel agencies in market. The program featured one-on-one appointments as well as networking opportunities and a visit by the sellers to two of Japan's leading travel agency networks, JTB and HIS. In 2017 Australia welcomed 434,600 Japanese visitors, up four per cent, making it the country’s fifth largest inbound market for visitor arrivals.

Friends of Australia highlights

Tourism Australia has published a report highlighting the advocacy activity from October to December 2017 as part of its Friends of Australia program. Highlights include: Nick Cummings, Teigan Nash and Lincoln Lewis in the Aussie News Today campaign; Curtis Stone in Canada; Jock Zonfrillo in Brazil; Tim Faulkner on Instagram; Matt Moran at Dreamtime 2017; Brad Farmer’s 101 Best Beaches for 2018; and more. Tourism Australia’s Friends of Australia program helps to harness the power of globally influential individuals who have a genuine affinity with Australia. The program involves a range of influential people who have committed to help promote Australia as a travel destination.

Felix Hotel offering a savvy take on an airport hotel

The 150-room Felix Hotel near Sydney Airport has now opened offering travellers a touch of ‘Catch Me If You Can' cool. The new hotel features locally sourced art, a stylish guest penthouse with views of the runway and a terrace where guests can enjoy Sydney’s only hotel rooftop cinema. If that's not enough, Hotel Felix also has animal-friendly courtyard rooms for pet lovers.

Plate Up Ballarat festival in Victoria, 1 – 31 May

Visitors to Victoria can experience the best of the region’s produce, food, beer and wine as part of the first-ever Plate Up Ballarat festival. The event will feature 38 food, wine and beer-related events in celebration of the culinary capital of the west. Taking place throughout the month of May, the festival will showcase the city’s producers, eateries, wineries and breweries, putting Ballarat on the map as a must-visit foodie destination.

FV by Peppers opens in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley

Set in the heart of one of Brisbane’s most vibrant and cosmopolitan entertainment precincts, Fortitude Valley, FV by Peppers offers an exclusive collection of apartments for short-term stays. The hotel's cutting edge architectural design is matched by modern facilities including an indoor Moonlight cinema, private lounges, an outdoor tropical lounge, heated u-shaped skyline pool, yoga studio and gym boasting the latest in exercise machines.

Adelaide gets into the groove of WOMADelaide, 9-12 March

WOMADelaide, the iconic open-air festival celebrating the World of Music, Arts and Dance, takes place this week in Adelaide’s stunning Botanic Park. The festival regularly attracts around 20,000 people per day (not including children 12 and under who are admitted free) and features up to 500 artists from around 30 countries. The action takes place across seven outdoor stages comprising performances and workshop activities and is complemented by a strong range of site performance and visual arts programs.

VIC and WA industry briefing presentations

Tourism Australia has published recordings of presentations from industry briefings held in Western Australia on 21 February and Victoria on 28 February. The presentations provide an update on Tourism Australia’s activities along with helpful information on how to make the most of resources available to industry. Tourism Australia holds free-of-charge briefings in each state and territory once a year and registration details are announced through Essentials.

The Hon Mark Coulton MP  has been appointed as the Assistant Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment.

Gold Coast Tourism CEO Martin Winter  has announced his intention to resign in 2018 after more than 10 years in the role.

Tourism Australia and Austrade have produced a case study on how Cairns Aquarium is helping to stimulate tourism growth in Tropical North Queensland.

Virgin Australia has announced plans to launch flights between Sydney and Hong Kong, increasing the airline’s presence into Greater China.

Tourism and Events Queensland has published a breakdown of the travellers who accessed Visitor Information Centres in Queensland.

Applications are open until 30 April for the NT Government’s $3 million Visitor Experience Enhancement Program, part of the Turbocharging Tourism stimulus package. This week the Northern Territory Government committed $12.1 million to open up new areas of Litchfield National Park as part of the package.

Tourism and Events Queensland has prepared a range of resources to encourage visitors to explore more of the Commonwealth Games event host cities.

Nominations are open for the 2018 NSW Regional Tourism Awards and the 2018 NSW Tourism Awards as well as and the 2018 South Australian Tourism Awards . Nominations for the 2018 Queensland Tourism Awards open on Thursday 8 March.

The Australia China Business Council (Tasmanian Branch) and Alibaba Group are holding workshops in Hobart on 21 March and Launceston on 22 March exploring opportunities through the Alibaba Group e-commerce ecosystem.

ICC Sydney  has celebrated an "extraordinary first year" with delegates generating A$785 million in direct expenditure for the State in its first year of operation.

IHG has announced that Crowne Plaza will return to Adelaide as the city’s largest building in 2020, introducing 83 exclusive residential apartments alongside a 326-room hotel.

Registration is open for the 2018 WYSE Exchange Australia Youth Tourism Conference to be held on Wednesday 9 May at the Ovolo Woolloomooloo Hotel in Sydney.

Registration is open for the Tourism and Transport Forum’s Outlook Tourism Industry and Policy Conference to be held in Sydney on Thursday 17 May.

Registration is open for Destination Food, Australia's first culinary tourism conference to be held at the Museum of Sydney on Monday 21 May.

Applications are open until Thursday 29 March for the Australia-India Council 2018 Grant Program.

Registration is open for the Backpacker and Adventure Tourism Industry Forum on Wednesday 2 May in Byron Bay.