Australia hosts the World’s Best Restaurants Awards

Almost 200 chefs, restaurateurs and international food and wine media are in Australia for The World's 50 Best Restaurants Awards in Melbourne tomorrow night. Away from ceremony night, they will get to taste and see Australia though more than 160 familiarisation visits to all states and territories. Tourism Australia worked with the organisers of The World's 50 Best Restaurants to create spectacular events best showcasing Australia's food and wine offering in stunning locations. Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, said he was confident the visiting chefs, restaurateurs and media would fall in love with our country and leave here as advocates for Australia's unique and diverse food and wine scene. Find out more.

Noma Australia wins PR Award

Tourism Australia won PR-led Event or Activation of The Year for Noma Australia at Mumbrella’s CommsCon Awards last week. Over the 10 week Noma residency, Tourism Australia hosted over 70 journalists from Asia, Europe and the Americas writing for the world’s most esteemed titles.

German Globetrotters enticed to Australia

Australia’s aquatic, coastal, wildlife and Indigenous tourism experiences are the focus of a new campaign in Germany. The promotion, in partnership with tour operator FTI Touristik and outdoor equipment retailer Globetrotter, features an outback camp set up in Globetrotter’s flagship stores in Berlin, Cologne, Stuttgart and Munich. In addition to comprehensive online advertising, the campaign also includes a 24-page supplement and a 10-page editorial in the Globetrotter magazine with a competition to win a trip Down Under. The promotion is in partnership with the South Australian Tourism Commission, Tourism NT, Tourism Tasmania, Tourism WA and Visit Victoria.

New UK campaign promotes two week holidays Down Under

A new campaign in the UK aims to show British holiday makers how easy it is to come Down Under for a two week holiday with great deals from Flight Centre. Showcasing Australia’s unique aquatic and nature-based experiences as well as the country’s world-class food and wine the promotion will run on Australia.com, across video on demand channels, on social media and includes a content partnership with AOL.com. The campaign aims to address concern from British travellers that they need long periods of time to visit Australia.

G!GA Selfie receives more awards

Tourism Australia’s G!GA Selfie project has won two awards at ADFEST 2017, the largest advertising festival in Asia. GIGA Selfie was first on the Gold Coast in September 2015 targeted to Japanese tourists and the second time in Sydney during the Chinese New Year Festival in February 2016. The project has received 39 awards including Cannes Lions 2016, Spikes Asia 2016 and AD STARS 2016.

German Working Holiday Makers invite parents Down Under

Young Germans travelling through Australia under the country’s Working Holiday Maker Programme between May and July 2017 can apply by uploading a video message on www.australia.com/sagdanke saying “thank you” to their parents and the chance for them to win a trip to Australia. Two winners will be selected and their parents flown to Australia to join their child and, together, embark on a two-week Australian self-drive family adventure in the NT or WA. The family journeys will be filmed and will form part of an upcoming Tourism Australia campaign in Germany aimed at enticing more young people from Germany to come to Australia to enjoy a working holiday. Applications are open until Monday 17 April.

US luxury travel advisors experience Australia firsthand

Premium Australian experiences in Victoria, NSW, the NT, South Australia, Queensland, WA and Tasmania were enjoyed by 34 American luxury travel advisors as part of the 2017 Virtuoso Australia Educational last month. The advisors also met with 26 Australian tourism operators and State tourism organisations at a special workshop at Crown Towers Melbourne and Air New Zealand partnered on the program by flying the agents Down Under in Business Premier. Advisors shared their #VirtuosoOZEDU adventures on Facebook and Instagram with some producing immediate enquiries from clients. For more information on the Virtuoso partnership contact Premium Manager for the Americas, Dave Evans.

Aerial photo contest: Australia from Above

Tourism Australia is sponsoring a new competition to inspire aerial photographers from around the world to share, enjoy and experience new creative perspectives of Australia. The Australia From Above contest is being run by SkyPixel, the world’s most popular aerial photography community, and is co-sponsored by Tourism Australia and drone manufacturer DJI. The contest is open until Tuesday 2 May and welcomes professionals and enthusiasts alike to share their visions of the country. More than 2,500 entries have already been submitted.

Tour the Barunga Festival with Venture North

Venture North has announced a special one-off tour of The Barunga Festival, the Northern Territory’s most celebrated cultural event. The 5 day tour will explore the music, sport and culture of the indigenous community as well as the best of the Katherine and Litchfield regions. The Barunga Festival runs from 9-11 June, with the tour extending through the 13th of June.

New Flinders Ranges and Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre Escorted Tour

SeaLink South Australia announces the launch of its new Flinders Ranges and Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre tour. The 10 day, fully inclusive and escorted tour takes guests from Adelaide to the Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, the Clare and Barossa Valleys. It also includes scenic flights over Kati Thanda-Lake Eyre and Wilpena Pound.

Dave’s partners up to showcase Hunter Beer Scene

With successful tours operating in both Sydney and Canberra, Dave’s Brewery Tours has announced their expansion to the Hunter Valley region. The new offering is in collaboration with Newcastle’s One for the Road Tours and will take beer lovers through Newcastle’s small bar and brewery scene as well as into the Hunter Valley to visit the region’s top breweries.

Jackalope hotel opens luxury accommodation on the Mornington Peninsula

Set in one of the region’s premier vineyards and home to Willow Creek Winery, Jackalope hotel invites guests to escape from reality in one of 46 luxury rooms. Its avant-garde design features floor-to-ceiling windows, private terraces, a black 30 metre infinity pool, spa and two restaurants: Doot Doot Doot and Rare Hare. 

International consumer demand research updated

Tourism Australia has released the latest update of its major international tourism research project into how international consumers view Australia and what most motivates them to visit. Over the last five years Tourism Australia has spoken to over 90,000 international long-haul travellers via online consumer research panels. Insights from the Consumer Demand Project have been used extensively to inform and support development of Tourism Australia’s strategic direction, campaign development, as well as to inform the tourism industry of potential opportunities to build the value of Australian tourism.

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games – one year to go

A number of public and media activities were held on the Gold Coast and in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne this Tuesday to mark exactly one year until the Opening Ceremony of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. The Gold Coast welcomed around 180 media from around the world for the 2018 Commonwealth Games World Press Briefing. The briefing provided international media the chance to engage with Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) representatives about the logistics and operational details of the upcoming event, to ensure optimal media coverage during the Games. Find out more.

Virtual Realty extends its reach in travel marketing

The Travel industry is fast becoming one of the most prolific users of Virtual Reality according to a recent Tnooz article. The article explains that the technology's immersive and interactive abilities are a perfect fit with the travel industry's reliance on selling experiences visually and through storytelling. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

Applications open for World Travel Market (WTM) 2017

Seller applications are now open for World Travel Market (WTM) 2017 to be held at ExCel in London from 6 to 8 November. WTM attracts over 50,000 travel industry professionals, and brings the travel and tourism industry's most prominent figures together to network, negotiate, and conduct business which generates more than AU$4.5 billion of travel industry contracts. Applications to join the Australia stand at WTM are open until Monday 8 May.

Virgin Australia has launched flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles, bringing its 'The Business' service to the route for the first time.

A recording is now available for a free webinar on accessible tourism which outlines the opportunities for destinations and businesses to improve the quality of the visitor experience for disabled people.

Entries for the 2017 South Australian Tourism Awards are now open for all SA tourism businesses with more than 30 categories to choose from.

The South Australian Tourism Commission has released its latest quarterly update video outlining achievements and highlights for the first quarter of 2017.

Tourism NT is preparing a new marketing campaign targeting the backpacker market.

Sydney Airport last week welcomed a new direct three-weekly Vietnam Airlines service from Hanoi.

Destination NSW has released two new research snapshots on tourism to The Rocks and Kings Cross.