Tourism industry prepares for ATE17 in Sydney

Approximately 2,500 tourism professionals from Australia and more than 30 international markets will come together next week for the Australian Tourism Exchange 2017 (ATE17). This year 555 Australian tourism businesses are attending ATE17, the highest number in nine years, including 83 Australian tourism products participating for the first time. Held in the brand new International Convention Centre Sydney, the event is hosted by Tourism Australia with State partner Destination NSW and airline partners Virgin Australia and Etihad Airways. Over 700 buyer delegates representing 548 buyer companies will also attend.

International market profiles

Tourism Australia has published profiles on Australia’s 16 core markets and also recorded presentations from its international managers to help Australian tourism businesses prepare for ATE17 next week.

New luxury training module for Aussie Specialists

Tourism Australia has released a new special interest training module on luxury experiences for the Aussie Specialist Program to educate and inspire travel sellers about Australia's diverse premium offering. The training module also explains what makes luxury travel unique in Australia and provides a guide to creating bespoke itineraries for sophisticated travellers. The online training module is available in English with a range of supporting fact sheets from urban and outback luxe to active and culinary adventures, specialist guiding and more.

Australia pops up in Canada for special event

Australia’s hidden gems were revealed to over 400 media, consumers and trade at a special event in Toronto, Canada last week. Celebrity Canadian chef Randy Feltis, who was in Australia for the World’s 50 Best Restaurant awards last month, helped promote the event on primetime TV as well as the food and wine experiences he enjoyed on the Yarra Valley and Sunshine Coast. Air Canada also celebrated their one year anniversary of direct flights to Brisbane by launching additional seasonal services to Melbourne starting in December.

New Regional General Manager for South and South East Asia

Brent Anderson has been promoted to Regional General Manager South and South East Asia overseeing Tourism Australia’s activities in Singapore, Malaysia, India and Indonsesia. Brent joined Tourism Australia in 1996, making him one of the agency’s longest-serving employees. His career within the organisation has seen him work in a number of roles, including trade events, business development and partnership marketing. In 2005, he moved to Singapore as Country Manager and in 2014 he lead Tourism Australia's entry into Indonesia.

Restaurant Australia case study video: RT Tours

Tourism Australia has produced a series of videos showcasing tourism businesses from around the country who are great examples of Restaurant Australia . The aim of the videos is to inspire more businesses to get involved in promoting Aussie cuisine as food and wine continues to become an ever more important aspect of the experience international visitors are looking for. Based in Alice Springs, RT Tours owner and operator Bob Taylor hosts a guided dinner tour introducing people to local Indigenous ingredients in incredible surroundings.

Bush Tucker Journeys launches at Ayers Rock Resort

Following the opening earlier this week of the second season of Field of Light, Ayers Rock Resort has introduced a new program of native flavour experiences celebrating Indigenous food and culture. The program of tours includes a daily Bush Food tour, Bush Yarn experience and favourites Tali Wiru and Sounds of Silence. The celebration culminates with Uluru Feastival - a quarterly culinary event celebrating Australia’s native flavours.

D’Arenberg announces luxury restaurant offering

Chef Brendan Wessels will head up the luxury restaurant in the D’Arenberg Cube opening late 2017. The restaurant will offer seasonally changing degustation menus, with an extensive wine list featuring a selection of imported wines, and both current vintage and museum releases from D'Arenberg.

Gray Line Grand Barossa Tour

Gray Line has refreshed their Grand Barossa Tour to include some of the region’s finest wineries including a visit to the award-winning Seppeltsfield Estate, a tasting of the legendary Black Label wine at the Wolf Blass Winery and an exclusive Penfold’s preview tasting with a gourmet lunch featuring the best regional produce.

Four quirky new bars in Melbourne

Melbourne’s bar scene never fails to surprise and delight, with new bar openings including a mini-golf bar, a new neighbourhood hotspot, a whisky specialist, and an ode to Absinthe.

Australian Government announces
2017-18 Budget

The Australian Government announced the 2017-18 Budget on Tuesday 9 May. Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, noted the budget addressed key infrastructure needs and market priorities in the tourism sector and that the Government was also focussing on the important inbound China tourism market through the 2017 China Australia Year of Tourism.

Corroboree West 2017

Seller applications are open until Thursday 25 May for the inaugural Corroboree West 2017 on Queensland’s Gold Coast from 9 to 14 October. The event provides a professional forum for Australian sellers to train qualified Aussie Specialists from the Americas, United Kingdom and Europe and strengthen specific product knowledge. In addition, through familiarisation visits, the Aussie Specialists will have first-hand experience with quality Australian tourism products, enhancing their ability to promote and sell Australia.

India Travel Mission 2017

Seller applications are open until Thursday 1 June for participation at the India Travel Mission 2017 in Pune from 16 – 19 August. ITM is an opportunity for the Australian tourism industry to establish business relationships with key qualified travel agencies and tour operators in India. The Mission includes pre-scheduled meetings between buyers and sellers, and opportunities to network at the official event functions.

Walkabout South East Asia 2017

Seller applications are open until Monday 5 June for participation at Walkabout South East Asia 2017 in Bali from 25 – 28 September. The event provides an opportunity for Australian tourism businesses to develop relationships with product planners and decision makers representing outbound travel from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. It includes pre-scheduled meetings and opportunities to network at functions.

Conversations with Industry, Gold Coast

Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) in partnership with Tourism Australia (TA) and Gold Coast Tourism (GCT) is hosting a free Conversations with Industry – Gold Coast event on Wednesday 14 June at the Crowne Plaza Surfers Paradise. The forum is part of a series held throughout the state and provides a great opportunity to connect with representatives from TA, TEQ and GCT to gain industry insights and discuss the key business areas of marketing, digital, experience development, events and international markets.

Indian travellers booking preferences

Indian travellers prefer to make bookings on desktop than mobile according to a survey of 5,000 Indian travellers. A significant minority of 21 per cent indicated a preference to book through traditional travel agents rather than online and more than 50 per cent of Indians refer to online reviews before booking a holiday. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

Meetings & Events Australia presented its annual industry awards at the International Convention Centre Sydney on Tuesday 2 May. And the winners are...

Vivid Sydney’s biggest ever festival will be held over 23 nights, from Friday 26 May to Saturday 17 June, expanding on last year’s festival which contributed more than $110 million in visitor spend to the NSW economy.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland partnered with Cairns Airport and Tourism and Events Queensland to host 57 travel agents, the region’s largest domestic familiarisation, from 27 April to 3 May.

The 2017 Victorian Tourism Conference will be held on 24 – 25 July at the Flemington Racecourse.

The Melbourne LIVE Tourism Forum will be held on Thursday 15 June under the theme, ‘Think About It’.

Nine key distribution partners from India visited Alice Springs, Kings Canyon and Uluru for a five-day famil, the first of its kind hosted by Tourism Northern Territory.

Tourism and Events Queensland, the Flight Centre Travel Group and Virgin Australia are joining forces to encourage more Australians to holiday in the Whitsundays.

Air Canada will begin direct flights between Vancouver and Melbourne from 3 December in a seasonal service stretching through to 4 February 2018.

The Star Ratings scheme owned and operated by Australian motoring clubs will be transferred to the Australian Tourism Industry Council from the start of the 2017/18 financial year.

A two-week long Mega Meet will be held across the Northern Territory from 9-21 May with hundreds of spectacular NT images to be shared on Instagram using the Territory's hashtag #NTAustralia.

The Tourism WA China Travel Mission dates have been confirmed for 22 – 25 October with the host city to be announced soon.

Newcastle, NSW moved a step closer to welcoming international flights with work commencing on a major airport upgrade.

A total of 62 regional events across Western Australia have received a funding boost as part of the 2017-18 Regional Events Scheme.

Early bird discount are available until end of May for the Youth & Backpacker Travel Week Australia 2017 to be held from 6-10 November on Queensland's Gold Coast.