Aussie Specialist mega training carnival in China

On 23 June more than 500 frontline Chinese travel agency representatives gathered in Beijing to attend the Aussie Specialist Program Training Carnival. As a part of the China-Australia Year of Tourism, the inaugural Training Carnival combined destination knowledge with quiz games and interactive sessions to showcase ‘There is nothing like Australia’. Australian visa officers also shared an informative update on visas for Chinese citizens and representatives from Australian State Tourism Organisations joined the event. In the 2016/17 financial year the Aussie Specialist team has trained more than 11,000 travel agency staff in China. The Aussie Specialist Program is a global training program to provide frontline travel sellers from around the globe with the knowledge and skills to best sell Australia.

ATE18 in Adelaide

Adelaide will host Australia’s largest annual event for building tourism opportunities for Australia - the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) – from 15 to 19 April 2018. Next year will be the third time ATE has been hosted in Adelaide, with the event first being hosted in the city in 2006 and again in 2010. Find out more.

South Americans invited to fly to Australia with LATAM

Tourism Australia and Visit Victoria are running a new campaign in June with South American airline LATAM to support the carrier’s Santiago to Melbourne route launch on 5 October. The campaign features online and social media advertising in both Brazil and Chile as well as additional media running in Brazil that points people to Australia.com. LATAM travel stores will also feature special training for agents, in-store events and marketing campaigns. LATAM and Tourism Australia are also starting co-marketing campaigns with industry in Brazil which will expand to more partners in the next few months.

Australia on show at major Korean travel show

A record number of visitors attended the 2017 Hanatour International Travel Show in Seoul this month where Australia’s aquatic and coastal experiences were on show. Over the three day event 100,000 participants visited the Korea International Exhibition & Convention Center (KINTEX) which included Australia sections hosted by both Destination New South Wales and Tourism and Events Queensland. Eleven Australian suppliers participated in the show taking advantage of both the business-to-business and business-to-consumer opportunities. A record 291,600 Koreans visited Australia in the 12 months to April.

Aussie Specialist training weekend in Italy

Tourism Australia recently held an ‘Aussie Weekend’ of training in Chiavari in Northern Italy for 50 Aussie Specialists to enhance their ability to promote and sell Australia. The training event was conducted in conjunction with the South Australia Tourism Commission, Tourism Northern Territory, Tourism and Events Queensland, Visit Victoria and Etihad Airways. Following the training weekend, Tourism Australia held an industry briefing in Milan to update Italian travel industry partners on upcoming activities and key themes in the new financial year.

Australia named 'Ultimate' dream destination for Americans

Australia has once again topped the ‘Ultimate Dream Destination’ for Americans who participated in the Travel Leaders’ 2017 Consumer Travel Survey. Travel Leaders represents over 30,000 travel agents making it the largest of any travel consortia network in the US and Canada. Tourism Australia has a continued partnership with Travel Leaders alongside Tourism Northern Territory and Tourism and Events Queensland. Tourism Australia’s Distribution Development Manager for the Americas, Sarah Postler, manages the Travel Leaders partnership which focuses on agent training and marketing within their ‘active and adventure’ and ‘luxury’ segments.

New adventure tours for Coffs Harbour

Coffs Harbour based Wajaana Yaam Adventure Tours offers kayaking and stand-up adventure tours in Coffs Creek, Moonee Beach and Red Rock Creek. Activities include swimming, snorkelling, collecting and tasting seasonal bush tucker, learning Gumbaynggirr language and stories.

Top new restaurant openings this month

Local produce, native ingredients and contemporary, relaxed settings: the Australian dining scene welcomes several major openings this month, most notably Melbourne’s Kisume.

Sunshine Coast launches Luxe Trekking rainforest experiences

Small-group guided walk specialists Tropical Treks and Montville’s Narrows Escape Rainforest Retreat have launched a three day Luxe Trekking package that includes a full day guided walk in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland with two nights accommodation in a rainforest pavilion and gourmet meals using local-produce.

NAIDOC Blak Markets bring remote Aboriginal artists to Barangaroo

The Blak Markets will return to Barangaroo Reserve to host a special Aboriginal art market on Sunday, 2 July at 11am-5pm for NAIDOC Week. Aboriginal artists from 11 remote Australian arts centres will bring their artworks, sculptures, textiles and accessories to Sydney to exhibit and sell at the market, host Tjanpi weaving workshops, and demonstrations of Rarrk painting and pandanus weaving.

Dates confirmed for Dreamtime 2017 in Brisbane

Tourism Australia has confirmed that Dreamtime 2017 will be held in Brisbane from 3 to 9 December in partnership with the Brisbane Convention Bureau. Held every two years in a different Australian destination, the Dreamtime program consists of business to business sessions between Australian industry and international incentive agents. Dreamtime 2017 will aim to secure approximately 120 qualified international business events decision makers and international trade media from ten key markets. For more information on registering as a seller for Dreamtime 2017, please contact bea@tourism.australia.com.

Mega Chinese incentive group experiences Australia

Just under 3,000 delegates from Perfect China arrived in Melbourne on 19 June and participated in a 5-day reward program in Melbourne, regional Victoria, Adelaide and Cairns. Perfect China is a direct sell company, selling health food, household, beauty and skincare products. Tourism Australia supported the Australian industry to secure the mega incentive and assisted to get media to Australia to promote the event to other businesses in China.

New report values the Great Barrier Reef at $56 billion

A new Deloitte Access Economics report released on Monday identifies the social, economic and iconic asset value of the Great Barrier Reef at $56 billion. Queensland's Minister for the Great Barrier Reef, The Hon. Steven Miles, said the Queensland Government had committed $175 million over five years, plus a boost of an additional $100 million for improved reef water quality outcomes. “The Great Barrier Reef is incredibly precious to all Australians, and the international community - and this report confirms that," he said. “The report also rightly identifies an opportunity and need for action on a universal level to protect the reef.” Find out more.

Removal of outgoing passenger card for travellers

From 1 July 2017, the paper-based card for out-going passengers from Australia will be removed as part of a move towards a more efficient and streamlined process for travellers. The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, the Hon. Peter Dutton MP, said the new automated process will help reduce queuing times and support a more seamless, secure and simplified border clearance process. The information previously gathered via paper-based outgoing passenger cards will now be collated from existing government data and will continue to be provided to users. More information on passenger cards is available at www.border.gov.au.

Tourism on the agenda for US trade visit

Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Steven Ciobo MP, is visiting the United States and Colombia to advance trade, tourism and investment opportunities for Australia this week. “In Miami I will meet representatives from the international cruise industry to promote Australia as a tourist destination. The United States is a key economic and trading partner for Australia. It is the largest investor in Australia and is Australia’s largest investment destination,” he said. Find out more.

The US smartphone traveller in 2017

Two in three US travellers shopped for or booked either flights or hotels on a mobile device according to Phocuswright’s US Mobile Traveller in 2017 report. Travelers who own smartphones and use them to plan and book travel were also more likely to take more trips and spend more on travel. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

Expressions of interest are open until 10 July for Victoria’s ‘Check-in to China’ program which includes tailored language classes, an 11 day study trip to China, one-to-one mentoring and business development opportunities.

Australia was the number three destination globally in Conde Nast's Most Wish-Listed Destinations of 2017.

Tourism WA and Qantas have begun a comprehensive, multi-million dollar marketing campaign to promote WA in the UK and on the East Coast of Australia ahead of the direct flights between London and Perth which commence in nine months.

Tourism Noosa has launched a new winter campaign, ‘Noosa, The Relaxation Capital of Australia’, positioning the popular Queensland destination as a compelling holiday choice to its key interstate markets during winter.

The Governor of Western Australia has appointed Nathan Harding as the new Tourism Western Australia Board replacing Peter Prendiville recently stepped down from the position after almost six years.

Noosa National Park on the Sunshine Coast will receive a $2 million funding boost in the Queensland Government’s 2017-18 Budget.

Townsville will welcome up to 35,000 new interstate visitors each year, with Tigerair launching its first flight between Melbourne and North Queensland last week.

Queensland tourism businesses are invited to meet with senior representatives from Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TripAdvisor and Viatour at the Queensland Digital Roadshow USA 2017 in Los Angeles and San Francisco from 22-29 October.

The late Steve Irwin has been honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment industry through his wildlife documentaries.

Hainan Airlines of China has announced the commencement of direct flights between Shenzhen and Brisbane from 21 September.

Jin Air will provide 12 seasonal services to Cairns from South Korea between 22 December and 30 January and SilkAir is boosting its services from Singapore to Cairns to five days a week from November.

Tourism WA has produced a new Just Another Day in WA film targeting the Chinese market.

A new touring map of Aboriginal tours and experiences in Western Australia has been published including bush and coastal trails, traditional fishing, hand-crafted spear making and foraging for bush food.

Applications are now open for the 2017 WA Greater China Travel Mission to be held from 22-25 October in Hangzhou.

Destination NSW is offering NSW product suppliers and destinations the opportunity to join the DNSW Japan Roadshow in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka from 30 August to 1 September and the DNSW South Korea Workshop in Seoul from 4 to 5 September.

Applications are open until 17 July for the David Grant Creativity Project for people under 30 in the events industry to pursue professional development opportunities.

Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia will return to North Queensland from 3 to 6 July to hold public hearings at Port Douglas, Cairns, Townsville, and Brisbane as part of its inquiry into stimulating the tourism Industry in Northern Australia.

Destination NSW has appointed Siobhan Burke as the organisation’s Regional Manager UK and Europe.

Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group will develop a luxury hotel and residences on Melbourne's Collins Street slated to open in 2023.

Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and compatriot Belinda Bencic will return to Western Australia for the Mastercard Hopman Cup in 2018.

The number of young Australian and Spanish nationals able to visit each other’s countries under a work and holiday arrangement will increase from 600 to 1500 annually from 1 July 2017.

The number of Australians and Argentines who can live and work in each other's countries under the reciprocal Work and Holiday visa arrangement will increase from 700 to 1500 visa places annually on 1 July 2017.