Corroboree West commences on the Gold Coast

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Steven Ciobo MP, welcomed the arrival of hundreds of international travel agents on Queensland’s Gold Coast for Tourism Australia’s inaugural Corroboree West this week. The educational trade event provides an invaluable opportunity for more than 120 Australian sellers to showcase their products to qualified Aussie Specialists from 14 key Western markets including the USA, Canada, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France and Italy. Agents will have the chance to participate in a familiarisation program to experience Australia, further enhancing their ability to sell the destination to their customers at home.

Friends of Australia

Tourism Australia has published a new video outlining the recent achievements of its Friends of Australia program. Formed in 2010, the successful advocacy program is designed to allow both Australian and international opinion leaders to share their own personal and authentic Australian stories with the world.

Strong show of support for Aussie News Today

Tourism Australia’s latest campaign targeting the international youth market, Aussie News Today, has already received widespread media coverage and strong support from industry. Tourism Australia held a webinar on Monday for industry explaining the campaign and has published a fact sheet on how to get involved. The dedicated Aussie News Today Facebook and Instagram profiles have already attracted thousands of followers and a special news hub has been set up on Australia.com. Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, welcomed the launch of the campaign noting that young people are a critical market for Australia.

Bushman Ray Mears launches latest Australian Wilderness TV show

Australia House in London welcomed 120 Times newspaper readers last week for ‘an evening with Ray Mears’ to launch the latest Australian TV show ‘Australian Wilderness with Ray Mears’. The show, which will air from Friday 13 October on ITV1 and run for seven weeks, is estimated to reach two million viewers per episode in the UK alone. In the latest series Ray explores South Australia, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Alongside Times newspaper readers, the Deputy High Commissioner, trade partners and media - including Travel Editor at the Sunday Times, Duncan Craig - were also in attendance at the event which was co-hosted with Qantas.

US golf fans enticed Down Under for great golf courses

Thousands of spectators at the 2017 Presidents Cup Tournament in New York last month were treated to a showcase of Melbourne to encourage them Down Under in 2019 when Royal Melbourne will host the event. Great Golf Courses of Australia also joined Visit Victoria in New York for the event to promote other world class golf courses around Australia. The Golf Show host Andrew Daddo caught up with Elizabeth Sattler, Executive Officer of Great Golf Courses of Australia, to talk about international golf visitation to Australia and how golf events in the US compare to those held at home. The 2019 event is expected to attract thousands of international and Australian fans with coverage of the tournament beamed to millions of homes around the world.

LATAM airlines celebrates Santiago – Melbourne route launch

LATAM airlines, Tourism Australia and the Victorian government celebrated the start of the airline’s nonstop Santiago to Melbourne flights with a kick-off event at the residence of the Australian Ambassador to Chile last week. Media from Chile, Brazil, Argentina and Peru attended the event and joined the inaugural flight to take part in an eight-day trip visiting Melbourne, the Great Ocean Road, Yarra Valley, and Phillip Island hosted by Tourism Australia and Visit Victoria. A major co-operative marketing campaign across Latin America has been running since June and forward bookings are positive. This month will see the addition of trade incentives, training events, in store activations in LATAM travel stores and other marketing activities.

Sunshine Resort launches innovative new premium lodge accommodation

Sunshine Resort, located in the NSW mid north coastal town of South West Rocks, has launched new premium lodges that blend in with the surrounding landscape. The seven Ngurra Lodges (‘Ngurra’ means ‘place of home’ in the local Dunghutti Aboriginal language) feature a decal that replicates the forest setting behind it.

What’s new for Bondi’s Sculpture by the Sea 21st anniversary

The world’s largest annual public sculpture exhibition returns to Sydney’s Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk from 19 October – 5 November. To celebrate its 21st anniversary, the festival is introducing Sculpture Inside, a smaller indoor exhibition, and Aqualand Artist Talks, where the sculptors discuss the ideas behind their works.

‘Million Dollar Fish’ released in Northern Territory’s waterways

The third annual Million Dollar Fish competition has begun with 101 barramundi tagged with cash prizes and released into the area’s waterways from easily accessible fishing hotspots such as Darwin Harbour to more remote areas such as Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands. Only one fish has the $1 million price tag, but 100 more have $10,000 attached to their fins.

Songlines exhibition showcases the creation of Seven Sisters

Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters has opened at the National Museum of Australia in Canberra. The exhibition features the world's highest resolution six-metre-wide travelling DomeLab under which visitors will be immersed in images of Seven Sisters rock art, animated art works and the transit of the Orion constellation and the Pleiades star cluster.

Australian Tourism Exchange 2018

Seller applications for the Australian Tourism Exchange 2018 are closing this week. Australia’s largest annual travel and tourism business-to-business event will be held from 15 to 19 April at the Adelaide Convention Centre which has just completed a $297 million expansion redevelopment. In response to buyer demand for new product, first-time exhibitors are encouraged to register. To be classified as a new seller, a company must have either never attended ATE, or not attended ATE in the last four years.

European Product Workshop 2018

Seller applications for the European Product Workshop 2018 are open until Friday 27 October. Hosted by Tourism Australia and Tourism New Zealand the event is an opportunity for new tourism product from Australia and New Zealand to meet with key buyers from the United Kingdom and Continental Europe. The European Product Workshop will be held in London from 19 to 21 March 2018.

Walkabout Japan 2018

Seller applications for Walkabout Japan 2018 are open until Tuesday 31 October. Walkabout Japan is Tourism Australia’s premier trade event for Australian tourism businesses to engage with key Japanese travel agencies from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Thirty Australian tourism businesses will be selected to represent cross-section of Australian experiences that are attractive to the Japanese market. State, Territory and Regional Tourism organisations will also attend. Walkabout Japan 2018 will be held in Karuizawa, 70 minutes by fast train from Tokyo, from 27 February – 1 March.

Industry Briefings in NSW, SA, TAS and ACT

Tourism Australia has opened registration for four free-of-charge industry briefings: in Sydney on Thursday 9 November from 9 - 11.30am at the Hilton, Sydney; in Adelaide on Friday 10 November from 2 - 4pm at the Playford; in Hobart on Friday 10 November from 2 - 4pm at the Hobart Function and Conference Centre; and in Canberra at Hotel Realm from 2 – 4pm on Friday 17 November. The briefings will involve senior executives from Tourism Australia and State and Territory tourism executives providing an update on current and future activity and sharing research and insights from key international markets.

US travellers prefer experiences over amenities

US travellers would rather spend more money on activities over a nicer hotel room according to Skift’s Experiential Traveller Survey. Furthermore, some 65 percent of respondents said it is more important for them to return from a trip having experienced something new than feeling rested and recharged. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files .

Cricket Australia has produced a video with former Aussie allrounder Andrew Symonds to showcase Townsville ahead of next month's Ashes tour match.

Visitors to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games will be inspired to travel throughout the state by the Discover Queensland e-book which was released last week.

Tourism WA has partnered with Air New Zealand  to encourage New Zealand travellers to book a holiday in Western Australia.

A pool of $1 million is now available for regional events as part of Western Australia's 2018-19 Regional Events Scheme including $150,000 specifically for events that showcase Aboriginal experiences.

Flinders Island has unveiled a new website, visitflindersisland.com.au, and video to promote the destination domestically and internationally.

Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef is aiming to build a base of 5,000 Citizens by November ahead of the global launch of the website in a few weeks.

The Gold Coast will play host to one of the most important meetings before the Commonwealth Games this week with close to 130 Commonwealth delegates in town for the Chefs de Mission Seminar.

Tourism WA is launching the second phase of its Visiting Friends and Relatives campaign targeting Singapore, Malaysia, New Zealand and the UK in mid-October.

The South Australian Tourism Industry Council has published its Annual Report for 2016/17.

Tickets are on sale for the 2017 Canberra Region Tourism Awards on Friday 17 November at the National Museum of Australia.

Tickets are on sale for the 2017 RACV Victorian Tourism Awards on Thursday 23 November at Palladiam Crown.

Tickets are on sale for the 2017 South Australian Tourism Awards on Friday 10 November at the Adelaide Convention Centre.

Tickets are on sale for the 2017 Queensland Tourism Awards on Friday 10 November at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre.

The Tourism Industry division of the NSW Business Chamber has announced the 2017 finalists of the NSW Tourism Awards. Tickets are on sale for the Gala Event on Thursday 16 November at the International Convention Centre Sydney.

Registration is open for the Youth & Backpacker Travel Week Australia 2017 on Queensland's Gold Coast from Monday 6 November to Friday 10 November.

Tourism Australia’s fourth annual Destination Australia Conference (DestAus18), the top tourism marketing conference Down Under, will be held in Melbourne on Thursday 15 March 2018. Register your interest for DestAus18.

Applications are open until 1 October for round one funding the NSW 2018 Incubator Event Fund open to organisers of new or second-year events in rural and regional NSW which are planned for January to June 2018.

Registration is open for the Australian Regional Tourism Network's (ARTN) annual Australian Regional Tourism Convention to be held from 23 – 26 October at QT Canberra.