Great Australian Airfare Sale launches in India

Tourism Australia has launched the fourth edition of its Great Australian Airfare Sale in India, bringing together eight full-service and low-cost airlines to secure early bookings to Australia and fill airline seats during out-of-peak periods. Tourism Australia is promoting the sale online, through social media and in print and is partnering with leading online travel agents, including MakeMyTrip, GoIbibo and Yatra. The sale features Scoot, Air Asia, Air India, Jet Airways, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, Singapore Airlines and Thai Airways and is valid until 21 June 2018 for travel up to 30 June 2019. India is currently Australia’s eight largest inbound market with 318,100 visitors during the year ended March 2018. (Photo: Destination NSW)

Advance program applications open

Applications are open until Friday 6 July for Tourism Australia’s Advance Program. Managed by Business Events Australia the program supports marketing activity that helps to increase international visitation to confirmed business events being held in Australia and increase consideration of Australia by international business events decision-makers.

Airline partners announced for Corroboree Asia 2018

Singapore Airlines and Virgin Australia will be the exclusive airline partners for Corroboree Asia 2018, providing flights for Aussie Specialists attending the event on the Gold Coast from 26 to 31 August. Singapore Airlines will fly overseas agents to Australia and Virgin Australia will fly them around the country for the post-event familiarisation program, hosted by the state and territory organisations. Corroboree Asia 2018 is being held in partnership with Tourism Australia, Destination Gold Coast and Tourism and Events Queensland at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. The event will bring together more than 100 Australian tourism operators to meet with approximately 300 qualified Aussie Specialists from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India, Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.

Minister Ciobo meets key distribution partner in France

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Steven Ciobo MP, met with Asia Voyages last week, one of Tourism Australia’s key distribution partners in France. The meeting provided an opportunity for Minister Ciobo to receive a briefing from the company’s sales director, Guillaume Linton, on their Australia business as well as results from recent campaign activity with Tourism Australia. Minister Ciobo was in France to advance Australia’s trade and investment interests at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Ministerial Council Meeting and the World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Paris.

Superyacht famil showcases North Queensland

Tourism Australia supported Superyacht Group Great Barrier Reef's familiarisation tour last week for delegates from the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Tahiti and the USA. The five-day visit highlighted the Great Barrier Reef, Cairns Marlin Marina, Mossman Gorge, Port Douglas-Crystalbrook Superyacht Marina, Lizard lsland and Barron Falls as well as tours of Hamilton Island, Airlie Beach-Abell Point Marina and the Whitsundays. Delegates were also fully hosted on the 35m luxury yacht, MY Spirit (pictured). The Australian Superyacht sector generates nearly $190 million per annum from international visitors and crew expenditure.

Dundee campaign update for Canadian travel media

Tourism Australia shared its latest Dundee campaign content with 200 media and industry leaders at the Travel Media Association of Canada (TMAC) annual conference in Victoria, British Columbia last week. Delegates were encouraged to share the content on social media using the tag #GDAYTMAC to win two tickets on the new Vancouver-Melbourne Air Canada flight which commenced its three-weekly service that weekend. The popular promotion generated over 540,000 social media impressions and made #GDAYTMAC the #2 trending topic on Twitter across Canada on 1 June. During the conference Tourism Australia presented the Canadian Food and Drink Writing award at the annual TMAC awards ceremony.

Sirromet opens Queensland’s first winery glamping experience

Queensland’s first winery glamping experience has officially opened at Sirromet Wines Estate, 40 minutes from Brisbane and the Gold Coast, in Mt Cotton. Sanctuary by Sirromet consists of 18 tented pavilions located hillside which follow the natural contour down to a lagoon, home to a variety of native wild life and surrounded by paperbark trees and scribbly gums. Each has a private balcony floating above the landscape, giving guests a 'tree house' impression looking across the canopy and over the lake.

Vivid Sydney kicks off 10th anniversary

Vivid Sydney has kicked off its 10th anniversary with more than 330,000 Vivid Light Walk attendees turning out for the opening weekend of the world’s largest festival of light, music and ideas. The 23-day festival will run from 25 May to 16 June and features an expanded footprint including Luna Park as a new precinct.

W Hotels returns to Australia with the opening of W Brisbane

Marriott International’s lifestyle brand W Hotels has re-entered the Australian market with the opening of W Brisbane. Located riverside in the city’s Central Business District, the hotel embraces Brisbane’s connection to the Australian identity and iconic elements of Queensland’s flora and fauna with a laid-back vibe and a playful nod to ‘Brisvegas’. Three Blue Ducks, W Brisbane's signature restaurant and a first for Queensland, mixes Brisbane's vibrant yet laidback culture with The Ducks legendary paddock to plate ethos.

Peppers Silo opens in Launceston, Tasmania

Launceston’s iconic new hotel Peppers Silo officially opened to the public on 2 June on Kings Wharf. Originally erected in 1960, the Kings Wharf grain silos were left unused for decades until two years ago when construction began to breathe new life into the structure, transforming the silo barrels into a state-of-the-art contemporary new hotel. The redeveloped site is now a ten-level hotel featuring 108 guest rooms, including 52 inside the barrels of the former silos and a restaurant and bar Grain of the Silos.

World Youth and Student Travel Conference

Registration is open for the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC) to be held in Edinburgh from 18-21 September. Australian operators that register for WYSTC will automatically be added to Tourism Australia’s ‘Australian Village’ saving them the cost of a booth at the event. Tourism Australia will also be hosting subsequent agent training events to compliment the buyer appointments. WYSTC is the leading trade event for the global youth, student and educational travel industry, attracting over 600 delegates from around the world. Tourism Australia will host a roadshow in the UK and Germany for Australian operators attending WYSTC.

IMEX America 2018

Registration is open until Friday 6 July to join the Australia stand at IMEX America 2018 from 16 to 18 October. IMEX America is one of the world's biggest exhibitions for the meetings, incentives, conferences and events sector. It attracts international business events planners, media, destinations and suppliers from around the world. Business Events Australia has produced an IMEX America 2018 event prospectus which provides an overview of the program and participation costs. Space on the Australia stand is limited and applications are on a first-come first-served basis.

China Payments Opportunity Forum

On Sunday 15 April at ATE18 in Adelaide, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) and Tourism Australia hosted a forum to give operators an overview of the Chinese payment ecosystem and the opportunity of cashless payment systems from three main payment platforms: Alipay, WeChat Pay and UnionPay. An overview of the forum and recording of each of the presentations is now available on Tourism Australia’s website at www.tourism.australia.com/chinapayments.

Tourism Tasmania has created an industry toolkit for its Go Behind the Scenery - Feed Your Curious campaign, with a range of campaign-aligned assets available for operators.

The South Australian Tourism Commission is hosting a series of Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) information sessions for operators.

Twenty-four projects will share in more than $4.4 million under the Protecting National Historic Sites program, designed for historic sites listed on Australia's National Heritage List.

Tourism Tasmania is calling for Expressions of Interest from Asia-ready tourism businesses to participate in its Asia Mission 2018 to China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore in September.

Tourism and Events Queensland has announced dates and locations for its Conversations with Industry events around the State.

Colliers International is assisting the state of Tasmania to identify suitable partners to develop a new tourism experience at the Cradle Mountain Gateway Precinct on the edge of the Tasmanian World Heritage Area. The Government will contribute up to $5 million as part of a co-investment to develop an iconic experience at the site.

Expressions of interest are open until Monday 16 July for the $2 million Victorian Regional Events and Innovation Fund for events to be delivered between September 2018 and June 2019.

The Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism Conference is seeking papers for its workshops and keynote program from November 26 – 28, 2018 in Townsville, Queensland.

Applications are open until Sunday 29 July for the NT Government's new Recreational Fishing Grants Scheme. One million dollars has been set aside for the scheme with $500,000 available in both the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years.

Applications are open until Friday 29 June for the Queensland on Tour Japan 2018 roadshow visiting Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo from 12-14 September.

Registration is open for ATEC Meeting Place 2018 which will take place from 19-21 November in Darwin.

Registration is open for the VIC Tourism Conference to be held on 30-31 July at the RACV Cape Schanck Resort.

Industry are invited to register their interest for the Destination Australia Conference 2019 to be held on Thursday 14 March in Brisbane.

For the first time since 2015 Malaysia Airlines will operate non-stop flights between Brisbane Airport and Kuala Lumpur. Four services will operate per week providing more than 120,000 seats to/from Brisbane.