Leisure market drives latest international tourism growth Down Under

Tourism Australia has published an international tourism snapshot featuring arrivals, spend and aviation data for the 12 months to June 2017 as well as a more extensive international market update delving into the current state of Australia’s international tourism. Visitor arrivals growth for the year was driven by holiday makers, up 11 per cent, and an increase in people coming to visiting friends and relatives, up by 5 per cent. Double digit growth in holiday arrivals was seen from Indonesia (35%), India (21%), Malaysia (20%), Canada (19%), USA (18%), Korea (17%) and Japan (16%) over the 12 month period. Uncertainty following the Brexit vote and a sliding British pound continued to have a dampening impact on spending by visitors from the United Kingdom with spend down 8 per cent.

ICC Sydney showcase video

Tourism Australia has partnered with ICC Sydney to develop a new Virtual Reality showcase video giving international audiences a virtual tour through the venue. Tourism Australia research shows emerging VR technologies are providing a level of immersion and engagement unmatched by other media.

BuzzFeed foodies showcase Australia’s culinary diversity

Australia’s gastronomic delights feature in three episodes of BuzzFeed’s hit show ‘Worth It’, episodes of which have previously reached more than 10 million views from around the world. Supported by Tourism Australia’s media hosting program, the show’s stars visited Sydney’s Fish Market, Cirrus, Rockpool and Clovelly Hotel, as well as Victoria’s wine regions and Melbourne’s Silks and Donovan's. In the show, foodies Steven Lim and Andrew Ilnyckyj, along with their cameraman Adam Bianchi, try delicious foods at three price points: affordable, middle tier, and luxury. The first Australian episode premiered on Sunday 10 September. The release of the three episodes comes ahead of Tourism Australia’s new partnership with BuzzFeed as part of a global youth campaign launching on 6 October.

SK Broadband promotes aquatic Australia in 360 to Korean viewers

Tourism Australia has partnered with Korea’s largest telecommunications company, SK Broadband, to showcase Australian aquatic and costal experiences to millions of viewers. SK Broadband is the leading internet TV (IPTV) company and a sister company of SK Telecom which is the largest telecommunications company in Korea catering to 29 million mobile subscribers. The company’s Oksusu app boasts five million users and IPTV attracts 1.6 million users. The partnership aims to inspire users to consider Australia as their next holiday destination using all 18 of Tourism Australia’s 360° experiences.

Tourism Australia and Virgin Australia launch co-op campaign in Hong Kong

Tourism Australia has partnered with Virgin Australia to highlight Australia’s unrivalled aquatic and coastal, food and wine, nature and wildlife experiences through a new co-op campaign. The promotion, in support of Virgin Australia’s recently launched direct Melbourne-Hong Kong service, has already generated significant interest by showing people the unique Australian experiences they could be enjoying ‘This Time Tomorrow’. To engage people with the idea street activations were held on weekends with people given two chances to stop a mechanical clock at 19:50 (departure time) and 07:20 (arrival time) to win air tickets. Over 1,000 people joined the competition with eight lucky winners.

Tourism Australia’s brand campaign in Indonesia wins award

UM Indonesia, Tourism Australia’s media services agency, recently won a Google Performance Honours award for Tourism Australia’s campaign activity in Indonesia. UM used select search keywords and online content highlighting lesser known things across Australia to engage and entice consumers. The four month campaign drove significant leads to partners through Australia.com and search trends for Australia surpassed competitors such as Japan and Korea for the first time in two years.

Hervey Bay attraction now a permanent fixture

Hervey Bay’s ‘swimming with whales’ program will continue on a permanent basis following a successful three-year trial overseen by the Queensland Government. The experience has led to a significant increase in domestic and international visitors to the region and reinforced its reputation as a world-class location to get up close to these gentle giants.

New 110-room hotel to open in central Sydney

Veriu Hotel and Suites is set to open a new hotel, Veriu Central, near Sydney’s Central Station in Surry Hills in November. Veriu Central is a $15 million conversion of the heritage listed ‘Wentworth House’ and will feature a multi-venue street level dining precinct.

Spring ski season extended

Don’t put those mittens away just yet because the Australian ski season has been extended following exceptional ongoing snowfalls at the start of spring. Ski resorts have reported a jump in visitation this season with the biggest snow dumps recorded in years at major resorts. With more snow forecast later this week, most resorts will now remain open until 8 October.

Scenic Skyway Upgrade

Scenic World, in NSW’s Blue Mountains, is improving its visitor experience through a $3m upgrade of the Scenic Skyway. The work will increase the Scenic Skyway’s capacity by 30%, improving queuing times during peak periods. The upgrade is scheduled for completion in November.

Internationale Tourismus Borse 2018

Seller applications are open until tomorrow, Thursday 14 September, for Internationale Tourismus Borse 2018 (ITB18) to be held in Berlin, Germany, from 7 to 11 March. Tourism Australia will host an Australia stand and a wide range of participation options are available, such as sole and share booths, and day passes for three or five days. In 2017, ITB hosted 10,000 exhibitors from more than 185 countries and 196,000 visitors of which 120,000 were trade.

The motivations of online travellers

At least half of all travellers are undecided on a destination and are looking for inspiration during the planning and booking process according to Expedia's Multi-National Travel Trends Study. Chinese travellers are by far the most likely group of travellers to be influenced by social media while advertising featuring deals are most likely to influence Americans, Canadians and Australians. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

Tourism Australia's Executive General Manager of Events, Penny Lion, will join a panel of leaders in the business events sector at the inaugural EEAA Global Exchange on Tuesday 19 September in Sydney.

Registration is open for the Modern Travel Media Summit in Sydney on Friday 22 September.

Registration is open for ATEC Meeting Place 2017 in Perth from Monday 20 to Wednesday 22 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.

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

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

United Airlines will begin a daily, nonstop service between Houston and Sydney from Thursday 18 January.

China Eastern will increase its Shanghai-Brisbane service from four flights a week to daily from Saturday 16 December.

Tourism Research Australia has published its latest report on tourism businesses in Australia.

The Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB) has elected Karen Bolinger, CEO of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, as its new president.

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.

Tourism operators in Western Australia are being encouraged to express their interest in participating in Tourism WA’s familiarisation program.

Tourism WA has developed a calendar for upcoming roadshows and missions to help industry with forward planning.

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.

Tourism Western Australia has set up a corporate Facebook page with industry news, resources and information.

The Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef website has launched and the Citizens sculpture, designed by indigenous artist Brian Robinson, has been unveiled on the Cairns esplanade.

From today WA tour operators who gain accreditation can supply alcohol on their tours such as providing self-serve beer and wine to guests at a barbecue dinner or creating a dining experience with alcohol while touring an attraction.