Travellers enticed by Australia’s unique experiences

Following the rollout of Tourism Australia’s UnDiscover Australia campaign across South East Asia, the recent Malaysia International Travel Fair in Penang saw a surge in interest from travellers enquiring about and booking lesser known destinations and experiences in Australia. More than 50,000 visitors attended the fair, which provides visitors with a range of travel packages. Bookings to Australia jumped 10 per cent on last year with a particular increase in interest for regional experiences including Canberra and for self-drive holidays in Tasmania. The UnDiscover Australia campaign, launched in September 2018, aims to challenge stereotypes of Australia among South East Asian travellers by shining a spotlight on some of our more unique and unusual tourism offerings.

Tourism 2020 spend reaches new record

Total overnight visitor spending in Australia has now reached a record $118.9 billion, surpassing the Federal Government's target of reaching $115 billion in overnight visitor spend by the year 2020. The latest National Visitor Survey released today shows that overnight domestic visitor spend hit $74.5 billion, up 14 per cent; while international visitor spend is at $44.3 billion. Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham said the sector continues to exceed expectations thanks to the continued hard work of the industry, tourism bodies and governments.

Rome’s Summer Film Festival gets an Aussie touch

The Australian Embassy in Italy, supported by Tourism Australia, sponsored the 25th Rome Summer Film Festival which is taking place during July. Tourism Australia hosted some key local tour operators and airline partners including Qantas, who also supported the event, at a networking function for the festival set on the picturesque Tiber Island. The event included a screening of the Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences video along with a speech from Australia’s Ambassador to Italy, Greg French. The Ambassador’s speech, delivered as a re-written version of Waltzing Matilda, was performed on stage with a young Aboriginal Australian playing the didgeridoo, storytelling and Didgeboxing.

Last call - Search for Australia’s cutest koala joey

The Tourism Australia social media team is on the hunt for Australia’s cutest koala joey and is calling all wildlife parks and photographers to submit up to three photos of their cutest koala joeys taken this year to socialmedia@tourism.australia.com. Entries close this Friday 19 July. The top entries, as judged by the social team, will be put to a public vote on Tourism Australia’s Facebook page to find the ultimate winner, who will be showcased across all Tourism Australia social channels alongside details of how the public can catch a glimpse of the cute critter. And while it doesn’t quite fit the brief, a special shout out to Tourism Tasmania’s social media team for their creative entry!

Luxury Lodge ranks among world’s best

Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island, which features in the Luxury Lodges collective within Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences of Australia program, has been voted the best hotel in Australia in the prestigious Travel + Leisure magazine Top 100 Hotels List 2019. The luxury lodge, which ranked 21st on the list, is also the only Australian property to secure a place on this year’s world-renowned list. The full list of Travel + Leisure’s world’s best hotels can be viewed here.

Star line-up announced for Western Australia’s Gourmet Escape, WA

The countdown is now on to Western Australia’s Gourmet Escape. Held over 10 days from 8 to 17 November, culinary leaders from across the globe, including David Chang (USA), Marco Pierre White (UK) and Ivan Brehm (SG), along with some of Australia’s top chefs including Alla Wolf-Tasker, Jock Zonfrillo, Josh Niland and Seth James; will travel to the event to celebrate the region’s incredible produce. For the first time, the festival will be held across three regions of Western Australia including Perth, Swan Valley and Margaret River. Tickets will go on sale from tomorrow, 18 July 2019.

Walk into wellness on new all-inclusive yoga and hiking tour, VIC

Park Trek Walking Holidays has launched a new fully guided four-day hiking and yoga tour in the Victorian Alps. Starting at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the tour includes approximately 58kms of hiking amongst the spectacular high-country peaks, with daily yoga and meditation sessions designed to soothe the body and re-focus the mind. With no prior yoga or meditation experience required, the all-inclusive guided tour is perfect for those looking to reenergize and refresh their outlook. The tour will operate from 16 to 19 November.

Introducing Tetto di Carolina, Melbourne’s newest rooftop bar, VIC

Melbourne’s South Yarra will soon be home to the new highly anticipated rooftop cocktail bar, Tetto di Carolina. Founded by celebrated restaurateur Joe Mammone (Bar Carolina, II Bacaro, Sarti) and partners, the venue boasts a cocktail-forward drinks list curated by award-wining Alex Dzyrat (of London’s Bar III) and a food menu of refined Italian small plates from Executive Chef Matteo Tine. Opening on 24 July, guests will be able to enjoy a taste of Europe in the outskirts of Melbourne’s CBD with al fresco dining and a music program featuring some of Melbourne’s premier jazz pianists and musicians.

Experience the wild with Matt Wright (the Outback Wrangler), NT 

Visitors looking to explore the Northern Territory can now choose from a new range of tours run by the Outback Wrangler from National Geographic’s hit TV series. Combining his outback lifestyle with his knowledge of helicopter and boats, Matt Wright’s latest Explore the Wild Tours allow guests to immerse themselves in Australia’s outback while getting up close and personal with its wildlife. With customised group itineraries available upon request, travellers can admire Australia’s vast landscapes from above on a Heli-fishing or Heli-pub tour, take a heart pumping ride across Darwin Harbour on an V8 airboat or choose to stay overnight at a Safari Camp or Tiwi Island Retreat.

Adventure Tourism Awards

Nominations are now open for the 2019 Adventure Tourism Awards, which will take place on the Gold Coast on Thursday 14 November 2019. The awards recognise the outstanding achievements of tourism businesses that service the backpacker, youth and adventure travel sector across Australia and New Zealand. Nominations close on Monday 5 August.

New guides for Chinese ADS visitors

Austrade have developed a series of free publications for tour guides that include information about 100 attractions across New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and English. Each of the locations were selected based on the fact that they are the most commonly visited by Approved Destination Scheme (ADS) tour groups. The ADS scheme allows Chinese tourists to travel to Australia in guided groups. The publications are available to download from the Austrade website.

Tenth Australian Outback Marathon

Voyages Ayers Rock Resort will play host to the tenth Australian Outback Marathon on 27 July 2019. More than 520 entrants from all over the world, including around 60 sponsored students from Indigenous communities, are set to pound the red dust with spectacular views of Uluru and Kata Tjuta. The event is open to people of all levels of running abilities, with a full Marathon and half Marathon, as well as 11km and 6km fun runs being staged. Along with attracting runners globally, the event aims to promote healthy living and engages with the local community, with the sponsored students receiving accommodation, meals, transport and entry to the race, thanks to the support of Voyages Indigenous Tourism Australia and Travelling Fit.

Australia welcomed a record 9.33 million international visitor arrivals for the year ending May 2019. The full suite of data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics can be found here.

Registration is open for Tourism & Events Queensland's Conversations with Industry events in Brisbane on Friday 2 August. Tourism Australia is taking part in the series providing updates on its international marketing activities and consumer insights.

Registration is open for the 2019 WA Regional Tourism Conference from 16 to 18 September in Karratha.

Registration is open for the DestinationQ 2019 Events Conference, which is a free event aimed at developing and enhancing events throughout Queensland.

Australian hotel investment and development company, Pro-Invest, has purchased a prime site in the new Maroochydore CBD, with plans to develop and operate the Holiday Inn Express brand. The 167 room hotel is scheduled to open at end of 2020.

Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) and the Association of Australian Convention Bureaux (AACB) is conducting the third Australian Workplace Skills Survey for the events industry. You can take the survey here.

The first Brisbane Women in Tourism event will take place on Thursday 8 August. The theme of the Leadership Lunch is Adapting to Change: insights on adjusting and thriving through changes in family, career and life.