Essentials this week… | SQ Japan campaign | TA Events in TAS | Germany roadshow | US publicity | Industry updates in Canada | and more…

Two hundred front line travel agents in four German cities – Essen, Wuerzburg, Stuttgart and Constance – were updated on Australia’s diverse regions and the Aussie Specialist Program at the “Australien on Tour” roadshow last week. Melbourne singer and songwriter Joel Havea performed for the agents during welcome drinks and dinner receptions and in Constance the event was held on a cruise boat on the lake. The well-regarded roadshow was hosted by Tourism Australia along with seven Australian States and Territories and airline partner Singapore Airlines.

Australia’s profile is riding high in the US with coverage in a number of leading publications and through the co-hosting of a prestigious culinary event. Travel + Leisure has featured the Great Barrier Reef as its October cover issue and also covered Crocodile Dundee’s 30th anniversary which was Tweeted to the publication’s 2.5 million Twitter followers. Other media wins include a New York Times magazine feature on stunning voyages by photographers and a National Geographic feature on Melbourne's hip neighborhoods. In New York, the focus on Australia continued with three nights of three 'Aussie Young Guns' (Photo credit: @Convicts) at the Chefs Club attended by consumers, media and business events buyers.

Sixty-five guests including Premier Aussie Specialist agents and travel partners attended a Tourism Australia industry update in Toronto last week. As well as hearing the latest news about Australian tourism, guests were able to experience some of Australia’s unique aquatic and coastal experiences through virtual reality headsets. The event follows a recent consumer pop-up in Vancouver co-hosted by Air New Zealand. Air Canada’s Vancouver to Brisbane service, which launched in June, and extra flights by Air New Zealand and Qantas contributed to a robust 17.3 per cent increase in Canadian arrivals in July 2016 compared with the same month the previous year.

Australia’s luxury experiences and destinations created a buzz at International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) Americas in Mexico from 25-29 September. Tourism Australia sponsored the key luxury travel conference where more than 15,000 tailor made business appointments are conducted over four days. Tourism Australia’s premium sector manager Dave Evans presented at the Destination Seminar and met with key luxury travel advisors and executives from North and South America in nearly 80 appointments of 15 minutes each. For further information on ILTM contact Dave Evans.

In line with Tourism Australia’s Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) partnership, TA was a sponsor of the ATTA's Adventure Travel World Summit in Alaska last week, a gathering of 850 adventure tour operators, buyers, agents and media from around the world. Australian adventures were promoted through one-on-one meetings with international buyers media, the Australia Adventure Advocate Group and a closing presentation featuring a video showcasing great experiences Down Under. Tourism Australia attended the 2016 Adventure Travel World Summit alongside Great Walks of Australia and five Australian state tourism organisations. Contact Sarah Postler for details on Tourism Australia’s ATTA partnership and find out more here.

Seller applications are open for next year’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE17) to be held at the International Convention Centre Sydney from 14 to 18 May. ATE is Australia’s largest annual travel and tourism business-to-business event. It provides a forum for Australian tourism businesses to promote their products directly to tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world through scheduled business appointments and networking events. Buyer applications will open on Tuesday 18 October. Find out more and apply.

Tourism Australia will host free-of-charge industry briefings in Adelaide on Thursday 10 November and in Sydney on Tuesday 15 November. The briefings will involve senior executives from Tourism Australia providing an update on current and future activity and sharing research and insights from key international markets. Registration is open now.

The Australian business events industry is being encouraged to consider exhibiting on the Australia stand at IMEX Frankfurt, held from 16 to 18 May 2017. IMEX Frankfurt is one of the key trade shows for business events and hosts buyers from the conference, convention and corporate events industries. For more information, see the IMEX Frankfurt 2016 infographic or contact bea@tourism.australia.com. Registrations close on Tuesday 20 December 2016.

New experiences are far more appealing than the comfort of organised tours for Asia's millennial travellers according to a recent survey of over 900 people in China, India, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea. Over half (61 per cent) of respondents indicated they are looking for a custom experience when sightseeing compared to 38 per cent who prefer a packaged, group-led tour. Nearly 80 per cent said they want to visit somewhere they have not visited before while 77 per cent say they choose destinations where they can do new activities and experiences. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel, visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.