Tourism Australia unveils Great Australian Airfare Sale v5

Tourism Australia has partnered with five airlines to launch the fifth version of the Great Australian Airfare Sale in the India market. The sale will capitalise on the recent ‘UnDiscover Australia’ campaign and coincide with India’s cricket tour of Australia. It will feature low-cost fares from Air Asia X, Air India, Jet Airways, Malaysia Airlines and Qantas Airways, as well as deals from 26 attractions and hotels from around Australia. India is Australia's eighth largest and fastest growing inbound tourism market, with more than 345,500 Indian tourists visiting our shores in the year ending September 2018.

Industry briefings now online

Tourism Australia has published recordings of industry briefings presentations given in Hobart and Adelaide on Friday 9 November. The briefings covered a range of topics including Tourism Australia’s strategic and creative direction, global market strategy and resources for tourism businesses.

Curtis Stone to promote Australian wine on new TV show

Friend of Australia and Los Angeles-based chef Curtis Stone was back in Australia last week, filming a new TV show that documents his culinary research trips around the world. One of his favourite discoveries? Australian wine! The series will air in the USA in 2019 and showcase the best produce, chefs and winemakers from Western Australia. Curtis and his team visited the Kimberley region, Perth and Margaret River, where they went mud crabbing with local Indigenous communities at Kooljaman and Cygnet Bay, met with local cheesemakers and beef farmers, surfed the breaks at Gas Bay, sampled organic and biodynamic wine at Cullen and attended the opening night of Margaret River’s Gourmet Escape Festival.

Mega Aussie Specialist training takes place in Central China

Tourism Australia’s Aussie Specialist team in China teamed up with China Eastern Airlines and a local travel agency, Wuhan Favor Tour, to hold a mega training session in Wuhan city on 13 November. More than 600 local travel agents attended the event, making it the biggest training delegation ever held in the city. During the session, China Eastern Airlines also introduced its new Wuhan-Sydney flight service. Feedback from the agents who attended has been extremely positive, and 400 new followers have since joined the WeChat account for Tourism Australia’s China Aussie Specialist Program.

Great Dundee inspired deals promoted in the USA

Timed with the launch of Dundee Visit the Set, many great deals have been hitting the US market. Tourism Australia has launched an Expedia campaign, alongside partners Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Northern Territory, Tourism Western Australia and South Australia Tourism Commission. The campaign includes Flight Tab takeovers and site placements driving to Expedia - Explore Australia and other dedicated state landing pages. Special offers from eight Dundee partners, which launched on Australia.com in October, will feature on Facebook this month. Tourism Australia has also teamed up with About Australia and Qantas Vacations, with campaigns including Travelzoo newsflashes to America’s eight top cities and a digital promotion with Oath and Sojern. Meanwhile, the low Qantas airfares have won attention in Conde Nast Traveler.

TA and Singapore Airlines to partner again on Corroboree West

Tourism Australia UK has confirmed that Singapore Airlines will be the official European airline partner for Corroboree West 2019, the annual training and familiarisation event for the Aussie Specialist Program. The event will be held in Perth from 8 to 11 October 2019, in partnership with Tourism WA. Details of how to register for the event will be announced in early 2019.

More state tourism winners announced

Many outstanding state tourism operators were recognised in gala award ceremonies held around the country last Friday and Saturday. Winners of the Queensland Tourism Awards, South Australian Tourism Awards, Tasmanian Tourism Awards and Brolga Northern Territory Tourism Awards joined recipients of the Western Australian Tourism Awards, who were announced on 10 November. Winners of the NSW Tourism Awards, Victorian Tourism Awards and Canberra Region Tourism Awards will be revealed this week. Tourism Australia is a proud sponsor of the State Tourism Awards and the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, which will be held on 1 March 2019 in Launceston, Tasmania.

Sirromet Wines added to Kylie Minogue’s Golden Tour

Australian pop princess Kylie Minogue will perform at Sirromet Wines vineyard in Queensland as part of her Australian Golden Tour on Sunday 17 March 2019. The Golden Tour marks Kylie’s first shows since 2015’s Kiss Me Once Tour and the performance at Sirromet as part of A Day On The Green marks her very first time performing outdoor headline concerts in Australia. Sirromet Wines is member of the Ultimate Winery Experiences located in Queensland’s Mount Cotton region, a short drive from Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

Gold Coast now home to world first voco hotel

The Gold Coast is now home to the world’s first voco branded luxury hotel representing IHG’s newest upscale hotel brand. The 389-room building is situated in the heart of Surfers Paradise and features two swimming pools, gym facilities, L’Aqua Day Spa, 800sqm of meeting space and expansive views of both the ocean and hinterland. Dining options include Waves, Clifford’s Grill and Lounge and Social House uniquely designed to offer a vibrant social experience without having to leave the hotel.

Three-in-One Cellar Door, Distillery and Brewery venue in the Adelaide Hills

Officially opening on December 8, Lot100 will become the largest new venue in the Adelaide Hills. A collaboration of four local companies, Mismatch Brewing, Hills Cider, Adelaide Hills Distillery and Ashton Valley Fresh, the multi-purpose complex includes a function centre, tasting room, restaurant, cellar door and amphitheatre. Only a short 35-minute drive from Adelaide’s city centre, Lot100 is now welcoming guests, functions and large-scale events.

Taste of Tasmania celebrates their 30th birthday into the new year

For the 30th year running, Taste of Tasmania festival will return to Hobart in December for a week-long celebration of local food, wine and festivities. The Culinary Kitchen Program is a festival highlight where Tasmania’s top chefs will host a variety of workshops, demonstrations and exclusive cooking classes. A vibrant program of emerging and established live music events will accompany the six-day festival from 28 December – 3 January and includes celebrations into the new year. Tickets are on sale now.

Arts prooves a key tourism driver

The arts are increasingly on the itinerary for visitors packing their suitcases to come to Australia, according to a new report from the Australia Council for the Arts: International Arts Tourism: Connecting Cultures. Arts tourist numbers grew by 47% between 2013 and 2017, a higher growth rate than for international tourist numbers overall (37%). Visitors from Asia were the biggest group of arts tourists, representing almost half (48%) of all international tourists engaged with the arts. Read the full release.

September International Visitor Arrivals

Visitor arrivals to Australia this September were up 4 per cent on the same period last year. In the year ending September 2018, there were 9.2 million visitor arrivals, a 5.6 per cent increase on the previous year. See the full report on the Tourism Australia website.

ATEC hits Darwin

More than 400 delegates have converged in Darwin this week for the 2018 Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) Meeting Place. It’s the first time Darwin and Tourism NT have hosted the event, which this year is themed 'Authentically Australian' and features Tourism Australia’s John O’Sullivan and Outback Wrangler Matt Wright among its speakers. Tourism NT hosted buyers on familiarisation sessions to Darwin and surrounds, Kakadu National Park, Arnhem Land, Mary River and the Katherine regions in the lead-up to the conference.

Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Australia have announced a new partnership approach to marketing Queensland in the UK and will more closely align the State and National Tourism Organisations’ strategic priorities from 1 January 2019.

Tourism Australia has published its annual report for 2017/18 outlining activities to foster a competitive and sustainable Australian tourism industry through partnership marketing in key international markets.

Tourism Australia has published video highlights from its India Travel Mission 2018 in August, which saw 75 Australian tourism businesses meet with 87 travel companies from Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Pune and Jaipur.

Tourism Australia has published a recording of a recent accessible tourism webinar, which looks at the market for travellers with accessibility needs or a disability and how to best communicate with them.

Applications are open until Friday 16 November for Tourism and Events Queensland's Queensland on Tour Greater China Mission from 5 – 8 March 2019.

Registration is open for the China Payment Expo: Unlocking the spend potential of Chinese Travellers in Cairns on 4 December.

Registration is now open for Victoria's International Exchange (VIE) on 5 December. VIE is an opportunity for the Victorian tourism industry to hear the latest international marketing intelligence from Visit Victoria’s overseas based Regional Managers.

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

Destination NSW’s collaborative marketing campaigns with Qantas and Singapore Airlines won gold, silver and bronze awards at the 2018 Marketing Excellence Awards in Singapore.

The Sunshine Coast will host the Queensland Tourism Awards for the first time ever. The event will be held at the new Novotel Twin Waters convention centre on 8 November 2019.

The Great Barrier Reef will be the star of a new campaign targeting European travellers. Tourism and Events Queensland will deliver the campaign in partnership with Tourism Tropical North Queensland, other Regional Tourism Organisations and Tourism Australia.