New website showcases Australian Tourism open for investment

Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, announced this week the launch of a new website to show global investors why there’s nothing like Australia for tourism investment. The new website, www.tourisminvestment.com.au, has been developed by Tourism Australia and Austrade who are working together to remove barriers and provide information and insights on tourism opportunities to demonstrate that Australian tourism is open for investment. Recognising the importance of the Chinese market, both in terms of visitation and investment potential, a simplified Chinese version of the website, www.tourisminvestment.com.au/zh, is also available. Minister Ciobo made the announcement in Singapore where he is leading an Australian trade delegation.

BuzzFeed Mateship applications close

Tourism Australia and BuzzFeed are sifting through 276 applications submitted for their partnership, #TheMateship, to find eight lucky young travellers from the UK, Germany, Italy and France to capture content from across Australia. The once-in-lifetime fellowship and travel program will uncover some of the most unique, eye-opening and breathtaking experiences available to youth travelers across Australia.

Young Singaporeans encouraged to take up new work and holiday visa

Two of the first successful applicants for a new temporary work and holiday visa for young Singaporeans were congratulated at a ceremony today by Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP. Deborah Yap, Amira Rahmat and Ryan Kieran Tan will have the opportunity to holiday and work in Australia for up to a year under the new visa which was opened for applications on 1 August. The temporary visa is aimed at encouraging closer economic and cultural ties between the two counties as part of a range of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP) initiatives. In 2016, the number of Singaporeans visiting Australian rose by 11 per cent to 383,000 and they spent a record $1.4 billion. Of those, almost 100,000 were youth travellers aged between 15 and 30 years of age.

Biggest ever India Travel Mission wraps up in Pune

Seventy representatives from the Australian tourism industry attended Tourism Australia’s 15th annual India Travel Mission (ITM) in Pune from 16 to 19 August. The event provided a opportunity to establish business relationships with 88 key qualified travel agencies and tour operators from India, including the main cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad and Pune. ITM17 included pre-scheduled meetings between buyers and sellers, and opportunities to network at the official event functions. ITM is now held annually due to growing interest and awareness in travel to Australia from India and growth in tourist arrivals.

Michael Clarke joins Tourism Australia’s global ambassador program

Australia's former cricket test captain was announced as a Friend of Australia during Tourism Australia’s 15th annual India Travel Mission in Pune last week. Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, said Clarke was a perfect fit to promote Australia to cricket-mad Indians. “He’s driven fours and sixes down the pitch, now he will help drive tourists Down Under,” Minister Ciobo said . “He’s a star in India. Clarke will resonate with this important market and show them why there is nothing like Australia." India is a growing and important tourism market for Australia expected to be worth $1.9 billion to the Australian economy by 2020.

Australia on show to premium North American agents at Virtuoso Travel Week

Australia’s premium and adventure experiences were showcased to hundreds of North American travel agents specialising in bespoke, high-quality itineraries at the Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas this month. Tourism Australia was joined at the event by representatives from each Australian state and territory as well as 15 premium tourism products from around the country. Appointments were held with over 600 Virtuoso Travel Advisors and 100 advisors also attended a dedicated training seminar on active adventure travel opportunities Down Under. Over the last year, Tourism Australia has grown its partnership with Virtuoso which helped the agency earn a nomination for Tourism Board of the Year and an award for Most Engaged Tourist Board in North America presented at the event.

Malaysian arrivals reach record highs amid ongoing campaign activity

Tourism Australia’s campaign activity with airlines and key distribution partners in Malaysia alongside major broadcast projects has helped boost bookings for Australia to record levels despite a challenging aviation environment. Australian Bureau of Statistics data for the year ending June 2017 show Malaysian arrivals into Australia exceeded the 400,000 mark for the first time, a 13.3% increase year-on-year. Tourism Australia's consumer demand research shows Malaysian travellers choose a destination based on family friendly attractions, world-class nature and friendly and open citizens. March, May, June, November and December are the peak travel months for Malaysian consumers, with lead times typically falling between three to six months.

Australia Zoo welcomes its first white koala joey

An incredibly rare, white koala joey has been born at Australia Zoo and is now out of her mother’s pouch, allowing guests to catch a glimpse. Different to albinism, her extremely pale colouration is caused by a rare recessive gene. Australia Zoo and Tourism Australia are calling for name suggestions via their Facebook album and the new Joey has drawn extensive media coverage at home and abroad.

Perth’s coolest new hotels to suit modern travellers

With 20 new or redeveloped hotels opening since 2012, Perth’s newest hotels offer an experience designed to suit modern travellers including Alex Hotel, created by the founders of local microbrewery Little Creatures; Tribe, rethinking communal spaces; and The World’s Second Best Hotel, Como The Treasury.

Picnic Island launches the Ultimate Freycinet Adventure

The Ultimate Freycinet Adventure Picnic Island, in partnership with kayak tour operator Freycinet Adventures, is launching a new tour for the 2017/2018 season. With Picnic Island as the base camp, this hosted experience includes wildlife experiences, kayaking, walking and boat tours over four days and three nights.

Countdown to Whitsunday Clipper Race Carnival begins

On 20 August, The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race set sail from the UK on an epic 11-month voyage. The Whitsundays is the official host port for the final stop of the race’s Australian leg, from 13-19 January 2018. The stopover will be complemented by a region-wide festival of entertainment and activities for sailors, spectators and the local community.

Dreamtime 2017

Registrations are open until Friday 25 August for Australian Industry to participate in Dreamtime 2017, Tourism Australia’s signature business events showcase. Held every two years in a different Australian destination, the Dreamtime program consists of business to business sessions between Australian industry and international incentive agents. Presented in partnership with the Brisbane Convention Bureau, Dreamtime 2017 will take place from 3 to 6 December in Queensland’s state capital.

Walkabout Japan 2018

Seller applications will open in early September for Walkabout Japan 2018 to be held from 27 February – 1 March in Karuizawa, 70 minutes by fast train from Tokyo. Walkabout Japan is Tourism Australia’s premier trade event for Australian tourism businesses to engage with key Japanese travel agencies from Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka. Thirty Australian tourism businesses will be selected to represent cross-section of Australian experiences that are attractive to the Japanese market. State, Territory and Regional Tourism organisations will also attend.

World Youth and Student Travel Conference 2017

Tourism Australia is inviting Australian businesses either who are either confirmed to attend or interested in attending the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC 2017) from 26 – 29 September in Montreal to participate on the Australia stand. WYSTC is the leading trade event for the global youth, student and educational travel industry and the Australia stand will feature a variety of meeting spaces surrounded by exciting and inspiring Australia imagery. Businesses that are interested should contact Tourism Australia’s Industry Relations Manager Kristy Carstairs.

Internationale Tourismus Borse 2018        

Seller applications are open until 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.

Five ways luxury travel is changing

Luxury travellers are aligning their experiences with more personal values to fulfil their dreams according to Sabre's The Future of Luxury Travel report. The report details five key areas impacting customers’ future preferences for accommodation and experiences including: wellness tourism; low key luxury; guilt-free decadence; luxury on demand; and bespoke experiences. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

China Destination Development Mission

Expressions of interest are open until Friday 25 August for Australian businesses to join Austrade’s first-ever Destination Development Mission to China. The mission will be of interest to Australian tourism consultants, education and training providers, hotel and other operators looking to deliver goods and services into China. It will provide opportunities to engage with government officials, industry players and customers as well as opportunities for business matching, networking events and participation in the Australian Tourism Education showcase.

Registration is open for the Tourism Marketing Rockstar Convention in Sydney on Thursday 14 September.

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

Registration is open for the TTF 2017 Leadership Summit in Canberra on Wednesday 13 September.

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

Registration is open for the Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Victoria Summit 2017 Forum on Tuesday 22 August in Melbourne.

Registration is open for the DestinationQ 2017 Events Conference on Wednesday 30 August in Toowoomba.

Registration is open for the 2017 WA Regional Tourism Conference on Monday 11 to Wednesday 13 September in Albany.

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.

Jetstar will re-commence two flights between Melbourne and Zhengzhou, China from December.

Business Events Sydney (BESydney) has announced the appointment of new Chair, Bruce Baird AM, effective from 1 September.

Tourism WA has published profiles for each of WA's key international markets based on Tourism Research Australia's International Visitor Survey.

Melbourne will host the Lions Clubs International Convention 2024 at MCEC, the largest cultural conference ever held in Victoria with 13,000 Lions Club members from around the globe expected to attend the five-day annual event.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced this week that Vivid Sydney 2018 will be held from 25 May to 16 June. Vivid Sydney 2017 attracted 247,712 national and international visitors, an increase of around 35 per cent on 2016.

Tourism NT has published a new one minute video, A Journey Through Kakadu , featuring drone footage of Kakadu National Park that gives viewers a stunning bird's eye view of the park.

The NT Government has released a concept video of what Darwin could look like in the future.

Tourism Western Australia will reprioritise $2 million to drive tourist visitation through Western Australia’s gateway city, Perth.

The Tourism Industry Council Tasmania is running a six-week television and social media campaign to raise awareness of the role of tourism in the Tasmanian economy and showcase the many ways Tasmanians contribute to a world class tourism industry.