Tourism Australia and Air India sign a 3-year MoU to boost visitor growth from India

Tourism Australia and Air India have signed a three-year marketing agreement to sustain and drive the positive trend in Indian visitor arrivals to Australia as Air India expands its presence in the market. Under the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), Tourism Australia and Air India will explore opportunities to jointly undertake and implement marketing activities to showcase Australia’s world-class appeal and drive future growth in visitation. Air India currently operates 17 weekly non-stop flights connecting India and Australia. In the year to August 2024, the airline transported over 170,000 Indian travellers, securing a 18.5% market share and remains one of the largest carrier of traffic from India to Australia.

Australia Hosts Singapore celebrity couple for luxury cover shoot in New South Wales

From 8 to 12 November, Tourism Australia and Destination New South Wales hosted celebrity couple Joanne Peh and Qi Yuwu, accompanied by a media crew from luxury magazine ICON Singapore, for a cover shoot in New South Wales. The popular actors and the magazine’s editor-in-chief embarked on an experiential journey across Sydney / Warrane, Central Coast and Hunter Valley, photographing iconic locations as well as uncovering experiences such as in-water seafood feasting at Sydney Oyster Farm and picnicking at Audrey Wilkinson Vineyard. The feature will be published in January/February 2025.

Australia shines in global awards

Australia continues to shine in global travel accolades, winning Best Country in the World for the third consecutive year at the 2024 Wanderlust Travel Awards in London. The awards, which celebrate top travel brands, operators, and destinations are decided by more than 160,000 Wanderlust magazine readers. In addition, Tourism Australia also triumphed at the 2024 Travvy Awards, winning the Best Tourism Board, South Pacific award for the fourth year in a row. The Travvy Awards, which celebrate excellence in the travel industry, are determined by votes from travel professionals. Australia also claimed a silver award for Best Destination, South Pacific. Meanwhile, Tourism Australia's digital efforts were recognised with a Gold Award for Best Travel Show on Digital at the Adgully ScreenXX Awards 2024 in India. The mini travelogue series Unravel Australia, featuring Ayush Mehra, has a reach of over 9 million viewers across food channel – Gobble on YouTube and Instagram, further boosting awareness and interest in the destination, particularly among high-yielding travellers.

Tourism Australia kicks off broadcast campaign in Texas

This month, Tourism Australia off a OneVoice broadcast campaign with Good Morning Texas, a priority broadcast platform in the market. In partnership with Visit Canberra, Tourism and Events Queensland, Visit Victoria, and Tourism Northern Territory, the campaign kicked off with Tourism Australia’s dedicated segment aired on 10 November. State partner segments will run one per week through mid-December, discussing different experiences and providing a national overview on Australia’s diverse offerings across food, wine, wildlife, and iconic national landmarks. The campaign was secured following increased aviation capacity out of Dallas Fort Worth International Airport to Brisbane / Meanjin with American Airlines, complementing existing services on Qantas to Melbourne / Narrm and Sydney / Warrane. The entire campaign is expected to reach more than 1.3 million viewers. Find a link to the first segment here.

DIAMIR Globetrottertage

Tourism Australia, with Tourism and Events Queensland, Destination New South Wales, Tourism Western Australia, South Australian Tourism Commission, Tourism Northern Territory and selected Australian regions and products partnered as a OneVoice activity to become lead destinations for the Globetrottertage 2024 in Dresden, Germany, with key distribution partner Diamir. With more than 6,500 visitors over the weekend earlier in November the event was a great success and was also supported with various marketing activities in the lead up to the event. Additionally, Tourism Australia held an Aussie breakfast prior to the event and updated local travel agents on Australia.

Romantic New South Wales features in Harper’s Bazaar Singapore spread

In the latest issue of Harper’s Bazaar Singapore, New South Wales features in a colourful four-page editorial written by the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Kenneth Goh. His trip was hosted by Tourism Australia in August as part of the International Media Hosting Program. The spread paints a romantic picture of the New South Wales region, reviewing the luxurious stays at The Lodges and Bells at Killcare in Bouddi National Park, as well as Capella Sydney; alongside immersive experiences such as a Welcome Ceremony and Cultural Tour with Girri Girra Aboriginal Experiences and a guided hike of Maitland Bay with Elixir Journeys.

Tourism Australia and Emirates team up to offer key distribution partners a grand slam experience at the Nitto ATP finals

On 13 November, Tourism Australia and Emirates hosted five top tour operator partners for an exclusive experience at the Nitto ATP finals in Turin, within the Emirates Lounge. Following Jannik Sinner's Australian Open victory in Melbourne / Narrm earlier this year, the group reunited to celebrate the tennis fever that seamlessly links Australia and Italy, cheering on the players who embody this international connection. This event was part of an ongoing effort to strengthen relationships with key partners, building anticipation for the upcoming 2025 Australian Open and the thrilling experiences for tourists and tennis fans.

Australia’s coastline glows in the heart of Paris

In collaboration with Indigenous artist Salty One, Tourism Australia brought a new addition to the Australian Embassy building in Paris - a stunning banner of his artwork. This piece of art, titled Sunset Lovers, showcases captivating sand art created along the Boonwurrung coastline of Rye, Victoria and captured through drone photography. It brings a unique blend of nature and artistry to the heart of Paris, revealing the intricate detail of the artwork and Salty One’s deep connection to country. With around 19,000 people passing by daily, right beside the Eiffel Tower, the banner serves as a warm invitation to Parisians and visitors from around the world to experience the vibrant spirit of Australia and its rich cultural heritage.

Register to attend Destination Australia 2025

Tourism Australia will host the annual Destination Australia conference on Wednesday 19 March 2025 at the International Convention Centre Sydney (ICC Sydney). This year, with a theme of ‘We are the Australian tourism industry’ the future evolution and growth of our sector, will be the focus of the day. At the event, industry leaders will share insights and updates, we will explore how we can continue to evolve the depth and breadth of our tourism offerings, and we will look again to how we collaborate to ensure the sustainable growth of our sector. As always, a range of topics will be covered from aviation to marketing trends, future distribution landscape to agritourism, and so much more! Find out more and register here.

New data dashboard to track tourism growth

A new data dashboard that measures the progress of Australia’s tourism industry across a range of economic, environmental, social and institutional indicators has been launched today. The new LIVE Framework (Longitudinal Indicators for the Visitor Economy) will enable the value of tourism to our regions and communities across Australia to be quantified for the first time. The Framework is an interactive, user-friendly tool which gives businesses, organisations and governments access to timely and accurate information, enabling them to make earlier and better-informed commercial and program decisions. View the LIVE Framework developed by Tourism Research Australia here.

Take a seat at Sydney / Warrane’s new seafood dining experience

Sailmaker Restaurant at Hyatt Regency Sydney has launched its new Kitchen Table - a thoughtfully sourced, multi-course dining concept and the restaurant’s most indulgent and educational seafood experience yet. The immersive gastronomic journey celebrates seasonal flavours and local producers, highlighting the restaurant’s sustainable ethos. The exclusive experience is a blend of fine dining and family-style in an intimate ten-seat setting along the Sailmaker kitchen, providing a glimpse into preparation techniques and inspiration behind each dish. Reserve a seat at the Sailmaker Kitchen Table by making a booking online.

The extension of TIME • RONE into 2025

The Art Gallery of Western Australia (AGWA) has announced the extension of TIME • RONE on show in AGWA’s historic Centenary Galleries building until 2 February 2025. Step into a moment suspended in time and get lost in an immersive art experience like no other. A multi-sensory installation excavating meaning from the everyday, TIME • RONE projects onto a grand scale the lifelong search for beauty in decay. From the mind of the ingenious and awarded multi-disciplinary artist Rone, the exhibition blends soundscape, mural and installation to ask questions about what we leave behind and honours the otherwise forgotten. Journey deeper into TIME with the TIME • RONE bar and dining experiences, for the serious lovers of great art, food and entertainment.

Rendezvous Film Club returns with a blockbuster line up and panoramic views

Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough is rebooting its popular outdoor rooftop cinema from 5 December 2024 to 1 March 2025 with a blockbuster lineup and snacks and sips to accompany. This Christmas, movie-buffs can enjoy an extended festive program of seasonal classics like Die Hard, Home Alone, Love Actually and more. While summer sees cult favourites hit the big screen every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, from nostalgic rom coms to thrilling actions and cherished family favourites. Start the evening at the Club Lounge with a curated cocktails and delicious dumpling pairings, then head to the sky-high open-air cinema on Level 24 to enjoy a nostalgic film lineup with the backdrop of the Indian Ocean. View the Rendezvous Film Club lineup and purchase tickets here.

The Sunshine Coast’s premier culinary festival returns in 2025

Queensland’s Sunshine Coast will host 90 delicious events over 10 days from 25 July to 3 August 2025 in The Curated Plate Food and Drink Festival. Peter Kuruvita returns to The Curated Plate as Culinary Director, bringing over 40 years of experience as a chef, restaurateur, author, TV presenter, tour leader, and spice merchant. Expect a mouth-watering program that showcases the best of the region’s local produce, restaurants, chefs, craft brewers and distillers, set against the backdrop of the Sunshine Coast’s stunning ocean and Hinterland landscapes. Other events in the mix include a Mooloolaba seafood festival, a twilight market of top producers, degustation dinners, farm tours, brewery events and many more. Foodies, mark your calendars and find out more on the official website here.