Australia Marketplace South East Asia held in Kuala Lumpur

Tourism Australia is hosting Australia Marketplace South East Asia in Kuala Lumpur from 30 September to 2 October. Marketplace provides an opportunity for the Australian tourism industry to build relationships with South East Asian product planners and travel decision makers. Held for the first time in Malaysia, the event brings together over 80 buyer companies from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia with close to 80 Australian tourism businesses. This is the largest delegation of Australian tourism businesses to ever visit the market and comes off the back of the successful UnDiscover Australia campaign that was launched in September 2018. Collectively, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia bring over 1 million visitors to Australia each year who spend $3.6 billion.

Cricket experiences on show

With the new ICC T20 World Cup being hosted in Australia next year, cricket fans can look forward to two new cricket experiences - a bespoke tour of the Adelaide Oval and a behind the scenes tour of Melbourne Cricket Ground. The women’s tournament will run from 21 February to 8 March 2020 and the men's tournament will run from 18 October to 15 November 2020. Photo credit: Hiro Ishno Photography

Aussie Specialist Program wins Gold in the United States

Tourism Australia's Aussie Specialist Program has been awarded the Gold 2019 Magellan Award for Overall Education Program by a Travel Destination for the second year in a row. The Magellan Awards are presented by US Travel Weekly and are judged by top industry professionals. Gold and Silver awards are given to the best in the travel industry. This year the spotlight was on the US Aussie Specialist Ambassador activities and featured webinars, events and online platform training.

Australia has strong presence at Travel Industry Exchange

75 advisors from across the USA and Canada increased their Australia sales knowledge at the Travel Industry Exchange in New Orleans this month. As part of a panel session on “Niche Travel and Other Hot Trends”, Tourism Australia highlighted the Signature Experiences of Australia and the Aussie Specialist Program. The event also provided an opportunity for Tourism Australia to build relationships with travel advisors through one-to-one meetings and networking events.

Tourism Australia hosts Chinese influencers

Tourism Australia hosted a group of four influencers from China in New South Wales and Western Australia during September to showcase Australia’s lifestyle and wildlife. In New South Wales, they participated in the 2019 Blackmores Sydney Running Festival and visited the Blue Mountains. In Western Australia, they visited Caversham Wildlife Park as well as both Nambung National Park and Kalbarri National Park. They also participated in a tandem skydive over Rottnest Island.

Tourism Australia partners with tour operator to bring more Canadians down under

Tourism Australia and 5Continents met with 60 travel professionals and six international industry partners at a dinner presentation in Vancouver, Canada on 19 September 2019. The travel retailers learned about the services of a new inbound tour operator and their offerings across Australia for independent and group travel. Advisors left the evening with valuable insights and renewed enthusiasm for sending their clients Down Under.

Business Events Australia sponsors the C&IT Awards

Business Events Australia put Australia in front of key UK business events decision makers as the headline sponsor of the 2019 C&IT Awards. Held in London and attended by more than 600 guests, the awards recognised the work that was delivered by the business events industry in the UK. Australian activations during the night included a showing of Priscilla Queen of the Desert the Musical and a Four Pillars pop up gin bar.

TA says “Bienvenue en Australie” with media event in Montreal

French-speaking Canadian travel media attended a Tourism Australia event in Montreal last week where they received the latest news on Australia. Chef Jeremie Bastien of Monarque hosted the group to an Aussie-inspired lunch and spoke about his time living in Sydney and Melbourne, the Australian way of life and its influence on his cuisine. With increased accessibility from Canada and demand for new tourism experiences, Australia welcomed a record 191,000 Canadian visitors over a 12-month period ending in July, signifying an 11 per cent increase on the previous year.

India hosts first ever Premier Aussie Specialist famil

Tourism Australia, in collaboration with Tourism Western Australia, Tourism and Events Queensland, Visit Victoria and Visit Canberra, brought 14 agents from India to Australia in September for a famil. Agents split into two groups and visited Perth, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Canberra and Melbourne. Highlights from the first group included a visit to Margaret River and glamping at Sanctuary by Sirromet. Highlights from the second group included a visit to Montalto Winery and a site inspection of Jamala Wildlife Lodge. Agents were very impressed by the variety of tourism experiences on offer.

US planners experience Australia

Business Events Australia hosted six US business events planners on an educational visit to the Whitsundays and Sydney. Held in partnership with Arinex, The DMC Group and United Airlines, the educational provided planners with the opportunity to experience first-hand Australia’s business events offering, including the newly refurbished InterContinental Hayman Island Resort. The US is Australia's highest yielding market for business events, currently worth $800 million annually. Overall, international business events inject $5 billion into the Australian economy with over one million arrivals in the 12 months to March 2019.

Australian Ambassador to France meets with Aussie Specialist Ambassador

The French Aussie Specialist Ambassador, Mathieu Levrero, recently met with the Australian Ambassador to France, His Excellency Mr Brendan Berne. The Ambassador asked Mathieu about his working holiday in Australia in 2008, his favourite place in Australia, and what he thinks about the Australian way of life. Mathieu updated the Ambassador on his recent trip to Tropical North Queensland and the Red Centre.

World’s largest high-rise modular hotel officially opens in Perth, WA

The world’s largest high-rise modular hotel, the ibis Styles East Perth, has officially opened. The new 252 room hotel spans across 18 floors, beating the world’s tallest modular hotel in terms of number of rooms offered. With functionality at its core, the new hotel offers inter-connecting rooms, bunk beds, co-working spaces, a gym and a restaurant, and is styled to complement the hotel’s fresh, innovative and fun-loving brand. Located at the heart of the Perth Central Business District, ibis Styles East Perth is now taking bookings.

Homemade pasta and more at Pastore, VIC

Chef Restauranteur Scott Pickett is set to open doors to new Italian-inspired restaurant, Pastore, on November 1. Located at the Hotel Chadstone, Pastore — the Italian word for ‘shepherd’ — honours the area’s heritage as a farm pasture and orchard. From small plates to full tasting experiences, the menu by Pickett and Head Chef Mirco Speri features Italian cuisine with Australian references, with a focus on woodfire-fuelled cooking and handmade pasta. Only 20 minutes’ drive from Melbourne’s CBD, the all-day dining venue is welcoming guests for all occasions.

Indulge in The Longest Tasting at Bruny Island Long Weekend, TAS

Tasmania Walking Co. has announced The Longest Tasting to the Bruny Island Long Weekend program. In partnership with Effervescence Tasmania and Bruny Island Cheese Company, The Longest Tasting walking tours combine stunning natural scenery with local sparkling wine and gourmet produce. Running over four weekends in November, departure dates for Bruny Island Long Weekend - The Longest Tasting experience can be found online.

Discover Fraser Island in style with new luxury adventure tour, QLD

Discovery Adventure Group has launched new luxury private charters across Queensland’s Fraser Island. Guests on the all-inclusive day tour will be picked up from Noosa or Rainbow Beach in a luxury 200 Series Landcruiser Sahara, with helicopter transfers available for those seeking a first-class experience. Located off the coast of the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Island can be reached in less than five hours drive from both Rainbow Beach and Noosa.

Western Australia Industry Briefing

Tourism Australia is holding a free of charge industry briefing on Tuesday 8 October, alongside the upcoming Corroboree West event at the Perth Convention & Exhibition Centre. The briefing offers industry the opportunity to hear about Tourism Australia's strategic and creative direction as well as resources and support available for tourism businesses.

Australian Tourism Exchange 2020 (ATE20) applications open

Applications to attend the Australian Tourism Exchange 2020 (ATE20) are now open. Organised by Tourism Australia in partnership with Visit Victoria, ATE20 will take place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 10 to 14 May. The event will bring together Australian tourism businesses, tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world through a combination of scheduled business appointments and networking events. It also provides international travel buyers with the opportunity to experience Australia’s tourism offering first-hand through pre and post-event familiarisations.

Sydney and Coffs Harbour have taken out titles at the International Festivals and Events Association's 2019 World Festival and Event City Awards. Additionally, Destination NSW also received 10 Pinnacle Awards in multiple categories for its work on Vivid Sydney.

China Eastern Airlines is launching seasonal trials between Shanghai and Perth. There will be three flights a week for five weeks starting from 15 January 2020 over the peak Chinese New Year period.

Applications are now open for the Regional Tourism Attraction Loan Scheme in Tasmania. The Load Scheme provides low interest loans of up to $1 million for tourism operators to develop new products, experiences and attractions that will help grow the visitor economy in regional Tasmania.

The Field of Light Uluru exhibition is being extended indefinitely from its previous close date of 31 December 2020. The award-winning exhibition, located at Ayers Rock Resort, and has attracted more than 450,000 visitors to date.