Dundee a hit with American travel advisors

Tourism Australia’s Dundee-inspired campaign was a massive hit among 130 top American and Canadian travel advisors at Global Travel Marketplace (GTM) in Florida last month. From 12-14 July Tourism Australia held 52 one-on-one appointments and four boardroom-style presentations on “Why Australia”. GTM also provided an opportunity for Tourism Australia to train and build relationships with these influential travel advisors, who each make a minimum of USD $1 million in annual sales, as well as increasing engagement with the Aussie Specialist Program.

Most Innovative Companies 2018

Tourism Australia has been recognised on the Australian Financial Review's list of Most Innovative Companies in Australia and New Zealand again this year. Tourism Australia was recognised for using innovative technologies to personalise information and offers on Australia.com as part of its Dundee-inspired campaign to stimulate the US market.

Fun quiz in China connects travels preferences with special offers

Tourism Australia partnered with one of China’s top news and lifestyle content platforms, Qdaily, last week on a personality quiz that matched participants personalities and travel preferences with fun Australian animal characters. Launched during Chinese summer holidays over 250,000 users participated in the quiz in the first two days. After answering five questions, users were matched with one of four Australia animal caricatures: Happy Koala, Foodie Wombat, Instagramable Quokka and a Water Friendly Platypus. Once they had completed the quiz they were then directed to Australia.cn for travel offers relevant to their preferences.

Ultimate Winery Experiences of Australia shared with US media

Select Los Angeles media, including the LA Times and Forbes, were treated to an intimate wine tasting with Virginia Willcock, award-winning Chief Winemaker of Margaret River's Vasse Felix, at an event hosted by Tourism Australia and Tourism Western Australia last week. Virginia spoke to the guests about the Margaret River region and the Ultimate Winery Experiences of Australia. Food and wine remains a key theme for travellers from America when selecting a destination to travel to next. Ultimate Winery Experiences of Australia is one of the collectives of the Signature Experiences of Australia program, which packages and promotes Australia’s outstanding tourism experiences within a variety of niche areas and special interest categories.

2019 Bledisloe Cup clash at Optus Stadium in Perth

One of the biggest events in world sport, the Bledisloe Cup, will be played at the Optus Stadium to an expected sell-out crowd on 10 August 2019. General public tickets to the highly anticipated event will go on sale on 26 October and are expected to be snapped up for what will be the only time the Wallabies and All Blacks play each other on Australian soil in 2019. Photo: John Young.

Google Street view of NT Parks

Tourists will be inspired to visit the Northern Territory's parks following the release of never-before-seen panoramic Google Street View footage of seven NT parks. The footage provides 360-degree views of the stunning landscapes and will help travellers plan a trip to the NT.

Orange Wine Festival, 12-21 October

Now in its 13th year, the Orange Wine Festival includes more than 90 events, from wine tours and tastings, paddock to plate dinners and meet the maker masterclasses. The festival brings together more than 80 vineyards and 30 cellar doors from picturesque Orange in NSW and its local villages of Blayney and Cabonne.

Hamilton Island Race Week, 18 - 25 August

Over 250 yachts from Australia and around the world have six days to weave their way around the island courses during the Hamilton Island Race Week later this month. The largest sailing regatta in the Southern Hemisphere and one of the hottest events on both the sporting and social calendar, also features more than 100 on-shore and race-based events, including food markets, cocktail parties and beachside yoga.  

Internationale Tourismus Börse 2019

Applications are open until Friday 21 September for Australian tourism businesses to join to the Australia stand at the Internationale Tourismus Börse 2019 (ITB19) in Berlin from 6 to 10 March 2019. A wide range of participation options are available, such as sole and share booth options, and day passes for the trade days. ITB 2019 is a five-day event, open to trade and consumers. Wednesday 6 March to Friday 8 March are trade and press-only days. Saturday 9 March and Sunday 10 March are open to the general public. In 2018 ITB hosted 10,000 exhibitors and attracted 196,000 visitors of which 120,000 were trade.

Advance Program applications

Applications are open until 5pm on Friday 10 August for Tourism Australia’s Advance Program which supports marketing activity to increase international consideration and visitation by international business events. The program offers the Australian business events industry the opportunity to leverage Tourism Australia’s international marketing expertise. Business events that align with the Australian Government’s trade and investment priority sectors will be highly considered during assessment of applications. The Advance Program Prospectus outlines the eligibility criteria and application details.

A $1 million marketing campaign promoting the Margaret River region will run across TV, cinema, digital and social media channels this month targeting visitors from Sydney and Melbourne.

Backpackers are being encouraged to experience an Endless Summer in the NT through a new multi-million-dollar campaign launched last week.

The Queensland Government has launched a $36 million Growing Tourism Infrastructure Fund as well as a $48 million Attracting Tourism Fund to facilitate tourism growth and increase the state’s share of international visitation.

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) will spearhead a new program to support and educate Australian wine businesses in marketing themselves to international visitors following a successful bid to develop a Wine Tourism Capability Building program.

The Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience has recently published the Safe and Healthy Crowded Places Handbook containing national principles to support safety and healthy in crowds, from transport hubs to major events.

Applications are open until Friday 14 September for the Australian Regional Tourism Emerging Tourism Professionals program, open to tourism professionals aged 30 and under who are working in the tourism industry in regional Australia or in a role that primarily focuses on regional tourism.

Registration is open for The Exchange to be held on Tuesday 11 September at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. The Exchange is the new name for the Melbourne Tourism Industry Exchange and embraces the inclusion of Greater Melbourne and regional destinations and products.

The next funding round of the Queensland Destination Events Program is open until Wednesday 10 October.

Registration is open for Destination NSW’s half-day Tourism Manager Forums in Port Macquarie, Griffith, Newcastle, Dubbo, Yass, Kingscliff and Jervis Bay offering advice on support and resources for NSW tourism businesses.

Visit Victoria has launched a new regional marketing campaign, Your Happy Space, aimed at encouraging Melburnians to venture to Victoria’s regions.

Submissions are open until Friday 31 August for the Queensland Tourism Industry Council's Prize for Innovation in Tourism.

Registration is open for ATEC Meeting Place 2018 which will take place from 19-21 November in Darwin.

The South Australian Tourism Industry Council and the State’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon David Ridgway MLC, will continue to deliver Meet the Minister industry events in August to discuss tourism and the South Australian visitor economy.

Entries are open until Sunday 30 September the first Destination Gold Coast Content Awards to celebrate the best of digital and social storytelling from the region. #DGCCA #WeAreGoldCoast

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