Signature Experiences showcased to British trade and media

Tourism Australia hosted two events in London last week to update luxury travel sellers and media on Tourism Australia’s premium strategy and the Signature Experiences of Australia program. On Tuesday around 100 premium travel advisors attended presentations at Australia House from 12 of the Luxury Lodges of Australia as well as updates from other Signature Experiences of Australia. The following day, 14 luxury travel journalists attended a lunch at Australian chef Skye Gyngell’s restaurant Spring in Somerset House. The events also provided an opportunity to introduce Tourism Australia’s new Regional General Manager for the UK, Sally Cope, to these influential contacts.

ATE19 seller applications closing

Applications close this Friday, 14 September, for Australian tourism businesses to participate in the 40th annual Australian Tourism Exchange in Perth from 8 - 12 April 2019. Around 1,500 Australian seller delegates from approximately 550 companies attend the event which will include a mix of business appointments and networking opportunities.

Gold Coast scores major international sports convention

The Gold Coast has been selected as the destination for the SportAccord World Sport and Business Summit from 5-10 May 2019 thanks to a successful bid from Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Australia, Gold Coast City Council and Destination Gold Coast. The global sports convention will bring more than 1,500 representatives from up to 100 countries, representing 500 different international sports federations, rights holders, organising committees, cities, media, businesses and other sporting organisations. Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham congratulated the Gold Coast for securing the rights to host the event. “Whilst the Gold Coast is well known as a holiday destination, its world-class facilities also make it an attractive destination for major business events,” Minister Birmingham said.

Hong Kong trade partners taste Eyre Peninsula in South Australia

Twenty influential trade partners in Hong Kong got a taste of the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia at an event last week with Port Lincoln chef Kris Bunder. Hosted by Tourism Australia and the South Australia Tourism Commission with representatives from Singapore Airline and Qantas, Chef Bunder demonstrated two of his signature dishes and spoke to the group about tourism experiences in the region including shark cage diving and swimming with the sealions. Chef Bunder is heavily involved in the local Eyre Peninsula community and holds a very strong commitment, passion and understanding of the seafood and tourism industries.

Australia has strong presence at US consortia owners’ event

Tourism Australia met with over 50 influential North American travel agency owners, managers, and partners at the Signature Travel Network Owners' Meeting in Florida last week. As sponsors of the event, Tourism Australia also presented to over 400 attendees at the meeting on the Aussie Specialist Program and upcoming campaign activity with the Signature Travel Network for 2018/19. The Signature Travel Network reaches 7,000 travel advisors which now boasts over 500 qualified Aussie Specialists, an increase of more than 400 per cent since the Aussie Specialist Program was relaunched three years ago.

Australia connecting with next generation of American travel advisors

Australia made a great impact on the next generation of American travel sellers last week at the inaugural Future Leaders in Travel Retreat in Aspen, Colorado. The unconventional conference was designed to tap into the travel industry's millennial generation, ages 22-37, who assist clients of all ages. An engaging Australian themed BBQ lunch got the travel professionals excited to sell Australia and learn more about the benefits of the Aussie Specialist Program. Tourism Australia also gained valuable insight from the travel advisors who increasingly make themselves available to clients through social media. Adventure, cruising, solo and sustainable tourism are strong growth areas for these agents who are looking to better understanding what Australia has to offer in these areas.

White Night program brings excitement to Geelong in October

Geelong will be the third and final regional centre to host the White Night event in 2018, following the success of Bendigo and Ballarat earlier in the year. The White Night program will bring the city’s streetscape and rich history to life transforming streets, laneways, parks and the foreshore. Colourful projections, wonderous installations, music performances and interactive works will play a tribute to the region’s maritime and indigenous heritage and will be open to explore on October 13 from 7pm to the early hours of 2am.

Atura Adelaide Airport Hotel officially opens

Atura Adelaide Airport Hotel has officially opened this week and will be the first hotel in Australia to directly link to the main domestic and international terminal of a capital city airport. Built with design at its core, the new hotel offers business and leisure travellers comfort and convenience without sacrificing stylish design. The seven-storey hotel includes a restaurant Hangar Bar & Grill, the Meeting Point Café and 165 spacious and contemporary guest rooms with the option of runway or city views.

Tasmania’s Three Capes Lodge Walk offers a new era of conservation-based tourism

The Great Walks of Australia has welcomed the Three Capes Track to the collection, launched by Tasmanian Walking Company this week. The experience has been designed in parallel with the opening of two private ‘simple yet sustainable’ eco-lodges, Crescent Lodge and Cape Pillar Lodge situated within the Tasman National Park. The four-day 46km walk is a fully guided and all-inclusive experience of the ‘edge of the world’ Three Capes Track, where walkers explore and learn about history of the Tasman Peninsula and the Southern Ocean along the way.

Bondi’s iconic costal walk transformed with the return of Sculpture by the Sea

Sculpture by the Sea returns to Sydney’s eastern beaches from 18 October – 4 November 2018. From Bondi Beach to Tamarama Beach, the world’s largest free to the public sculpture expedition will delight coastal-walkers offering an immersive and creative atmosphere to the popular route. The spectacular walk is transformed into a 2km long sculpture park over three weeks, featuring 100 sculptures by artists from Australia and across the world.

Internationale Tourismus Börse 2019

Applications are open until Friday 21 September for Australian tourism businesses to join 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. ITB19 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.

Andrew McEvoy has been appointed as Chairman of the Tourism and Transport Forum National Advisory Board.

Qantas began operating the first ever direct service between Melbourne and San Francisco on 1 September. The airline will operate four return flights per week on the route with the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

The South Australian Tourism Commission has announced it will suspend its India operations from 30 September and consumer marketing for India will be driven out of the Adelaide office under the direction of the Manager, Eastern Hemisphere.

Brodie Carr has been appointed as Tourism Western Australia’s new Managing Director for a five-year term and will start in the role on Monday 8 October.

The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) is holding Growing Wine Tourism workshops and webinars in October and November to assist wine businesses across the country to engage with the growing international tourist market.

The NSW Government had partnered with the Regional Strategic Alliance to fund a new campaign encouraging tourists to ‘stay a little longer’ in the regions of Penrith, the Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury.

Event organisers across rural and regional NSW holding events between January and June 2019, are encouraged to apply for the NSW Government’s Flagship Event Fund which opened this week.

Applications are open until 21 September for the second round of funding from the NSW Regional Growth Environment and Tourism Fund.

Nominations are open until 24 September for the RACQ People's Choice Category at the 2018 Queensland Tourism Awards to be held on Friday 16 November at The Star Gold Coast.

Registration is open for the Australian Regional Tourism Convention (ARTC) 2018 to be held in the Tweed from 23-25 October.

Registration is open for the Ecotourism Australia one day Masterclass in Cairns on 11 September and the Global Eco Asia Pacific Tourism Conference in Townsville on 26-28 November.

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

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

Registration is open for travel business and investment conference Travel IQ on Wednesday 24 October in Sydney.

Registration is open for the Bicycle Tourism and the Australian Walking and Cycling conferences from 26-30 October in Bendigo, Victoria.

Registration is open for the Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference to be held in Lorne, Victoria from 30 October to 1 November.

Registration is open for the Australian Event Symposium to be held on the Sunshine Coast from 19-21 November.

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

Meetings & Events Australia (MEA) has published profiles of the winners of the 2017 MEA Awards and has opened submissions for the 2018 MEA Awards.

Registration is open for the inaugural Australian Wine Industry Impact Conference to be held in Adelaide on Thursday 18 October at the Grand Chancellor Hotel.

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