Minister Ciobo marks 50 years of Australian tourism

Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, held a press briefing on Sunday to mark 50 years since Australia was first promoted to the world as a place to visit. Minister Ciobo noted that during the last 50 years the tourism industry has grown to be worth $120 billion and now employs almost one million Australians. “Tourism has grown to become a major driver of the Australian economy. I congratulate Tourism Australia and tourism operators across the country for their outstanding contribution in promoting Australia as a must-see destination over the last 50 years,” he said.

TA Annual Report

Tourism Australia has published its 2016/17 Annual Report providing a detailed overview of performance and case studies of international marketing activities.

Celebrity chef Kunal Kapur invites Indians on a culinary trip Down Under

More than 1.6 million people have tuned into Kunal Kapur’s seven-episode travelogue where he shares his recipe for a perfect Australian holiday. Kunal is an Indian celebrity chef and restaurateur, best known as the host and judge of the TV series MasterChef India. In the series, #TravelWithKunal Australia, Kunal starts his journey in South Australia and travels across Queensland indulging in a variety of culinary experiences. Throughout the series he introduces viewers to the local produce, restaurants, breweries as well as tourism experiences in each location.

Aussie Specialists from Tokyo visit Australia

A group of 13 Aussie Specialists from JTB, one of Japan’s largest travel agencies, are currently travelling in two groups around Australia. The agents - who are visiting Cairns, Gold Coast, Hamilton Island, Sydney, Melbourne and Uluru - will create a presentation of their experience to share with their colleagues at 180 JTB retail shops in the Tokyo metropolitan area. JTB is one of Tourism Australia’s key distribution partners in Japan and Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon Steven Ciobo MP, met with officials from the company when he visited Tokyo earlier this year. Japan is Australia’s sixth largest market with the latest arrivals for the year ending August 2017 reaching 433,000, up a 9.5 per cent.

Tourism Australia picks up marketing excellence award in Malaysia

A joint marketing initiative between Tourism Australia and Enrich, Malaysia Airlines’ frequent flyer programme, won Gold for Excellence in Loyalty Marketing at the Marketing Excellence Awards Malaysia 2017 last week. This is one of Malaysia’s largest award shows dedicated to celebrating the work of the country’s top marketers and this year received a record breaking 499 entries. The two-week ‘Enrich Hearts Australia’ campaign, which ran in September 2016, offered attractive Enrich Miles redemption discounts to all of the carrier's Australian destinations. Hero content for the promotion featured South Australia, with the support of the South Australian Tourism Commission and showcased Adelaide and Kangaroo Island through a series of videos and articles across a variety of media platforms.

Canada warms up with sunny news from Australia

Australia’s culinary and coastal experiences starred at a range of media and consumer events held in Canada last week. Friend of Australia and chef Curtis Stone kicked off the week sharing his love of the countryside, beaches, and food and wine with interviews on six different TV shows. Curtis also talked at a special Aussie themed dinner prepared by Shangri La’s chef for 30 guests from some of Canada’s top publications such as The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, Travel & Style, Foodism, Enroute and Zoomer. The November issue of Zoomer, Canada's award-winning magazine for men and women aged over 45, will also feature Curtis’ ‘Endless Summer’ suggestions. Tourism Australia has a month-long partnership with the publisher which included a booth at the ZoomerShow, a lifestyle expo held last Saturday and Sunday, which attracted thousands of attendees.

New private sunrise tour on Seal Bay, Kangaroo Island

Southern Ocean Lodge on Kangaroo Island has announced a new sunrise tour for guests with private access to the Seal Bay Conservation Park for an up-close encounter with the resident sea lions. Around a thousand sea lions live in the sand dunes at Seal Bay, making it Australia’s third-largest sea lion colony.

Boxing Day Lunch cruises to experience the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race

Captain Cook Cruises is offering a new Boxing Day Lunch cruise on 26 December to mark the departure of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race fleet. Guests will cruise from King St Wharf to Parsley Bay where it will anchor for an exclusive vantage point for views of the sailing fleet as it passes out of ‘the heads’ of Sydney Harbour.

New Indigenous glamping experience on New South Wales South Coast

Ngaran Culture Awareness has partnered with local luxury camping accommodation provider Tilba Lake Camp, for a new Indigenous immersion glamping experience on the south coast of New South Wales. Djirringanj Dreaming Tour is a two day, two night all-inclusive guided tour and includes educational activities, traditional Aboriginal ceremonies, yidaki (didgeridoo) demonstrations and yarning circles.

Thousand Lakes Lodge named in Lonely Planet's world top 3

Great Fishing Adventures of Australia member Thousand Lakes Lodge has been named in Lonely Planet’s Top 3 for Best New Places To Stay in 2018 globally. Thousand Lakes Lodge sits within the UNESCO listed Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area, a unique and rugged region known for the purest strain of wild brown trout in the world.

Australian golf courses in exclusive World top 100 list

Seven Australian Courses have this year been name in the exclusive World top 100 list by US Golf Magazine. The Biennial ratings are judged by 100 panellists from 17 countries around the world and include PGA Tour legends, world-renowned architects and golf-industry leaders. Four of the seven courses - Barnbougle Lost Farm, Barnbougle Dunes, Kingston Heath and Royal Melbourne West (pictured) – are part of the Great Golf Courses of Australia collection.

The travel habits of China's high-spending millennials

Celebrity endorsement is one of the key factors influencing Chinese millennials – whose spend on leisure travel is about 23 per cent higher than the norm – according to a new report from Jing Travel. The report also notes that 95 per cent of Chinese millennials are using mobile devices to connect services like WeChat, QQ, and Weibo. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

Industry briefings in NSW, SA, TAS and ACT

Tourism Australia has opened registration for four free-of-charge industry briefings: in Sydney on Thursday 9 November from 9 - 11.30am at the Hilton; in Adelaide on Friday 10 November from 2 - 4pm at the Playford; in Hobart on Friday 10 November from 2 - 4pm at the Hobart Function and Conference Centre; and in Canberra at Hotel Realm from 2 – 4pm on Friday 17 November. The briefings will involve senior executives from Tourism Australia and state and territory tourism organisations providing an update on current and future activity and sharing research and insights from key international markets.

Registration is open for WeChat Connect on Thursday 2 November in Sydney, a half day seminar to showcase the WeChat ecosystem and platform capabilities to Australian private and public sector.

Visit Victoria has launched a major new tourism campaign, A Twist at Every Turn, to attract more interstate visitors.

Tourism and Events Queensland has updated its international education visitor snapshot as well as regional snapshots for 11 destinations with data for the year ending June 2017.

South Australia welcomed Air New Zealand's Dreamliner  on Thursday 26 October, operating three times per week between Auckland and Adelaide during peak season (October 2017 to March 2018).

Registrations are open for Tourism NT’s International Managers Meeting 2017 to be held in Alice Springs on Monday 20 November and Darwin on Friday 24 November.

Beijing Capital Airlines commenced direct flights between Sydney and Qingdao this week.

The Qantas Australian Tourism Awards will be held at the new Perth Stadium on Friday 23 February 2018.

Registration is open for the Youth & Backpacker Travel Week Australia 2017 on Queensland's Gold Coast from Monday 6 November to Friday 10 November.

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.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland has launched a new website, www.tropicalnorthqueensland.org.au, to inspire visitation to the region.