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Travel, Tourism & Events

Holiday at Home campaign to kickstart tourism recovery

THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has congratulated Tourism Australia on launching the first step in its  Holiday Here This Year campaign.

“This campaign has been quick off the blocks and will work to capitalise on the good will and sentiment shared by all Australians in helping to get the communities affected by bushfires back on their feet,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said. 

“With tourism at the heart of so many regional communities, encouraging Australian’s to prioritise a holiday at home is a great way to support the rebuilding of these towns and recoup some of the summer’s lost revenue.

“Tourism Australia is leading the charge with their expertise and reach and it’s great to see the positive collaboration between our national and state based tourism marketing bodies in delivering a single message of recovery," Mr Shelley said.

“While getting our domestic market engaged is a great first step in helping the devastated regional communities, our international campaign needs to encompass support for every destination."

Mr Shelley said the bushfires have had a severe impact on the international perception of Australia as a travel destination with a 40 percent reduction in forward bookings from Western markets including the UK, Europe and the US and a 20 percent overall decline.

“Despite the fact that most of the favoured holiday spots for international visitors have been unaffected, people looking to visit Australia have been spooked," Mr Shelley said.

“While this domestic campaign is a great first step, we are keenly anticipating the next stage of the recovery campaign and its focus on rebuilding brand Australia for our international audience.” 

www.tourismdrivesgrowth.com.au

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Gov't 'recovery funds' welcomed by tourism industry

THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has welcomed the Federal Government’s announcement of a $76 million industry specific bushfire recovery fund.

“Today’s announcement of the Governments Rebuilding Australian Tourism package will be welcomed by tourism businesses across Australia,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said. 

“We applaud the key initiatives nominated to help the inbound tourism sector to recover, including an increase in international media and social media influencer engagement along with support for the Australian Tourism Exchange which is our largest annual trade show,' he said.

“While tourism businesses on the frontline of recent bushfires have an immediate need for support in their recovery, our global reputation as a holiday destination has been significantly impacted and we need to act urgently to reassure visitors that Australia is open for business.

“The inbound industry has experienced millions of dollars in cancellations from intending international travellers and we are also seeing a significant decrease in forward bookings which we have estimated will reduce inbound tourism revenue by up to $4.5 billion," Mr Shelley said.

“Timing is now of the essence with key booking windows from our larger international markets closing towards the end of February, therefore engaging these markets in the short term, especially via the established tourism trade channels will be critical.

“Our united strategy needs to be strong and nuanced, clearly defined, well-resourced and expertly executed in order to balance the swirling negative perceptions of Australia which have come off the back of the bushfires.

“Australia’s tourism industry is the economic backbone of many of the regional communities impacted by the recent bushfires.  As an industry employing one in 13 Australians and an inbound sector contributing more than $44bn a year to the national economy, we can’t afford to waste any time getting our export tourism outlook back on track," he said.

“While Australians understand the extent of the bushfire damage, and have already been keen to re-engage and support the affected areas, we need to work hard to positively influence the narrative around our global reputation as a leading tourism destination.”

www.toruismdrivesgrowth.com.au

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Brisbane appoints BrandStory as South East Asian representative

BRISBANE MARKETING and Brisbane Airport Corporation (BAC) have appointed BrandStory in Singapore as their strategic marketing and travel representation agency in Southeast Asia.

Brisbane Marketing CEO, Brett Fraser said it was a momentous day for Brisbane’s tourism industry. He said the establishment of this consortium marked a new era for Brisbane and is the first time the city has coordinated resources to target key international markets.

“This appointment clearly signals Brisbane’s intentions as a destination,” Mr Fraser said.  

“Brisbane has seen extraordinary growth in visitor numbers, infrastructure development and tourism product over the past five years. 

“Our work through BrandStory will help us better tell this story to our key markets and develop business for Brisbane-based operators.”

The BrandStory appointment is a key element of the three-year partnership between Brisbane Marketing and Brisbane Airport Corporation to boost recognition of Brand Brisbane in international markets.

Brisbane Airport Corporation CEO, Gert Jan de Graaff, said the decision to team with Brisbane Marketing to jointly fund and engage an agency with ASEAN market expertise was a mutually beneficial approach. 

“The pooling of significant additional funding by BAC and BM via this unique partnership has enabled the appointment of this specialist agency that will represent our shared interest in promoting Brisbane to this important market, making it more compelling for travellers to visit and stay longer in Brisbane.

“This is especially timely given our growing capacity and capability with the opening of Brisbane’s new runway mid-next year,” Mr de Graaff said.

The agency will work closely with other Australian representatives, including Tourism Australia and Tourism and Events Queensland, to maximise destination awareness in market. BrandStory is a strategic marketing and travel representation consultancy based in Singapore and will represent Brisbane across ASEAN markets.

BrandStory executive director, Peter Phang said he was delighted to take on the commission.

“Brisbane is an exciting destination with high appeal in South East Asia,” Mr Phang said. “We are delighted to be representing Brisbane and will deliver a powerful voice for the Greater Brisbane region in this highly competitive market."

The BrandStory appointment follows the recent signing of Advocate Travel Marketing to represent Brisbane in the North American market. Advocate Travel Marketing is a specialist trade and consumer engagement agency based in Los Angeles, now representing Brisbane in the US and Canada.

In January 2019, Brisbane Marketing and Brisbane Airport Corporation entered into a new multi-million-dollar international partnership marketing program to implement world standard destination marketing campaigns for Brisbane and to improve awareness of the city as a global destination for leisure travel.

www.brisbanemarketing.com.ay

www.bne.com.au

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Australia's export tourism industry sums it up in Brisbane summit

MORE THAN 450 export tourism industry leaders from across Australia will gather in Brisbane this week for the Australian Tourism Export Council’s (ATEC) annual Meeting Place event.  

Meeting Place, which has been taking place annually for more than 40 years, will be the largest on record and is recognised as the premier business-to-business (B2B) and conferencing event for what is known as the 'export tourism industry' or inbound tourism. 

This year’s Meeting Place conference program ‘Into the Future’ features a strong line up of thought leaders and industry insiders who will lead discussions on current global issues affecting the travel industry.  

“Representatives from tourism councils in South Africa, New Zealand and Europe will provide insights into the global marketplace and share their experiences, while local inbound operators will unravel some of the complexities of our inbound marketplace, providing valuable insights into the performance of our key inbound tourism markets over the next 12 months - including China, North America, UK/Europe, Japan and India,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.

“Other highlights of the conference program include a presentation of Tourism Australia’s recently launched ‘Come Live Our Philausophy’ campaign, insights into encouraging more international travellers to visit regional Australia by Deloitte Access Economics and a forum focused on the development of a sustainable tourism industry.

“This year Meeting Place also has a number of new initiatives including the Marketplace exhibition area featuring a range of business tools to help grow tourism businesses.”  

Queensland's Tourism Industry Development Minister, Kate Jones said hosting ATEC Meeting Place was an opportunity to showcase Queensland.

“Welcoming Australia’s tourism industry to Brisbane for the 2019 ATEC Meeting Place, is a fantastic opportunity to showcase Queensland and drive future growth in our tourism industry,” Ms Jones said. 

Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said he looked forward to welcoming the largest ATEC conferencing event. 

“Hosting ATEC Meeting Place is the first step to showcase Brisbane and appeal to influential travel industry buyers who operate in Australia’s key international markets," Cr Schrinner said.

“On the back of our city’s significant transformation, with new luxury hotels, entertainment precincts, restaurants and leisure experiences, we are being internationally recognised as a premium destination and competing with our southern neighbours.  

“We are excited to host more than 450 tourism leaders at the annual ATEC conference and take part in valuable discussions about the tourism industry. Tourism is such an important market -- we want to drive tourism in Brisbane and the surrounding regions."

The Meeting Place conference program will conclude with comic, Vince Sorrenti, before guests head to one of Brisbane’s newest and most popular destinations, the Howard Smith Wharves, for ATEC’s annual Gala Dinner and Awards.
 
Significant event partners for Meeting Place 2019 are Brisbane Marketing, Tourism and Events Queensland, Qantas and Brisbane Airport.

www.atec.net.au

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Australia's new 'Philausophy' campaign applauded by inbound tourism industry

THE Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has welcomed Tourism Australia’s new international Philausophy campaign which "will bring a focus to Australia’s unique place in the international tourism marketplace".

“While the global market for international tourism continues to grow, Australia also faces increasing competition from destinations willing to invest significant marketing budgets into attracting international visitors,” ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said.

“Finding new ways to connect and showcase Australia’s unique offering is a vital way for us to stand out in a crowded marketplace and this campaign hones in on some of the things that make Australia a truly special and unique travel destination." 

Mr Shelley said Australia was becoming an increasingly popular leisure destination, with 77 percent of visitors travelling here for holidays and that figure due to increase over the next decade.

“Tourism Australia is continuing to evolve our marketing campaigns in order to deliver not only a stronger message to-market, but to engage a more sophisticated and enduring visitor relationship," Mr shelley said.

"Our unique Australian personality is being celebrated in this campaign - a welcoming and positive message which has been well received by leading international travel buyers representing our key markets.

“The ‘Come Live our Philausophy’ campaign will highlight the Australian lifestyle and outlook on life in order to create inspiration to travel here, and with international visitation expected to almost double in the next decade, it's campaigns like this that will help to drive this growth.

"While Australia possesses many attractive and competitive natural and man-made tourism attributes one thing that is different is our unique, welcoming and relaxed Australian personality – an attribute which is consistently highlighted in guest books and review sites country wide by international visitors."

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Inbound tourism figures show value of high spending visitors, says ATEC

AUSTRALIA's international visitor growth may be tapering off, but their average 'spend' is up.

According to the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC), the international visitor market continues to grow, as fewer visitors are spending more during their stay. That delivered another $2 billion to the Australian economy over the past year.

ATEC managing director Peter Shelley said "the huge growth in visitor numbers seen in previous years is starting to taper but the quality of the visitor and their engagement with our product is showing no sign of slowing down". 

“Today’s International Visitor Survey (IVS) shows a modest growth in the number of visitors coming to Australia compared to previous double digit highs, but the growth in spend is continuing to hold up,” Mr Shelley said. 

“While the size of the growth has slowed, what we are seeing is a change in the profile of visitors from several markets  -- a result of recent promotional campaigns which focus on attracting higher spending visitors who stay longer.

“In the past few years we have seen a transition within the China market, where we now have significant growth in small group, more independent and more affluent visitors compared with what was typically a large group market in previous years.

“Similarly in the US we are seeing their spending increase as they look for a more immersive Australian experience highlighted during the (Crocodile) Dundee campaign, which was aimed at attracting high spending American visitors.”

Mr Shelley said Japan was enjoying a renewed love of Australia with both arrivals and spending up considerably.

“Japan is a market that has reconnected with Australia over the past few years and initiatives like the new direct ANA flights to Perth will help to further strengthen this relationship," he said.

"At the same time the UK, one of our largest and long term markets, is still severely troubled by the lack of stability and uncertainty caused by Brexit, but we look forward to seeing this market return to strength in coming years.

“Today’s numbers are pleasing given there are several geo-political factors at play impacting global travel. The numbers show our established markets remain solid, with new markets including India continuing on a significant growth trajectory, and that spending as a key performance metric continues to grow.”

ATEC's Meeting Place 2019 travel and tourism conference takes place at Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on November 25-27.

www.atec.eventsair.com

www.tourismdrivesgrowth.com.au

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Is Australia’s best golf escape at a Château?

THE Vintage Golf Club may be in the Hunter Valley but the golf experience it offers may be more like chipping and putting the Loire Valley.

That’s because the charming Vintage Golf Club is located at the award-winning Château Élan, one Australia’s finest resorts. This Château not only offers direct access to one of the country’s leading golf clubs, but also a mix of relaxed luxury accommodation, a full-service spa, and six event venues, all in the heart of a world-famous Hunter food and wine region. 

The resort is rapidly becoming known as a premier business events and incentives destination, being a handy two-hour drive from Sydney or a one-hour flight to Newcastle from Brisbane.

Château Élan has developed a range of sophisticated accommodation types at the resort, including spacious suites with spa baths, and also atmospheric villas with modern facilities. All rooms have balconies or terraces overlooking The Vintage fairways and offer views of the Hunter Valley.

The Legends Bar and Grill serves à la carte fine cuisine throughout the day, and guests can surround themselves with breathtaking views over a bottle of wine. Also, The Wine Lounge offers an extensive, gourmet wine list, sourced from the leading vineyards of the Hunter region.

With an emphasis on relaxation and wellbeing, Château Élan’s The Spa holds 17 well appointed treatment rooms offering the latest massage and beauty procedures, hydrotherapy and exercise services, and also a lounge to sit back, relax and socialise.

The Vintage is itself a well-regarded local golf course that welcomes visitors with open arms.

The Vintage is a club that caters for everyone, yet does so without losing its true and original identity as one of the country’s premier golf resorts. It offers an 18-hole course, designed by Australian golf legend Greg Norman, which has been ranked among the best in Australia. 

The Vintage Golf Club is open seven days a week and offers open social competitions on Saturdays and Sundays. It also regularly offers special events such as its Coca-Cola Challenge on October 3, and the Melbourne Cup Race Day on November 5.

www.chateauelan.com.au

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