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

ends