Essentials this week… | Dundee campaign results | #QATA17 | Aussie News Today | Australian Stories | and more..

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28 FEBRUARY 2018     Dundee campaign delivering results in the US Tourism Australia’s star-studded campaign encouraging Americans to take a trip Down Under is already kicking goals, less than one month after its reveal at the Super Bowl. To date, the campaign has generated more than 12,000 media articles, with an estimated advertising value of $74 million. The Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment the Hon. Steven Ciobo MP said “Feedback from the tourism industry has been incredibly positive, with initial results indicating a spike in booking enquires since the launch”. Promotional activity continues in the US with the first of a new series of light hearted ‘Why Australia’ videos published this week featuring celebrities from the campaign. Find out more about the campaign results.     28 February 2018     Qantas Australian Tourism Awards Members of Australia’s tourism industry gathered at the industry’s premier awards program in Perth to celebrate the outstanding achievements of more than 200 finalists across 25 categories. Paul Hogan was honoured as an Australian Tourism Legend and his award was accepted on his behalf by Australia’s former Tourism Minister John Brown.

TOURISM AUSTRALIA NEWS  Tourism Australia’s international youth campaign continues Tourism Australia’s youth campaign, Aussie News Today, has been boosted this month with new key distribution partners Student Universe (UK), HM Touristik (Germany), STA Travel (France) and Go Study Australia (Italy) coming on board. The latest phase of the campaign also welcomed four new BuzzFeed Mates,who are travelling the country creating content as part of the Mateship program. To date the campaign has reached over 21 million potential young travellers in the UK, Germany, France and Italy with over five million video views recorded in the first wave of activity. Aussie News Today is a socially-led campaign with dedicated Aussie News Today Facebook and Instagram profiles and a news hub on Australia.com highlighting Australia’s unique attractions and life-changing experiences for young travellers.

AUSTRALIAN STORIES  Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club added to the Great Golf Courses of Australia Magenta Shores has joined the Great Golf Courses of Australia collective and is the first NSW member of its ‘Premier Tier’. Consistently ranked in the top 30 golf courses in the country, Magenta Shores Golf and Country Club boasts stunning ocean vistas, winding its way along the NSW Central Coast and inland through untouched rainforest. Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia adds two new members Jackalope at Willow Creek Vineyard on the Mornington Peninsula, and Mandoon Estate located in the Swan Valley are the latest members to join the Ultimate Winery Experiences Australia. Set on a pristine vineyard amid Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, luxury boutique hotel Jackalope opened in April 2017. Mandoon Estate is located overlooking the magnificent Swan River and has earned a reputation as one of the Swan Valley’s best wineries and most popular destinations. Refuge Cove Cruises now operating at Wilsons Promontory Refuge Cove Cruises  is now offering tours of previously inaccessible parts of Wilsons Promontory in Victoria on board a brand new 42 seat catamaran. Operating daily from Port Welshpool, this full day tour takes in the east coast of ‘the Prom’, exploring the spectacular granite cliffs and sheltered coves. Visitors will have a close-up view of some of the richest and most diverse habitats in Australia for spotting wildlife. The waters in the region support dolphins, sharks, seals and migrating whales as well as a rich diversity of bird life, including albatross, shearwater, fairy prions, little penguins and white-bellied sea eagles. Three Blue Ducks restaurant to open in W Brisbane Renowned for their three eateries across New South Wales, Three Blue Ducks are set to open their first Queensland restaurant at the new W Brisbane overlooking the iconic Brisbane River. The kitchen will feature a wood fire oven, a rotisserie and charcoal pit and a cold seafood section showcasing Moreton Bay bugs, Spanner crab and oysters.

INDUSTRY NEWS AND EVENTS  Tourism WA launches major domestic campaign Tourism WA has launched a major new domestic marketing campaign showcasing Perth as an affordable, vibrant destination on nature’s doorstep. The campaign, called Hotel Perth, will promote deals for hotels in partnership with Helloworld. The ads feature some of Perth’s natural attractions including Kings Park and Rottnest Island, as well as some of the new hotels and entertainment precincts that have opened up around the city, including Optus Stadium and Elizabeth Quay. Tourism Australia’s events system upgrade Tourism Australia has upgraded its industry events systems to improve information about events and the registration process. As part of the upgrade the existing site, tradeevents.australia.com, will shut down permanently on 28 February and all event information will now be available at tourism.australia.com/events. Anyone wanting to extract any historical data such as past event registrations, appointment schedules, delegate directories or other event information, should login to tradeevents.australia.com and download the required reports or documents by the end of February.

NEWS IN BRIEF    SeaLink Travel Group has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets and operations of Kingfisher Bay Resort Group which includes Kingfisher Bay Resort, Eurong Beach Resort as well as Fraser Explorer Tours and the Fraser Island Ferry business operating from Hervey Bay. Research commissioned by Tourism Western Australia in partnership with the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council (WAITOC) shows WA's Aboriginal tourism sector generates nearly 340 full-time equivalent jobs and contributes nearly $30 million to WA incomes. The NSW Government has announced it will partner with Australia’s peak industry body for business events, Meetings and Events Australia (MEA), to support aspiring event managers in rural and regional NSW. Tourism WA’s latest Hotel Development Pipeline report has been released providing data on Perth’s hotel occupancy and daily rate data for 2017. The Gold Coast City Council has approved a 280 hotel room, 503 residential apartment mixed-use development in Surfers Paradise by Sunnyland Property Group. Cebu Pacific is set to commence direct flights between Melbourne and Manila, with three new weekly services from August.     Applications are open until 30 April for the NT Government’s $3 million Visitor Experience Enhancement Program, part of the Turbocharging Tourism stimulus package. Registration is open for the 2018 WYSE Exchange Australia Youth Tourism Conference to be held on Wednesday 9 May at the Ovolo Woolloomooloo Hotel in Sydney. Applications are open until Friday 2 March for the International Wine Tourism Competitive Grants program aimed at providing support for tourism marketing and events, infrastructure and innovative products or services targeted at attracting international wine tourists. Registration is open for the Tourism and Transport Forum’s Outlook Tourism Industry and Policy Conference to be held in Sydney on Thursday 17 May. Registration is open for Destination Food, Australia's first culinary tourism conference to be held at the Museum of Sydney on Monday 21 May. Applications are open until Thursday 29 March for the Australia-India Council 2018 Grant Program. Registration is open for the Backpacker & Adventure Tourism Industry Forum on Wednesday 2 May in Byron Bay.

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