Traveling Blog: Essentials… Register for Tourism Australia's next webinar | Australia Marketplace Online - Japan | Business Events in North America and more….

Having trouble reading? View online version

28 October 2020

TOURISM AUSTRALIA UPDATE
It is great to see more states and territories beginning to open their borders as we head into the busy summer booking period. In another positive step the ‘Framework for National Reopening by Christmas’ was announced following National Cabinet meeting last Friday. The first of Tourism Australia’s Australia Marketplace Online events began with the North American market last week with the UK & Europe and China versions of the event due to follow in the coming weeks. Whilst these events are online, we have received really positive feedback from industry about how lovely it is to see friends and colleagues who they haven’t seen all year and how heartening it is to be back doing trade shows again. Next Friday, 6 November at 11am AEDT we will hold our next webinar with a focus on Indigenous tourism in the lead up to NAIDOC week. You can register to attend here. Phillipa Harrison

New Board appointments for Tourism Australia

Harvey Norman Chief Executive Officer, Katie Page, and co-founder and proprietor of The Landsmith Collection, Alexandra Burt, have both been appointed to the Tourism Australia Board for three-year terms. Tourism Australia Chair, Bob East, has also been reappointed to the position, while Board member Jeffrey Ellison has been appointed Deputy Chair. Board member Bradley Woods has also been reappointed for another term. Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said the new appointments would inject further breadth of experience to the Board, whilst the reappointments would bring important stability and continuity to the leadership of Tourism Australia.

Tourism Australia Activity

Applications closing – Australia Marketplace Online Japan 2021

Applications for Australia Marketplace Online - Japan close on Friday 30 October. Held from 4 to 5 February 2021, the will take place online in a revised format this year. The virtual event will provide an opportunity for participating Australian tourism operators to establish and maintain business relationships with qualified travel agencies and tour operators from Japan. Please visit Australia Marketplace Online - Japan for more information and to submit your application.

Business events webinar in North America

Tourism Australia’s Business Events Australia team recently hosted a two-part webinar series in North America. The webinars featured a storytelling piece, showcasing a variety of Australian destinations, a charismatic Australian host and a live broadcast from Australia designed to keep Australia top of mind as a business events destination. Feedback from attendees was positive, with all saying they found the experience worthwhile and that they would recommend the webinar to colleagues.

North American business events showcase

Tourism Australia’s Business Events Australia hosted a North American Showcase, a virtual trade show for business events customers, in early October. The event saw buyers and sellers attend group appointments to nurture relationships and generated 100 per cent buyer satisfaction, with 89 per cent of buyers saying they are more likely to send groups to Australia after attending the event. Australian sellers also indicated a 100 per cent satisfaction rating with 89 per cent of respondents indicating that they intend to secure more business as a result of the event.

Tourism Australia Webinar

The next Tourism Australia webinar will be held on Friday 6 November at 11am AEDT. The webinar will include a focus on Indigenous tourism in the lead up to NAIDOC week. Register to attend here.

Tourism Industry News

Draft Kakadu Tourism Master Plan released

The draft Kakadu Tourism Master Plan has been released. The plan outlines a ten-year strategy to grow tourism in Kakadu and was developed in consultation with Kakadu’s Traditional Owners and Board of Management. The draft Tourism Master Plan can be downloaded here. The tourism industry and other interested people can provide feedback on the plan by Friday 6 November 2020.

Event Awards 2020: announced

The 2020 Australian Event Awards National Winners have been announced. Amongst the Best Event winners are Splendour in the Grass 2019 and Paralympics Australia Infinite Possibility Gala 2019, PAX Australia 2019. There were eight Achievement Finalists crowned as winner , including Fourth Wall for EventCast, Melbourne Cricket Club and EventsAIR. ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2020 walked away with two trophies, as the winner of both the Best Sporting Event Category as well as Australian Event of the Year. See a full list of the 2020 winners here.

Airbnb partners with Australian Regional Tourism

Farmers and rural communities will have a new toolkit to create world-class farmstays and build more resilient local economies through agritourism, as part of a new partnership between Airbnb and Australian Regional Tourism (ART). Through the partnership, Airbnb is supporting the development of a new industry resource to help rural landowners transform their properties into unique tourism accommodation and host Airbnb Experiences that showcase their area's local produce, culture and history. The resource will be available on ART’s free online platform, The Tourism Hub.

Matt Stoeckel appointed CEO of Visit Sunshine Coast

Current Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Fiji, Matt Stoeckel, will swap one idyllic destination for another at the end of the year following his appointment as Chief Executive Officer of Visit Sunshine Coast. Mr Stoeckel – who has been in the CEO role at Tourism Fiji since 2016 – will start his new tourism role at the beginning of 2021.

Australian Stories

New Bushwalker’s Bar arrives at Binna Burra

Binna Burra Lodge, located within the World Heritage Listed Lamington National Park on the Gold Coast, has opened a new Bushwalker's Bar. The cosy bar is found within the pioneering heritage building known as Grooms Cottage at Binna Burra. It provides spectacular views down the Numinbah Valley and over the Hinze Dam and the distant skyline of the Gold Coast beaches. The lodge offers a range of experiences on site including guided park tours and full-day hikes, spotlighting night walks, archery, yoga, Qi Gong and kids activities. Keen bushwalkers can stay overnight at the Sky Lodges or in the Rainforest Campsite, which has permanent safari tents as well as powered and unpowered camping sites.

World-first reef census expedition

Scuba divers have the unique chance to join Cairns dive operator, Divers Den, for a special expedition to the Ribbon Reefs as part of the Great Reef Census project. This is a world-first citizen science project from Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef designed to capture large-scale reconnaissance data to support reef research and management. The liveaboard vessel OceanQuest departs on 16 November for a seven-night expedition to explore the remote reefs, located north of Cairns on the edge of the continental shelf. Fourteen places are available to members of the public to be part of this world-first citizen science initiative. By capturing underwater photos of this largely unvisited area of the reef and submitting them to the census, passengers can contribute valuable data to support reef research and conservation.

Explore Central NSW with new culture maps

Central NSW has launched new interactive culture maps which showcase the amazing arts and culture experiences in the region. Each of the maps are themed and help visitors uncover the region’s public art, heritage, galleries, handmade shopping and Aboriginal experiences, as well as local festivals and events. The maps feature 130 different museums, heritage sites and Aboriginal experiences; 80 art galleries; 278 works of public art across 43 different cities towns and villages in Central NSW. The new culture maps can be found online here.

Dinosaur Valley returns to Scenic World Blue Mountains

Dinosaur Valley is returning to Scenic World this summer, bringing the Jurassic rainforest to life with prehistoric dinosaurs. Take a journey through time and explore the world of dinosaurs in the heart of the Blue Mountains, travelling in small groups on a pre-approved circuit which takes in the Cableway, Dinosaur Valley and the Scenic Railway. Join the Dino Rangers to hear fun facts about the world of dinosaurs, meet a life-sized T-rex, descend into the rainforest aboard the scenic cableway, explore the outdoor museum called Fossil Alley, and learn about the life cycle of dinosaurs at the Dino Hatchery. Book online from 30 October for visits between 27 November and 31 January 2020.