Traveling Blog: Essentials… Destination Australia 2024 Special Edition

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13 March 2024

biggest ever destination australia conference
Today Tourism Australia held its annual Destination Australia conference, and it was the biggest ever with over 1000 industry and media attending in person and online. It was an incredible day of speakers as we looked ahead together toward ‘The next chapter for sustainable growth’. As we prepare to exceed 2019 levels of international visitation and spend, our Managing Director, Phillipa Harrison, gave an insight into what the future growth of Australian tourism looks like and outlined Tourism Australia’s strategy and approach. Content from speakers, and videos from the day will be shared over future editions of the Essentials newsletter and LinkedIn. Check out some of the images from today.

With Karl Stefanovic returning to guide the day, we were joined by an array of industry leaders including Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell and Tourism Australia’s Chair, Michael Issenberg, reaffirming our Board’s direction in line with today’s conference theme - to prioritise the importance of creating a sustainable future for our industry in an ever-changing world.

Industry CEO’s - Looking to the Future

As context for the day, a panel of Australian tourism CEO's outlined their views on the outlook, priorities and trends for 2024. The panel, facilitated by our EGM Corporate Affairs, Bede Fennell, included: Grant Webster, Chief Executive Officer, Tourism Holdings Limited (THL); Scott Charlton, Chief Executive Officer, Sydney Airport; and Lyn Lewis-Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Business Events Sydney.

Megatrends for 2024 and beyond

As we focus on the future and potential transformation of the industry, we heard from Sarah Kopit, Editor-in-chief at Skift, hot off the back of the launch of their global megatrends.

Broadening the diversity and accessibility of travel and tourism

Last year's discussion of accessible tourism was described by many as a watershed moment. We continued the conversation around how to capture and shape demand in this space with a panel discussion facilitated by Karl Stefanovic with Carly Findlay OAM, Award-winning writer, speaker and appearance activist; Ryan Smith, Chief Executive Officer, The Access Agency; and Tracey Corbin-Matchett OAM, Chief Executive Officer, Bus Stop Films.

The Power of Storytelling

Tour guides are the frontline storytellers of our industry and Australia. As we look to the future, this is a career path we must nurture, and celebrate, and we continue to refine how we show up to our international visitors. An inspiring panel discussion took place facilitated by Karl Stefanovic with Elisha Kissick, Yura Tours; Sladjana Hidosan, Splendour Tailored Tours; Shane Wilson, Tasmanian Wild Seafood Adventures; and Dave McMahon, Venture North.

Marketing effectiveness and the importance of driving future demand

Competition for the international tourism dollar has never been fiercer, as we heard from experts, James Hurman, Founding Partner of Previously Unavailable and our Chief Marketing Officer, Susan Coghill, on how to be the most effective you can be in marketing and driving demand.

Aviation in 2024 - what to expect

The success of Australian tourism is intertwined with Aviation pricing and capacity. We heard an overview from Peter Harbison, Aviation Analyst and Author, about the state of play and outlook for aviation, as well as a dive into what 2024 looks like for Qantas with Cam Wallace, Chief Executive Officer, Qantas International and Freight.