| | | | | | | | |  | | TOURISM AUSTRALIA UPDATE | | Yesterday marked 12 months on from reopening Australia’s international borders. After a period of significant challenge for the tourism industry right around the world, people have emerged in 2023 with a huge appetite for travel. Last week the Australian Bureau of Statistics released the Arrivals for December 2022. These figures showed international arrivals are back to 60 per cent, compared to the same month in 2019. It is really encouraging to see the strength of some of our key markets, with Britain back to 82 per cent of pre-Covid levels and India at 79 per cent. Whilst there are some frictions to work through around issues such as aviation and staffing, we are optimistic for the year ahead with some early positive signs being reported across industry. We are hearing that in relation to staffing, while the situation is still critical, it is easing now that students and working holiday makers are coming back, along with older Australians being able to rejoin the workforce. Additionally, many operators got through the critical summer period and have benefited from the initial lower volumes, but with higher yields which is welcome news. This Friday we are holding our first industry webinar for 2023 and it’s great to see so many of you registered to attend. In addition to an update from me, we will be joined by Susan Wheeldon, Airbnb’s Country Manager for Australia and New Zealand to hear the latest news and insights from Airbnb, and we will hear from our EGM Strategy and Research, Rob Dougan who will give an update on what the future traveller looks like. If you haven’t already, you can register to attend here.
Phillipa Harrison | | | | | | | | Tourism Australia Activity | | | | | | |  | | New Aussie Specialist Program ‘Major Events’ course | | Tourism Australia recently launched a Major Events course as part of the Aussie Specialist Program. Given Australia boasts some of the world's best and biggest events throughout the year the new training course is designed to help Aussie Specialist agents discover what's on in 2023 and beyond. The course showcases information on sporting events, arts, culture, food festivals and more. So far over 300 agents have completed the course which provides inspiration to allow agents to better plan their clients' holidays. | | |  | | Register for National Experience Content Initiative participant training Webinar | | Tourism Australia is calling on industry who took part in the National Experience Content Initiative (NECI) program to sign up for a free content upskilling program. The practical and dynamic one-hour training session facilitated by Tourism Tribe walks attendees through lessons on how to upload and optimise NECI video content to YouTube, owned channels and the Australian Tourism Data Warehouse. The webinar will take place on 8 March at 1pm (AEDT). Find out more and register here. | | |
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| | | | |  | | International market update videos | | In the lead up to this year’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE23), Tourism Australia is providing market update videos prepared by our international team. The videos provide insight into the state of play in each market. Industry is encouraged to view the video updates here. To support the market updates, Tourism Australia’s Industry Relations team will host two live Q&A sessions with our in market regional managers. The first session on 3 March at 4pm (AEDT) will cover the United Kingdom, Europe, India, New Zealand. The second session on 10 March at 11am (AEDT) will focus on the Americas, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Japan and South Korea. Register to attend the sessions here. | | |  | | FTI destination showcase in Western Australia | | Tourism Australia alongside Tourism Western Australia, Tourism Tasmania and Singapore Airlines recently supported FTI Touristik with a mega famil and workshop to Western Australia and Tasmania. Over 70 travel agents, product managers and executives from FT Touristik split into five groups and experienced highlights of Western Australia and Tasmania during their famil activities. The group then came together on Noongar country for a three day workshop in Boorloo/Perth, Waylyup/Fremantle and on Wadjemup/Rottnest Island where they met Australian product partners and learnt about the Aussie Specialist Program. | | |
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| | | | |  | | Tourism Australia and Singapore Airlines to boost Australian business events | | Last week Tourism Australia and Singapore Airlines signed a three-year marketing agreement aimed at promoting business events travel to Australia. Under the Memorandum of Understanding, Tourism Australia and Singapore Airlines will jointly deliver a range of marketing and promotional trade activities within Asia and the United Kingdom to promote Australia as the ideal destination for business events. The activities will highlight Australia’s strengths as a world class business events destination including its iconic and diverse landscapes, award winning venues, unique experiences and friendly people with fresh perspectives. | | |  | | There’s still time to register for the Destination Australia Conference 2023 | | As we invite the world to Come and Say G’day, the Destination Australia 2023 will inspire you to celebrate the opportunities for the future of Australian tourism. With Karl Stefanovic on hand to guide the day, Minister for Trade and Tourism, Senator the Hon Don Farrell, Tourism Australia’s Chair Michael Issenberg and Managing Director Phillipa Harrison will be joined by an array of industry leaders including marketing expert, Mark Ritson, Head of Macroeconomic Forecasting at BIS Oxford Economics, Sean Langcake and Friend of Australia and radio, television and podcast host Hamish Blake. Find out more and register here. | | |
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| | | | | | | | |  | | Tropical North Queensland promotes accessible tourism | | People of all abilities can now research their Tropical North Queensland holiday more comfortably with the addition of an accessibility widget on the Cairns & Great Barrier Reef destination website. After launching an Accessibility Hub on the destination website late last year, Tourism Tropical North Queensland has added an accessibility widget to help people choose a user-friendly mode for their individual needs. Find out more here. | | |  | | Banksia Sustainability Awards finalists announced | | Finalists in the Sustainable Tourism category for the 34th Banksia Awards have been announced. Congratulations to Blue Derby Pods Ride, Busselton Jetty Inc, Fun over Fifty, Passions of Paradise and TRC Tourism. Last year’s Sustainable Tourism award winner, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, was also announced as a finalist in the 2023 Biodiversity Award. The awards, celebrate measurable achievements in sustainability across all areas of business across Australia. Winners will be announced at the annual awards gala dinner on 23 March in Melbourne. Find out more here. | | |
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| | | | | | |  | | Kangaroo Island and John Paul Young unite for charitable dining experience | | Gastronomo dining’s The Enchanted Fig Tree in Kangaroo Island will host a one-night-only fundraising effort to support the Fire and Flood Fund. Hosting a special Starlit night evening on 25 February, guests will be treated to a performance of the newly released single ‘The Island’ produced by local Kangaroo Island artist Christine Rourke and music icon John Paul Young. Proceeds from song and event will go towards supporting mental health services for towns impacted on by both fires and floods. | | |  | | Leading Sydney bar to host one-night-only global experience | | On 6 March, world-leading restaurant and bar, Sexy Fish, will unveil its new Trinity cocktail menu across six continents, including at Australia’s first zero-waste bar, Re. Sydney/Warrane’s South Eveleigh bar has been selected to host the one-night experience in recognition of its industry-leading mixologists and impeccable cocktails. The cocktail menu will include Coconut and Lemongrass, featuring coconut-infused Absolut Elyx Vodka, coconut, sake, lime, celery and lemongrass and the Marshmallow and Raspberry features marshmallow-infused Roku Gin, raspberry, fortified wines and egg white. | | |
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| | | | |  | | TFE Hotels unveils new Melbourne/Narrm accommodation | | Melbourne/Narrm’s historic Pentridge is being transformed in a one-billion-dollar dining and entertainment precinct, with the team from TFE Hotels announcing the launch of two modern accommodation offerings. To complement the bluestone features, TFE Hotels will soon launch the Adina Apartment Hotel Pentridge Melbourne alongside the experience-led urban retreat, The Interlude in the precinct. The Interlude will open in May 2023 and house 19-rooms inviting guests to immerse themselves in the flavours, colours, and stories of Melbourne/Narrm. | | |  | | Aurora Spa & Bathhouse to host Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary | | This March, the Aurora Spa and Bathhouse is set to host Karina and John Stewart, Founders of Kamalaya Koh Samui – a multi-award-winning Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa on the southern coastline of Koh Samui, Thailand. Alongside Lyndall Mitchell, Founder of Aurora Spa, Karina and John will join forces to present ‘Flourish’, a one-day women’s wellness retreat in Sorrento, Victoria. Following the workshop participants will enjoy a nourishing lunch before heading to the state-of-the-art Bathhouse to experience Aurora’s Bathing Ritual. | | |
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