Traveling Blog: Essentials… Ministerial visit to India | Tourism Australia Media Kit | ITB Berlin

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15 March 2023

TOURISM AUSTRALIA UPDATE

This week the World Indigenous Tourism Alliance and the Western Australian Indigenous Tourism Operators Council have joined together to host the 2023 World Indigenous Tourism Summit in Perth/Boorloo, with the theme 'Tourism and Indigenous Earth Wisdom Weaving the Future that Benefits All’. Tourism Australia was well represented at the event, by our General Manager Experiences Karen Fitzgerald, our Head of Indigenous Affairs Phil Lockyer and our Executive Officer of Discover Aboriginal Experiences Nicole Mitchell.

In Germany, our Continental Europe team were joined by over thirty stand partners to attend ITB Berlin. The event was held in person for the first time since 2019 and the Australia stand was one of the busiest at the event. Find out more in our wrap below.

Finally, I look forward to seeing you all at the Destination Australia Conference happening at the ICC Sydney tomorrow. In person registrations are at capacity however if you’d like to join us online you can register here.

Phillipa Harrison

Tourism Australia ACTIVITY

Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister visits India

Last week, the Prime Minister of Australia the Hon Anthony Albanese MP and the Trade and Tourism Minister, Senator the Hon Don Farrell led a business delegation to India. India is one of our key tourism markets, with enormous potential. Arrivals from India in January were 80 per cent of 2019 volumes, which makes it one of our fastest recovering markets. India is seeing direct air services really take off – there’s now more than two and a half times as many seats on direct flights between India and Australia as there were before the pandemic. With plenty of media coverage associated with the high level visit, Tourism Australia’s team in India took advantage of the attention and encouraged Indians to visit Australia by showing Tourism Australia’s ‘Come and Say G’day’ campaign at various events, including at the opening of the test cricket in Ahmedabad and a Taste the Wonders of Australia event, which promoted Australia’s food and wine exports to India where TA also encouraged Indian travellers to come experience the real thing in person.

STO Indigenous Forum

Last week, Tourism Australia and State and Territory Organisation (STO) partners met in Hobart/nipaluna on Muwinina Country to engage in discussion about Indigenous tourism. The forum provided a great opportunity to share priority initiatives, learn from each other’s success and discuss challenges. The gathering demonstrated the importance of Indigenous tourism to the strategic pillars of all STO’s visitor strategies with an Indigenous person now leading the development and growth of Indigenous tourism in all states.

ITB Berlin

Last week Tourism Australia attended, ITB Berlin, for the first in-person event since 2019. Over 30 stand partners, ranging from a large contingent of Inbound Tourism Operators, State and Territory Tourism Organisation colleagues, as well as a great range of iconic Australia tourism experiences joined forces with Tourism Australia. Team Australia welcomed back trade buyers, journalists and airline partners from Europe and other parts of the world. Over the course of the three days more than 90,000 trade visitors attended ITB Berlin and contributed to making the Australia stand one of the busiest at the event. The one year of border opening milestone was also celebrated with a joint Tourism Australia and Tourism New Zealand happy hour.

2023 Tourism Australia Media Kit

The 2023 Australia Media Kit is available to download from the Resources for Media page on the Tourism Australia corporate website. The featureing over 80 pages the media kit is packed with new PR content including: overviews of each state and territory, what’s new and happening in the year to come and beyond, travel trends, and story ideas for international media.

Singapore Airlines Co-op Campaign launched in France and Italy

Tourism Australia and Singapore Airlines have launched joint activities in France and Italy this month. The campaigns follow the recent co-op activity in Germany and is an extension the global 'Come and Say G’day' invitation. The campaign encourages European travellers to plan and book their holiday to Australia. The joint activities include a series of digital and social ads as well animated digital out of home placements across all major cities in France and Italy.

Come and Say G’day featuring on German TV

Tourism Australia has produced five ‘best of’ episodes about Australia. The episodes are the next burst of the ‘Come and Say G’day’ campaign activation in Germany and will be broadcast on the major German breakfast TV show, Frühstücksfernsehen, over the duration of five weeks. Each morning about half a million Germans watch the show and now viewers will be inspired by Ruby’s Australia highlights ranging from beaches, wildlife, nature, and unique Australian experiences.

Pop-up Roadshow and travel agent training in Shenzhen

A pop-up ‘Australia Weekend’ roadshow was held in Shenzhen Huangting mall in China last month. The roadshow also included a full training session for the local agents. Around 60 agents attended with an immigration officer to introduce recent policies followed by an interactive Q&A session. The training was very collaborative, and agents were extremely eager to learn and travel now that borders have opened.

TOURISM INDUSTRY NEWS

Longitude 131° Celebrates Ernabella Arts Partnership with Artists-in-Residence Events

2023 marks 20 of operation for the First Nations Anangu artists at the Ernabella Arts Centre in South Australia’s Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands ceramics program and studio. It also marks a decade that Longitude 131° has worked in a partnership with the team at Ernabella Arts. To celebrate, in 2023 Longitude 131° has confirmed dates of its artists-in-residence events, where artists travel from Ernabella to stay a few days at the lodge, to paint with a view to World Heritage-listed natural icons Uluru and Kata Tjuta. Find out more here.

Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference

The Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Conference in the Asia-Pacific (AITCAP) will be held on 28 April on the Gold Coast. The yearly event provides all tourism stakeholders (businesses, tour operators, policy makers, Destination Management Organisations) with an opportunity to learn how to cater to the valuable accessible and inclusive market to promote sustainable growth and connect with other delegates to create momentum and contribute to the sector. Find out more and register here.

AUSTRALIAN STORIES

Opera Australia and AGNSW unite for unique Madama Butterfly experience

Kicking off on 29 March, The Art Gallery of New South Wales and Opera Australia are uniting for a series of special evenings on Sydney Harbour. Guests are invited to combine a love of art, food and opera in one incredible experience. Starting the evening rich in culture with a tour of the Art Gallery’s new commissions at the Sydney Modern centre, guests are then treated to dinner at MOD Dining, and tickets to Opera Australia’s Madama Butterfly on Sydney Harbour. The collaborative experience runs until 19 April.

Merivale launches fourth Totti’s venue in Lorne, Victoria

Hospitality giant Merivale has opened a new iteration of beloved Sydney/Warrane food establishment, Totti’s at the Lorne Hotel in Victoria. Welcoming guests from last Saturday, 11 March, Totti’s Lorne is helmed by Executive Chef and Surf Coast local, Matt Germanchis, who is committed to adding his local knowledge to the famed Totti’s menu items. From King George Whiting to Apollo Bay octopus, the menu profiles local seafood alongside Totti’s signatures like antipasti and woodfired bread and handmade pastas.

Accor hotels and Ecotourism Australia unite for sustainable change

Accor has entered into a strategic partnership with Ecotourism Australia to certify all Accor hotels, apartments and resorts across Australia and the Pacific as Sustainable Tourism certified businesses. Introduced in 2022, Sustainable Tourism Certification is designed for all tourism operators and businesses in the tourism supply chain to meet and gain recognition for best practice sustainability initiatives. In 2022 Accor Pacific removed 43 single use plastic items such as individual toiletries from guest facing areas in over 80 per cent of hotels and the organisation will continue to invest in sustainable initiatives.

National Gallery of Australia sends two exhibitions to Alice Springs

Alice Springs will house two of the National Gallery of Australia’s major touring exhibitions in 2023. Both Johns: Significant Others and the 4th National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony will open at Araluen Arts Centre this March. Featuring the work of 35 artists from across Australia, the National Indigenous Art Triennial: Ceremony is a diverse showcase of Country, of culture and of community, while Rauschenberg & Johns explores the Abstract expressionist movement by the two renowned North American artists of the same name.