Essentials this week... | Destination Australia Conference 2016 | 100,000 @TourismAus followers | Digital assets boom | Latest domestic tourism data |Journey analytics | and more...

New digital assets, designed as part of Tourism Australia’s global There’s Nothing Like Australia marketing campaign, have drawn the world’s attention with over 1 million views of the aquatic and coastal 360 videos on YouTube. The Port Lincoln Sea Lion video has received over 300,000 views alone. All the 360 videos are available for industry to use in their marketing campaigns.

Tourism Australia brought a colourful display of Australia to business events buyers in America’s Midwest earlier this month with a series of interactive events. The team kicked off in Minneapolis, then to Chicago where they showcased Tourism Australia’s new virtual reality and 360 footage highlighting the country’s aquatic and coastal experiences. Australia’s innovative product and airline capacity was also explained along with how Tourism Australia can be a resource for US buyers. A number of key North America business events buyers attended the event including BCD Meetings & Events, Association Forum, Vista Medical, R. Caruso & Associates, Landmark Incentives.

Tourism Australia will hold a free half-day industry briefing in Perth on Wednesday 6 April, at Crown Perth from 2-4pm. The briefing will provide market insights, business events activity, networking opportunities and more. Register now.

Applications close on Friday (18 March) for Australia Week in China (AWIC). Tourism Australia is offering a VIP program for Australian tourism industry leaders interested in learning more about the China market and establishing contacts. The program runs from 11 to 15 April 2016 and includes a VIP lunch with China Eastern Airlines, AWIC plenary sessions and more. Register before Friday.

The latest National Visitor Survey results reveal Australians undertook 87 million overnight trips for the year ending December 2015, which represents a growth of 7 per cent. Total domestic overnight and international visitor spend for 2015 now reached $94.5 billion, additional $9.0 billion in tourism spending or 10 per cent year on year growth. This is the strongest annual growth seen since Tourism 2020 was launched in 2010—more than double the average annual growth rate since 2010.

Expedia Media Solutions, in partnership with Millward Brown Digital, has conducted research into the role various travel sites play throughout the consumer’s path to purchase. The resulting report shares insights into how the various phases – inspiration, research and purchase – provide valuable opportunities for travel marketers to influence consumers to ultimately book with them. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel, visit the Insight Files.