Aquatic campaign makes a splash in Italy

Tourism Australia has kicked off an aquatic and coastal campaign in Italy with the South Australian Tourism Commission, Tourism Northern Territory, Singapore Airlines and Italian tour operator Discover Australia. At the centre of the campaign is a 28 page supplement in travel magazine DOVE which also carries a Google Cardboard headset for readers to immerse themselves in aquatic experiences. A competition is also running on www.vinciaustralia360.com to win a trip for two to South Australia and the Northern Territory. For the year ending 2016, Australia welcomed 74,100 visitors from Italy who spent a total of A$505 million. Find out more about the Italian market.

GC2018 opens ticket requests

Ticket requests for the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games (GC2018) officially opened on Monday. Orders will be confirmed and payment taken after the Ticket Request phase closes.

David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef Dive VR wins BAFTA

Atlantic Productions and its virtual reality studio Alchemy VR has won the first ever BAFTA Award for a Virtual Reality (VR) experience. David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef Dive VR won in the Digital Creativity category at the ceremony in London. This award also means that Atlantic’s partnership with David Attenborough has won three BAFTAs for content across all new digital media and now, Virtual Reality. The experience has travelled the world and been seen by audiences across the globe. Tourism Australia worked with Atlantic Productions to promote the award winning content.

Cruising Down Under training in the US

Tourism Australia in partnership with Tourism Western Australia and Qantas Vacations hosted a training workshop with over 100 agents at the Cruise360 Conference in Florida earlier this month. Agents were keen to learn more about Australia and reported the destination becoming more popular for them lately. Other trends discussed at the conference included the extensive use of travel agents to book luxury cruises and innovative new technology improving the cruise experience. For more information on the cruise market visit Australian Cruise Association.

Outdoor campaign in Singapore

Australia’s beautiful aquatic and coastal experiences have been on show for more than 220,000 weekly commuters at one of Singapore’s busiest train stations this month. The promotion also carries a number of special offers on the Singapore edition of Australia.com to start an unforgettable journey to Australia.

Qantas campaign in Indonesia and Singapore

Tourism Australia and Qantas are launching a major marketing initiative in Indonesia and Singapore this month in the lead up to the busy school holiday travel period. The campaign, led by promotional fares, will showcase the beauty of the country and entice consumers to experience Australia from the time of boarding with Qantas.

Aussie Specialists workshop in Singapore

More than 100 front line travel sellers attended an Aussie Specialist workshop in Singapore this month with product updates from all eight Australian states and territories. The workshop trained agents on Australian destinations and experiences as well as the tools and resources available to them through the Aussie Specialist program. The Aussie Specialist Program is Tourism Australia’s global online training program, shared by all eight state and territory tourism partners and designed to provide frontline travel sellers from around the globe with the knowledge and skills to best sell Australia.

AFL Premiership match in Shanghai a sell out

The Gold Coast SUNS will play Port Adelaide to a capacity crowd at Shanghai’s Jiangwan Stadium on 14 May as part of China Australia Year of Tourism. “The crowd will be made up of fans travelling from Australia, fans from the Asian region and new fans from within China itself," said AFL Chief Financial Officer and General Manager for Clubs Travis Auld. Tourism Australia alongside the South Australian Tourism Commission and Tourism and Events Queensland are partnering with the AFL to bring the excitement of a Toyota AFL Premiership Season match to Shanghai.

New Aussie Specialist website launched in Spanish

Frontline travel sellers in Australia’s international Spanish speaking markets now have access to the revamped Aussie Specialist Program website to help them with the knowledge and skills to best sell Australian holidays. Shared by all state and territory tourism partners, the relaunched program includes a new digital platform with interactive training modules and map, inspiring new content and the latest sales resources including fact sheets and itinerary suggestions. Find out more about the Aussie Specialist Program.

Australia @ Travelweek Sao Paulo

Tourism Australia and Qantas are participating in Travelweek Sao Paulo this week, meeting with 120 industry from across Brazil and Latin America. The event followed the Walkabout South America roadshow from 17-21 April where 15 Australia tourism businesses and destinations along with airline partner Air New Zealand met with over 300 agents and 120 key distribution partners. The events also timed well with the launch of the Spanish language edition of the revamped Aussie Specialist Program.

Premium Australian experiences on the menu in the US

Australia’s premium experiences have featured heavily in the US recently through partnerships with luxury travel company Black Tomato and American Express. Black Tomato created a campaign called The Tasting Menu which shared premium travel options online and in a special printed menu of experiences mailed to their highest spending US clients. The menus also appeared in travel blogs and social media. Tourism Australia has also been working closely with American Express attending AMEXperience events to train American Express travel and lifestyle advisors in addition to training appointments with several key luxury agencies and wholesalers.

Promoting Business Events in the US

Australia was represented at two high profile US events earlier this month. At the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Education Partnership Summit in Nevada, Australia was featured at education sessions and a special Accor Hotels showcase. Tourism Australia’s Business Events Manager for the Americas, Paul Griffin, also held meetings with senior association executives at the event and networked with over 100 influential business events buyers. Following the Summit, Australia was also represented at the SITE Incentive Summit in Colorado, an invitation-only conference that brings together an exclusive group of incentive buyers.

Restaurant Australia case study video: ICC Sydney

Tourism Australia is producing a series of videos showcasing tourism businesses from around the country who are great examples of Restaurant Australia. The aim of the videos is to inspire more businesses to get involved in promoting Aussie cuisine as food and wine continues to become an ever more important aspect of the experience international visitors are looking for. ICC Sydney offers world class catering for events with a focus on local providores and a food philosophy to deliver the best possible environment for success.

Aerial photo contest: Australia from Above

More than 5,000 entries have now been submitted for the Australia From Above contest to inspire aerial photographers from around the world to share, enjoy and experience new creative perspectives of Australia. The competition is being run by SkyPixel, the world’s most popular aerial photography community, and is co-sponsored by Tourism Australia and drone manufacturer DJI. Entries are open until Tuesday 2 May for professionals and enthusiasts alike to share their visions of the country.

New villa for Barnbougle Golf Resort in Tasmania

Barnbougle, located on the north east coast of Tasmania, has added a new, two-bedroom luxury Ocean Villa to the international golf resorts’ onsite accommodation offer. Perched atop the coastal sand dune at The Dunes Course, the Ocean Villa is 114 square metres of beachfront luxury with uninterrupted views of Bass Strait and the pristine Barnbougle Beach.

Marco Pierre White to host Seppeltsfield Italian Feast

Culinary icon Marco Pierre White is the latest to join the likes of Ana Ros, David Pynt and Jock Zonfrillo in a star studded line up of chefs at the 2017 Tasting Australia festival in South Australia. In collaboration with the Seppeltsfield Estate chefs, Marco Pierre White will host an Italian feast in the Seppeltsfield 1920s Vintage Cellar on 30 April.

Ord Valley Muster unveils new events for 2017

The east Kimberley’s Argyle Diamonds Ord Valley Muster will feature a host of new activities including a Literary Lunch with award-winning international crime writer Alan Carter, yoga and breakfast in one of the world’s most spectacular settings, and unique tours of El Questro and the fascinating Ord Irrigation Scheme.

Eat Canberra launches local food tours

Eat Canberra has recently launched their new Eat Canberra Food Tours, which showcase some of Canberra’s best gastronomic hidden gems. The tours include up to six venues around Braddon and Civic, allowing participants to sample a range of food and drinks. Tours run on Saturdays from 1pm and last for around 4 hours, initially running twice a month.

Corroboree West 2017

Seller applications are open until Thursday 25 May for the inaugural Corroboree West 2017 on Queensland’s Gold Coast from 9 to 14 October. The event provides a professional forum for Australian sellers to train qualified Aussie Specialists from the Americas, United Kingdom and Europe and strengthen specific product knowledge. In addition, through familiarisation visits, the Aussie Specialists will gain first-hand experience of quality Australian tourism products, enhancing their ability to promote and sell Australia.

World Travel Market 2017

Seller applications to join the Australia stand at World Travel Market (WTM) 2017 are open until Monday 8 May. WTM, to be held at ExCel in London from 6 to 8 November, attracts over 50,000 travel industry professionals. The event brings travel and tourism's most prominent figures together to network, negotiate, and conduct business.

Conversations with Industry, Tropical North Queensland

Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) in partnership with Tourism Australia (TA) and Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) is hosting a free Conversations with Industry -Tropical North Queensland event on Thursday 4 May at the Pullman Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns. The forum is part of a series held throughout the state and provides a great opportunity to connect with representatives from TA, TEQ and TTNQ to gain industry insights and discuss the key business areas of marketing, digital, experience development, events and international markets.

Building customer loyalty

According to research conducted by business technology provider West, 68 per cent of customers leave because they feel brands do not care about them. West has created an infographic from the research including tips for building customer loyalty. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.

Queensland's Government has outlined a new $35 million trade and investment plan to boost jobs and tourism and help Queensland exporters tap into expanding international markets.

Pip Close has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Tourism Tropical North Queensland and will start in the role on 3 July.

The 2017 SATIC Tourism Conference has been extended to a day and a half and will be held on 6–7 June at the Stamford Grand Adelaide.

Etihad Airways has announced its current daily A380 Sydney flights will be joined by a second daily superjumbo service from 29 October.

Destination NSW is encouraging industry to share inspirational NSW holiday-related videos and photos for its new campaign, What I Love About Holidays in NSW. Submissions are open until 18 May.