Sunday 20 November marked the 500 day countdown to the 2018 Commonwealth Games on Queensland’s Gold Coast (GC2018), celebrated with the unveiling of the Queen’s Baton and the announcement of the international route for the Queen’s Baton Relay. Australia’s Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, the Hon. Steven Ciobo MP said the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games would be the biggest international sporting event staged in Australia for a decade and the largest ever hosted by the Gold Coast. Tourism Australia is collaborating with Federal and State Government including Tourism Events Queensland and Gold Coast Tourism to maximise the international tourism related benefits of hosting the Commonwealth Games and is also the official tourism authority of the international sector of the Queen’s Baton Relay.Find out more.

Tourism Australia’s latest global campaign targeting the youth market and promoting the working holiday maker program has kicked-off in Canada with Go Overseas, a specialist in working holidays for young people. The campaign, which will run to 20 December, aims to increase awareness and consideration of Australia amongst 18-30 year old Canadians interested in working holidays, gap years and youth/backpacker travel. The promotion, running across Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, includes WHM packages from CAD $586 for every state in Australia by Go Overseas suppliers Student Universe, Travel Cuts, SWAP and Work and Travel Company. For the year ending June 2016, Australia welcomed 36,680 Canada youth visitors (26% of all arrivals from Canada), including 10,161 working holiday makers, who spent a total of A$270 million (32% of total visitor spend from Canada).

Tourism Australia is working in Germany with youth travel specialist STA Travel and German tour operator HM Touristik, to offer competitive travel deals aimed at enticing young travellers to book an Aussie adventure. Germany is one of Australia’s biggest markets for working holiday makers alongside the UK, France and Italy. For the year ending June 2016 Australia welcomed almost 85,000 German youth visitors, including almost 38,603 working holiday makers, who spent a total of A$367 million.

A new €95,000 digital campaign to promote Australia's working holiday maker program has rolled-out in Ireland and will run until 31 December. The promotion will target potential working holiday makers with information about the opportunity to live the Aussie lifestyle for up to two years, showing how easy it is to turn the dream of Australia in to a reality. Irish student and youth travel agency USIT will be offering an ‘All In’ package costing from €999 which includes a one way flight to Australia, the one year Working Holiday Maker visa, a one year travel insurance policy, and assistance with setting up a bank account and tax file number. John O’Sullivan, Managing Director Tourism Australia said “There’s a long history of Irish backpackers travelling in Australia but numbers have fallen away a little in recent years. With this campaign we hope to reverse those declines.”

Tourism Australia and the South Australian Tourism Commission have collaborated with India’s leading television production house, Balaji Telefilms, on a top-rated family soap which will showcase the best of South Australia over 10 episodes. The TV show ‘Ye Hai Mohabbatein’ (This is Love) will showcase the iconic Adelaide Oval, Rundle Street Mall, the picturesque German village of Hahndorf, the premier wine growing region of Barossa Valley, as well as the popular sights of Kangaroo Island. India’s leading online travel agency ‘Make My Trip’ will be launching exclusive packages to South Australia to accompany the program. The TV show enjoys a viewership of over 10.5 million and is considered among the leading family soaps on Indian television.

Tourism Australia’s social media team will share the latest video trends on Facebook, YouTube and Instagram in a free webinar on Tuesday 6 December at 1pm AEDT. The 30 minute webinar you will cover the best performing industry submissions on Tourism Australia’s social media profiles and the results they created for businesses all across Australia. There will also be an opportunity to ask questions to the tea at the end of the session. Find out more and register.

Applications are open until Thursday 15 December for premium and iconic Australian experiences to join Walkabout South America 2017. The program, which includes workshops, business appointments and networking opportunities, offers the opportunity to develop and establish business relationships with product planners and decision makers representing outbound travel from Chile, Argentina and Brazil. The roadshow will take place in Santiago, Chile; Sao Paulo, Brazil; and Buenos Aires, Argentina from Monday 17 April to Friday 21 April.

The number of airline passengers travelling in and out of Australia has risen to 36.2 million in 2015-16, Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, the Hon. Darren Chester MP said “this represents a seven per cent increase, which is an additional 2.4 million passengers, compared to movements recorded in 2014-15.” Mr Chester said “these latest figures indicate that Australia’s reputation as a safe and attractive international destination will continue to grow.”

Luxury travel network Virtuoso recently confirmed that 95 per cent of its travel specialists had seen sales of active, adventure and specialty travel in the last 12 months and predicted demand for this style of travel would continue to increase over the next two to three years. As the adventure travel sector rises in popularity, more and more operators are getting in on the game, with destinations once thought of as remote now more readily reachable. For more research and trends related to international and domestic tourism and travel, visit Tourism Australia’s Insight Files.