Friends of Australia to share their Australian holiday stories
Tourism Australia has invited eighty high profile Australians and foreigners with links to Australia to share their favourite Australian holiday stories to encourage word-of-mouth discussion about the destination.
Speaking about the new
Friends of Australia program, Tourism Australia Managing Director, Andrew McEvoy said that word-of-mouth advocacy, from people who are credible, reliable and motivating, is one of the most effective forms of marketing.
“Tourism Australia has created the
Friends of Australia program to harness the power of bright and influential people who are making a name for themselves on the world stage, and who have a genuine affinity with Australia,” Andrew McEvoy said.
The
Friends of Australia program involves sports stars, fashion designers and leading chefs, environmentalists, entrepreneurs and artists, along with some of Australia’s most influential high-achievers and opinion leaders.
For more information and to read the media release, click
here.
Hear about our new Marketing Campaign at the 2010 Market Briefings
Come to one of our free Market Briefings in April to get up-to-date information on Tourism Australia’s new marketing campaign and what’s happening in the global tourism market.
Register now at www.tourism.australia.com/registration.asp. The briefings are being held in Brisbane Tuesday 6 April, Cairns Wednesday 7 April, Darwin Thursday 8 April, Sydney Friday 9 April, Melbourne Tuesday 13 April, Hobart Wednesday 14 April, Perth Thursday 15 April and Adelaide Friday 16 April.
Australia Ranks 3rd as Destination of Choice at MATTA 2010 Travel Fair
The annual Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA) travel fair was held in Kuala Lumpur recently, attracting over 100,000 visitors. Tourism Australia and the State Tourism Organisations (STOs) attended the event, with Australia ranking third in the number of trip bookings at the fair.
The Australia pavilion, themed ‘Only in Oz’ featured unique Australian experiences chosen to appeal to travellers who have not yet visited Australia. Aussie Specialist travel agents were on hand to sell exclusive ‘Only in Oz’ land packages with bonus offers provided by the STOs for the event.
For more information on the Malaysian market, click here.
New look coming for Tourism Australia’s corporate website
Keep an eye out next week for a brand new Tourism Australia corporate website and an exciting new look essentials newsletter.
If you’re looking for the latest market research, opportunities to be involved in Tourism Australia campaigns and programs, or the latest news from our markets, you’ll find it all and more on the new site.
Access the latest video news from Canada
Tune into the International Video Portal for this week’s update from Daryl Hudson, Regional General Manager for The Americas. Daryl provides an update on the Canadian market, including comments from Mark Punshon, Vice President, Sales, Qantas Vacations.
Next week, we’ll hear from Johnny Nee, Regional General Manager for North Asia.
To access the International Video Portal for Daryl’s and other videos, visit www.tourism.australia.com/marketupdates.
Australia luxury supplement in German magazine abenteuer & reisen
A 32-page supplement covering nature and luxury experiences in Australia has been distributed in German travel magazine abenteuer & reisen. The magazine, which has a circulation of 140,000, featured nature, coastal and cities experiences and some of Australia’s top luxury lodges, all designed to entice readers to Australia.
For more information of the German market, click here.
French students invited to discover Australia
University students in seven French cities are being invited to discover Australia as part of a 26-day roadshow supported by Tourism Australia, Cathay Pacific and surf brand, Rip Curl. The promotion includes a radio and online campaign with French youth radio station NRJ offering one lucky winner a trip to Australia.
The campaign’s minisite www.australiesurtoncampus.com directs students to join Tourism Australia’s facebook page and visit a dedicated page on Australia.com to find out more on holidaying and working Downunder.
For more information on the French market, click here.
Spaniards play to win a trip to Australia
Following the launch of the Spanish version of Australia.com, our Spanish facebook fans are being invited to play a game to win a trip to Australia with Singapore Airlines.
The competition requires players to answer questions on Tourism Australia’s seven key experiences. Clues can be found on Australia.com and extra points can be earned by recommending the game to family and friends. The player with the most points wins two tickets to Australia.
For more information on the Spanish market, click here.
OZTalk Travel Expo 2010
An ‘amazing buzz’ was noted by operators at OZTalk in Auckland last week. Now in its eleventh year, OzTalk is the largest travel expo of its kind in New Zealand and was attended by over 130 Australian tourism operators and more than 250 travel agents from around New Zealand and New Caledonia.
OZTalk 2010 concluded on Sunday with a consumer day for Kiwis to visit the show and to book some hot ‘show specials’. The exclusive retail partner, Flight Centre, reported a 30 percent increase in Australia sales over the two week campaign culminating in Sunday’s travel expo.
For more information on the New Zealand market, click here.
ITB 2010 Berlin
ITB 2010 was held in Berlin this month. Tourism Australia partnered with 17 Australian suppliers, two German tour operators and seven state and territory tourism organisations. The five day event attracted over 111,000 trade visitors and was hailed as being one of the busiest ITBs for quite some time.
Prior to ITB Tourism Australia conducted an Aussie Specialist training event which included State presentations and product workshops staged by the Australia stand partners.
For more information on the German market, click here.
Ex-Tropical Cyclone Ului
Category 3 Cyclone Ului crossed the Queensland Coast in the Mackay/Whitsundays region in the early hours of Sunday morning AEST March 21.
Fortunately damage in the region has been limited and emergency services and clean up crews have done a fantastic job in returning services to normal as quickly as possible. Most roads are now open, ferry services have resumed and power is back for most areas including the Mackay and Airlie Beach CBDs. Most hotels, resorts and shops are open or should re-open within a day or two. Most tour operators will also be up and running in the next 24-48 hours.
For more information and to read Tourism Queensland's special bulletin, click here.