Australia-China Tourism Summit

Australia’s National Landscapes
The achievements of Australia’s National Landscapes program, a long term partnership between Tourism Australia and Parks Australia, are outlined in a new report released this week. The national nature-based tourism program, which has been running since 2005, seeks to differentiate Australia’s iconic natural and cultural destinations and improve visitor experiences throughout protected areas. The Outcome Report includes an update on the status of the National Landscapes program, explains key challenges in the program’s implementation to date and outlines future challenges and actions. Download the Outcome Report or find out more about the National Landscapes program.

Queensland most popular destination in NZ competition
Over 2,000 Kiwis have shared their Australian holiday experiences in a competition as part of Tourism Australia’s global There’s nothing like Australia campaign. With over 900 entries Queensland emerged as the most popular destination followed by New South Wales and Victoria. Photos from all states and territories were featured in the competition. Jakes Jacobson was the winner of an Australian holiday for his experience snorkelling with his wife at the Great Barrier Reef with a giant Maori Wrasse fish. Jakes said the trip was ‘legendary’ and should be on everyone’s list.

UK campaign for Queensland
Tourism Australia and Tourism Queensland have partnered to launch a UK campaign with the Mail on Sunday in support of the Queensland recovery efforts. Last Sunday a 16 page supplement in the Mail, which has a circulation of 1.5 million, showcased why there’s nothing like holidaying in Queensland and mailonline.co.uk/queensland was launched. The website will remain active for four weeks showcasing holiday ideas as well as offering the chance to win a two week holiday in Queensland. In addition, TA and TQ have partnered with Flight Centre and Trailfinders in the UK to promote Queensland and are running an advertising campaign on Facebook.

Strong arrivals from emerging markets
Continued strong visitor arrivals from China and India are making up for some of the impact on the Australian tourism industry from recent natural disasters and the timing of Easter. “March 2011 marks the 14th consecutive month of short-term arrivals growth from China,” the Minister for Tourism, Martin Ferguson AM MP, said. “We’ll continue to aggressively market into China – that’s not to say we’re taking our eye off the ball with strong traditional markets such as the US, UK and Japan which remain high-yielding markets for Australia," he added. Find out more.

World Youth and Student Travel Conference
The 2011 program for global youth travel industry event WYSTC has been given a shake-up with more networking opportunities and a greater focus on travel technology trends as well as market projections for 2012. Tourism Australia in partnership with the Backpacker Tourism Advisory Panel will be part of the Australian presence which includes an Australian village where Australian delegates may choose to exhibit, and a networking function with buyers. For more information, and to register for the event in Barcelona 20-23 September, visit www.wystc.org or contact Paul Murray, Business Development Manager at Tourism Australia. Early-bird registrations close 31 May.

Japan market briefings
Are you interested in what is happening in Japan including what to expect for the rest of 2011 and Tourism Australia’s priorities? Kaz Hori, Tourism Australia’s Regional General Manager for Japan, is giving a Japan market update in three Australian locations this month: Cairns on Friday 20 May at 16.30-17.30, the Gold Coast on Monday 23 May at 10.00-11.30 and Sydney on Tuesday 24 May at 14.00-15.30 (locations are to be confirmed). If you would like to attend please email Maggie Chen with your name, company and position as well as a contact email address and phone number. For a recent update on the Japan market from Kaz during ATE 2011, please visit TA’s Market Updates video portal and click on Japan.

Sydney “one of the best”
Sydney has been recognised as one of world's best destinations and one of the world’s most liveable cities. Australia’s largest city ranked second in TripAdvisor’s 2011 Travelers' Choice World Destinations and fifth in the 2011 PwC Cities of Opportunity Report which measures performance, opportunity and capacity to prosper and succeed.

Visitor arrivals in March
Details of short-term visitor arrivals to Australia for March 2011 are now available on tourism.australia.com.

Each year Tourism Australia measures our stakeholders’ satisfaction with the services we provide and our marketing activities. The survey is anonymous and results are reported in aggregate. The survey for this year closes on Monday 16 May. To participate please click Start Survey. 

Please contact richard@greenhillresearch.com.au with any queries.