SHOW REPORT ATE - SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA
Brits will help TA meet 2020 target British visitors will be pivotal if
ATE, Australia’s largest travel event, was held in Sydney April 2-8, to promote the country's diverse holiday product. Steve Hartridge reports
UK agents see benefit of Oz
Twenty-four Premier Aussie Specialist
agents, the beneficiaries of an ongoing commitment by Tourism Australia to support the UK trade, experienced ATE. Graeme Brett of Westoe Travel,
South Shields, said ATE offered an opportunity to meet with existing suppliers but also learn about a host of new companies and their products. “ATE is very beneficial to us as Aussie specialists. UK tour operators only show and display a limited range of product, which is why it is so useful for us to come down here to see what else is available. If it is something we want to sell, tour ops can often access it for us.” Gordon Lawrence, of Gazelle
Travel, Durham, discovered plenty that was new on a pre-fam in New South Wales. “We went to the Southern Highlands to experience some activities that are available to the south of Sydney. “We had a ride on a Harley-Davidson,
did a jet-boat ride looking for dolphins, enjoyed a tree-top walk, before finishing off with the Coogee to Bondi Coastal Walk, which was beautiful," he said.
Tourism Australia is to meet its target of doubling overnight expenditure by 2020, said TA's managing director Andrew McEvoy. The UK has been identified as a ‘key
market with significant growth potential'. Visiting Brits currently spend $3.2 billion in overnight expenditure each year, and a target of between $5.5 billion and $6.7 billion has been set as part of TA’s plan to harvest $140 billion from all international visitors by 2020. “The UK has been a powerhouse
market and we know that when the economy is working well again and the consumer is confident, Australia will be top of mind and one of the first places they will want to go to," said McEvoy. “Travel is in Brits' DNA, and Australia
is seen as a rite of passage, so we are optimistic that when confidence returns we will see great UK growth,” he added. TA's UK manager, Rodney Harrex,
added: “The UK is very important when it comes to spend. I think our targets are very achievable, particularly as we
have events like the Lions (rugby) tour in 2013 to boost numbers. “The message we continue to push to
the trade is that there is a real opportunity to get money out of consumers because when they go to Australia they want direction on what to buy and what to do, and they want the process to be as easy as possible."
Tourism Australia will stick with its
‘There’s Nothing Like Australia’ marketing tagline, introduced last year, for at least the next decade, said McEvoy. “We have been inconsistent at times
in our marketing messages, which is usually a core strength of ours, and I think we have chopped and changed too much,” he admitted.
Qantas intends to keep flying high in uncertain times Meanwhile, the airline is to reconfigure
Qantas' Heathrow-Sydney and
Heathrow-Melbourne routes will both be served by an A380 aircraft on a double-daily basis by the end August. A series of mechanical problems in
2010 resulted in Qantas’ entire A380 fleet being grounded, before flights resumed last November. But Qantas Group ceo Alan Joyce said
the airline’s ‘positive response' to the problem had reassured consumers. “We underwent extensive checks and
an engine replacement programme and grounded every A380 until we were totally happy with the aircraft, a move which saw consumer confidence in the brand rebound very quickly,” he said.
ATE NEWS IN BRIEF
Mad Max Museum opens in NSW The Mad Max Museum, dedicated
to the Mad Max films, has opened in Silverton, near Broken Hill, New South Wales. The movies were filmed around Silverton and the museum showcases many original pieces of film memorabilia. www.
brokenhill.nsw.gov.au
14 May 2011 •
www.sellinglonghaul.com
UNESCO status for coastal road The NSW Central Coast has
received its first UNESCO World Heritage Listing. The Old Great North Road, Dharug National Park, is Australia’s best-preserved example of convict road construction. Examples include stonework buttresses, culverts, bridges and 12-metre-high retaining walls.
www.centralcoasttourism.com.au
Kalgoorlie Golf Course up to par The new Kalgoorlie Golf Course
in Western Australia is being touted as one of the top 10 desert golf courses in the world. Located in the town of Kalgoorlie – famed for its gold rush history and old buildings – the course is also the start or finish of the Nullarbor Links, the world's longest golf course.
www.kalgoorliegolfcourse.com
all its 747-400 series aircraft to meet the ultra-modern spec of the airline’s A380. This includes an Economy seat designed by acclaimed international designer Marc Newson, meals by leading chef Neil Perry (in First, Business and Premium) and an iQ inflight entertainment system that shows every Oscar-winning movie since 1970. The changes, which will start to be
seen on the UK-Australia route in 2012, will include 40 lie-flat business seats and an increase in Premium seats. Joyce said that expansion will continue
this year, with the airline spending $2.5 billion on new aircraft; $12 billion has
been committed to orders of new aircraft over the next 10 years. In addition, Qantas has committed
$44 over three years, starting in 2010, to marketing and promotional partnerships with Tourism Australia.
www.qantas.com
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