Andrew McEvoy will step down from his position as the managing director of Tourism Australia at the end of the year to take up a role with Fairfax in January.
As managing director of Fairfax Events, McEvoy will assume responsibility for a range of events including the SMH City2Surf and Night Noodle Markets, the AFR’s Women of Influence, along with other business media forums and conferences, regional events and field days.
TA chairman Geoff Dixon commended McEvoy’s achievements in his four years at the tourism body and wished him well in the new role.
“Andrew has been an outstanding CEO for Tourism Australia, greatly strengthening the organisation both strategically and operationally, and putting in place a strong and committed management team,” he said.
He highlighted those achievements as the development of the Tourism 2020 plan, the There’s Nothing Like Australia campaign, the strengthening of TA’s presence in Asia and the considerable growth of its social media outlets, along with Oprah Winfrey’s visit and the recent Best Jobs in the World push.
“The Australian visitor economy has had three successive years of growth in numbers, nights and spend, achieving its best growth performance since the Olympic year of 2000,” Dixon said.
"The domestic visitor economy has also seen two years of strong growth, putting Australia on track to achieve its 2020 targets."
The search to find a replacement for McEvoy will begin immediately.
Meanwhile, Fairfax chief executive Greg Hywood welcomed McEvoy on board, underlining his leadership skills and sense of innovation as central to his appeal.
“His knowledge of the tourism, events and conference industries is second to none,” he said.
“Andrew’s brief is to rapidly develop what is already a core strength of Fairfax Media. Events are a growth sector in the Australian economy and Andrew’s appointment will drive new revenue and greatly enhance Fairfax’s performance in the sector.”
Meanwhile McEvoy, who has more than 20 years of tourism and media experience, embraced the challenges offered by the new role.
“I’m excited by the opportunity to join Fairfax as it seeks to grow revenue in areas that capitalise on core strengths such as events and content creation."
