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New theme for Destination Australia Conference

Back for its sixth year and being held in Adelaide for the first time, the Destination Australia Conference has altered its theme to reflect the current tourism climate.

The theme of this year’s conference, which will be held on 12 March at Adelaide Oval and is expected to draw approximately 350 industry folk, was intended to be ‘storytelling’.

However, with the bushfires and now the coronavirus, Tourism Australia has made a deliberate choice to change the theme to ‘resilience and recovery’.

The conference will be opened by Australia’s Minister for Tourism, Trade and Investment, Simon Birmingham (pictured above), and feature a range of industry speakers who will share their stories of recovery and resilience, as well as best-practice strategies.

Tourism Australia managing director Phillipa Harrison said: “With more than 300 of the country’s top marketers and industry leaders expected to attend, this is a great platform to draw breath and focus on the recovery and the important task of rebuilding our international reputation and helping our industry get back on its feet.

“Tourism is an incredibly resilient industry. We have been through many crises over the years, and although we a have a tough path ahead, I am confident we will come out the other side stronger and better than ever.

“Destination Australia will tap into this resilient spirit by highlighting some inspiring first-hand stories from tourism operators around the country as well as practical advice and guidance on crisis management and recovery.

“It’s also an opportunity for TA to provide an update on how we are pivoting our own marketing activities to support the industry’s ongoing recovery efforts.”

For more info on the conference, click here.

Chile unveils new international tourism campaign

Sernatur, the National Tourism Service of Chile, has launched its new international tourism campaign at this year’s global tourism convention, FITUR.

With the slogan ‘Chile, Where the Impossible is Possible’, the campaign addresses several strategic focuses, from public policy and promotion, to the development of new destinations, products and tourism services.

The campaign seeks to relaunch the destination, focusing on sustainable development and the wide range of outdoor and adventure experiences available in Chile.

Additionally, it will promote the country’s sustainable tourism products marked by the ‘S’ seal, a label that identifies tourism companies that meet the WTO’s global sustainable tourism criteria.

Click here to view the new campaign.

SATC shifts focus away from Chinese visitors

The South Australian Tourism Commission (SATC) has provided an update to the industry on how it is supporting local tourism businesses and encouraging travellers to visit the state.

With the global coronavirus outbreak hitting Aussie tourism hard, SATC chief executive said the organisation has already redistributed its marketing funds which would ordinarily be spent on the Chinese market to focus on New Zealand and Singapore.

“We know these travellers already know a lot about SA, and the majority of travellers have been here before, so we are working hard on encouraging them back – and to visit operators across our regions,” he said.

“We have had great support from Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand, as well as our travel partners, so I am looking forward to seeing positive results from these collaborations.”

SATC also recently launched a ‘Rewards Wonder’ campaign video designed for the Singaporean market, which you can check out below.

Tourism Whitsundays opens new info centre

The new Whitsundays Visitor Information Centre was unveiled last Thursday at Whitsunday Gold Coffee Plantation.

Late last year, Tourism Whitsundays and the Whitsunday Regional Council announced the centre would be reopening in its new home.

The opening of the new centre coincided with the monthly Tourism Whitsundays networking night, which saw over 200 people in attendance.

It also comes shortly after Tourism Whitsundays, in partnership with local industry members and Tourism and Events Queensland, launched a major $600,000 destination campaign.

Las Vegas paints the town purple in celebration of campaign launch

Las Vegas recently celebrated its new advertising campaign with special events and activations across the destination to light the town purple.

The campaign was launched on 26 January with a 60-second ad debuting the destination’s new slogan, ‘What Happens Here, Only Happens Here’, which aired during the 62nd Grammy Awards.

The ad features Las Vegas residency artists Shania Twain, Christina Aguilera and Aerosmith, and continues to reinforce the brand’s status as the paramount purveyor of adult freedom.

To kick off the celebration, the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) hosted a press conference at Fremont Street Experience in Downtown Las Vegas, where Governor Steve Sisolak proclaimed 30 January 2020 as Only Vegas Day.

Following the proclamation ceremony, selfie-worthy Instagram pop-ups were unveiled at some of the city’s most iconic locations, including Fremont Street Experience, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Fountains of Bellagio, The LINQ Promenade, McCarran International Airport – Terminal 1, Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, and Wynn Las Vegas.

Later that evening, resort marquees up and down the Las Vegas Strip displayed #OnlyVegas messaging, while the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas, The High Roller at The LINQ Promenade and the ‘Welcome to Fabulous’ Las Vegas sign glowed purple in reflection of the new campaign.

Credit: Kristina Alexis/Las Vegas News Bureau

Aerial views and behind-the-scenes glimpses among NMA’s new tourism experiences

Tourists can now admire the National Museum of Australia’s dramatic architecture from a private hot air balloon above Canberra and explore the iconic collection up-close on a private tour of the galleries and storage houses.

These are just a couple of the highlights included in three new visitor experiences recently unveiled by the museum.

The experiences will be on offer via Cultural Attractions of Australia, one of the segments represented under Tourism Australia’s Signature Experiences program, for travel from 1 April 2020.

New York’s Finger Lakes region launches ‘Brave Women’ tourism campaign

The Finger Lakes, one of New York State’s 11 regions, has launched a new 2020 tourism campaign called ‘Brave Women’.

The campaign celebrates the inspiring women of the Finger Lakes’ past, present and future, highlighting spots where women have made history, women-owned and -managed businesses and prominent figures in the women’s rights movement.

Spearheaded by a collection of counties and supported by the Finger Lakes Regional Tourism Council and I LOVE NEW YORK, the campaign comes as the US celebrates 100 years since women won the right to vote.

The Finger Lakes region was at the heart of this historic revolution and is unofficially known as the birthplace of the women’s rights movement in the US.

Visit Victoria highlights world-class wine experiences in new campaign

Visit Victoria has launched an international marketing campaign to promote the state as a top global wine destination and celebrate the quality and breadth of its premium wine production.

To provide visitors with easy-to-navigate guidance on how to enjoy their favourite Victorian varietal while also experiencing the best of the state’s food, nature, and local culture, the campaign showcases five distinctive wine destinations, each with its own unique flavour of visitor experience.

The campaign includes a limited-time concept that allows people to see what it’s like to sleep in a luxury converted shipping container, among the vines, at some of Victoria’s best wineries.

This unique, carbon-neutral vineyard escape will soon be available at three of Victoria’s premier wineries, with the much-anticipated return of Wine Down Pop Up.

The activation will see beautifully crafted eco-friendly pods by Contained move across three popular wine regions from March to May 2020: the Yarra Valley (Seville Estate), Mornington Peninsula (Montalto) and Rutherglen (All Saints Estate).

WA government provides tourism boost

The Western Australian government has announced a $12.85 million package to support the local tourism industry and deliver cheaper regional airfares.

The package includes the $2.85 million recently announced to drive more interstate and intrastate travellers to holiday in WA, in response to east coast bushfires and the novel coronavirus.