The first full day of Australia’s largest tourism tradeshow, Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE26), has got off to a flying start with thousands of descending on Adelaide Convention Centre today.
Attended by hundreds of global buyers, scores of travel advisors, dozens of airport representatives and a host of tourism destination operators, plus all state and territory tourism organisations, the general feeling in the room – in this case the vast convention centre space – is that travel does not stop, it just chooses a different direction.
“Tourism shapes how Australia is experienced and understood globally, building the national brand and creating lasting people-to-people connections at events like ATE,” Tourism Australia managing director Robin Mack said.
More than 2,700 attendees including 730 buyers and travel agents from 32 countries have converged in Adelaide for ATE26. They will meet with 1,400 Australian industry representatives from 674 tourism organisations, highlighting the best that South Australia and Australia have to offer alongside events and familiarisations to visit our local tourism offerings.
There are already more than 55,000 appointments scheduled to take place over the next four days, with many more expected on the fringes of the event. Each one of these meetings contribute to new and strengthened relationships and partnerships that drive sustained growth in the tourism sector, and economic opportunity for all Australians.
South Australian Minister for Tourism Emily Bourke welcomed the audience, acknowledging in Kaurna language that delegates were meeting on Kaurna land.
“We have already heard so many of the statistics, so many people are here, over 2700, 74 South Australian organisations are here and I think it is the biggest contingent we have had ever,” she said.
The last time the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) was held in Adelaide was in 2018, with Brisbane hosting last year. ATE26 is being delivered in partnership with the South Australia Tourism Commission.
“I could stand here and talk about the economic benefits, the incredible opportunities that come with these investments and these new major events come into other states, now to call South Australia home, but it’s much, much more than that,” Bourke said.
“Tourism is our way of life in South Australia that is what we are selling. You can come here and be a part of something much bigger than going to a destination, you feel connected and want to be a part of our great state.”
The Minister then rattled off a list of recent awards that included:
- Fleurieu Peninsula’s Willunga which has just been named Australia’s best Food and Wine Town in Australian Traveller’s 100 Best Towns in Australia to Travel to list. The historic township, the gateway to McLaren Vale, was ranked No.1 in the Food and Wine category and seventh overall, placing it firmly among the top 10 towns to visit in Australia.
- The Adelaide Central Market has been crowned the third-best food market in the world, according to a global ranking published by travel insurer AllClear.
- The Ikara-Flinders Ranges have been recognised as the only Australian destination on Lonely Planet’s Top Places Hotlist for 2026.
Chair of Tourism Australia, Penny Fowler, said it had been a challenging time to come for the industry but reassured that the audience that TA was doing all it could to support the industry.
“As we started this year, Australia was more placed on a path towards sustainable growth,” she said. “Whilst global services may have shifted, we have a long-term plan for our tourism 2035 strategy that sets the course for a sustainable future for our inbound to tourism sector.”
