Cairns to help Australian tourism reconnect with the world

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A leading tourism industry body says Australia needs to put out the welcome mat and reconnect with its tourism markets around the world.

Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) managing director, Peter Shelley, said tourism businesses need to get out there and get noticed.

“It is hugely important that Australian tourism products get back to their markets and put the message out that they are eagerly awaiting the arrival of international visitors.

“As the industry reboots, we are facing many challenges and obstacles from aviation capacity to workforce stress, to global factors like the war in Ukraine.

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“The industry needs to engage as ‘Team Australia’ to re-establish ourselves as a highly desirable destination and be competitive against the rest of the world for the global tourism dollar.”

Mr Shelley was speaking in Cairns at the start of the 50^th annual ATEC Meeting Place, with 450 delegates, including 100 key international buyers in attendance.

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"They’ve always loved it here, but over the last two years or so, we’ve had borders closed, we’ve lost a lot of people out of the industry.

“It’s really quite critical to us to refresh the knowledge of how strong this destination is.

“North Queensland is the strongest, by far, regional destination for international travellers.

“We need to really work very hard on rebuilding the opportunities to grow our industry back to what it was before.

“There’s a hesitancy to travel internationally at the moment but we’re working on that.”

Tourism Tropical North Queensland CEO, Mark Olsen, said Meeting Place is great exposure for Far North Queensland tourism.

“The inbound tour operators participating in Meeting Place will play a key role in helping to restart the region’s $1 billion a year export industry.

“Hosting these travel trade VIPs gives us the opportunity to discuss tropical north Queensland’s strong focus on sustainability and allows them to discover why we are a leading nature-based destination.

“Our success has come from our diverse world-class visitor experiences, our leadership in ecotourism and our warm hospitality.

“The international buyers get to experience what we've been doing over the last four years.

“Three new five-star hotels, a new reef pontoon, a refurbished Silky Oaks. There are new dining experiences, new adventure product, and great new indigenous experiences.”

Assistant Tourism Minister, Michael Healy, said ATEC Meeting Place is an important part of rebuilding Queensland’s international visitor economy and supporting jobs.

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“We want our international tourism partners to experience tropical north Queensland’s iconic visitor attractions and great tropical lifestyle for themselves.

“ATEC Meeting Place gives Cairns tourism and hospitality operators the chance to meet face-to-face with the buyers who sell and promote Queensland holiday packages to overseas travel agents.

“We know when international buyers have first-hand knowledge of our world-class visitor and amazing cultural experiences, they’ll recommend them again and again to overseas agents and holidaymakers.

“This is our time to shine on the international stage and welcome the world with unbeatable holiday experiences visitors won’t find anywhere else.”