Tourism Australia’s international mega familiarization and workshop event, G’day Australia, will be held in Cairns from Monday 9 October to Thursday 12 October 2023, bringing together 300 travel agents from around the world to experience Australia’s world class tourism offerings first-hand and to network with industry peers.
G’day Australia, the next evolution of Tourism Australia’s ‘Corroboree’ event, invites qualified Aussie Specialists to Australia. These agents, who have completed Tourism Australia’s innovative online training program, will have the opportunity to meet with Australian sellers in Cairns and participate in pre and post-event familiarizations around the country, supported by Australia’s State and Territory Tourism Organizations.
Tourism Australia Managing Director, Phillipa Harrison, said G’day Australia is an important event for Aussie Specialists agents, who are the frontline travel sellers that actively sell Australia as a preferred long-haul destination and will be critical as our travel industry continues its recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our Aussie Specialists agents know so much about our country from the Aussie Specialist Program, but we know being on the ground in Australia, meeting our amazing tourism operators and experiencing what they do provides even more inspiration to confidently sell Australia to clients,” Ms Harrison said.
“The event, to be held in October this year, will provide a great opportunity to highlight what’s on offer in Tropical North Queensland, which has long been a destination popular with international visitors as its offerings stretch from rainforests, to beaches, to the Great Barrier Reef and so much more.
“This is the first time we have held G’day Australia, previously known as Corroboree, since 2019 and we are looking forward to delivering this important event in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ) and with support from Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ).”
Tourism and Events Queensland CEO Patricia O’Callaghan said Cairns was the perfect destination to host G’day Australia with some of the world’s best tourism experiences on offer.
“Rebuilding Queensland’s $6 billion international market is critical to the future of tourism for this country and we have been working hard to do this by hosting opportunities such as ATEC Meeting Place in Cairns last November and hosting the Australian Tourism Exchange on the Gold Coast this April,” Ms O’Callaghan said.
“Queensland is a bucket list destination, and our comprehensive familiarization program will run right around the state showing everything from the reef to the rainforest, the ocean to the Outback and of course our iconic beaches.
“It is important we put our best foot forward to ensure our travel agents continue to sell Queensland as a preferred travel destination.”
Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said hosting the first G’day Australia event in Cairns was recognition of the destination’s strong international appeal.
“In the past three years since international borders closed our region has invested significantly in new tourism infrastructure and refreshing our experiences to ensure they are world-class,” he said.
“This will be the first time the front-line travel agents who specialise in selling Australia have returned to our country and they will be immersed in Tropical North Queensland for five days which is a great opportunity.
“Our industry is very excited about showcasing the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s oldest rainforest and our ancient Indigenous culture to the 300 Aussie Specialists while they enjoy the many new hotels and dining experiences in Cairns.”
G’day Australia provides an invaluable opportunity for around 100 Australian sellers to showcase their product to qualified Aussie Specialist travel agents from North America, UK/Europe, Asia and New Zealand.
G’day Australia will take place in the same format to the Corroboree events held annually before the global COVID-19 pandemic. Corroboree was held for Asia and Western markets in alternate years, while this year’s G’day Australia event will be global, covering all key international markets. The event’s new name aligns with Tourism Australia’s current international tourism campaign “Come and Say G’day”.
G’day Australia 2023 will be delivered in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland and supported by Tourism Tropical North Queensland.
