TOURISM VICTORIA ANNUAL REPORT

international marketing
Birrarung Marr, Melbourne. Photo: Robert Blackburn.
Korea
• In conjunction with the new direct
flight service by Korean Air, Tourism
Victoria conducted a series of tactical
campaigns with key wholesalers
including Hana Tour, Mode Tour
and Lotte Tour. The series included
online promotion, newspaper
advertisements and a familiarisation
trip for key retail agents. Travel agent
partners recorded 2,000 bookings
for tour packages.
Australian Tourism
Exchange 2008
The Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE),
Australia’s premier international travel
industry event, was held in Perth in
June 2008. ATE is an annual forum for
internationally ready and active tourism
businesses to meet, showcase their
product and negotiate deals with key
overseas contacts.
ATE 2008 was attended by more
than 800 of the world’s top tourism
buyers. They met with 1,600 Australian
company delegates. The business area
for the Victorian product, themed by
Tourism Victoria, highlighted the new
Melbourne and Victoria brand marks.
With 51 (Eastern hemisphere) and
63 (Western hemisphere) companies
respectively presenting at ATE, for the
second time Victoria was the second
highest represented State, behind
Queensland in terms of the number
of seller products attending. Thirteen
Victorian products were first time ATE
attendees. More than 50 international
and domestic media attended ATE.
In 2009 ATE will be held in Melbourne.
Education & Familiarisations
Educating the international travel trade
about Victoria and its attractions is an
integral part of international marketing
activity. This raises awareness of Victoria
as a premier tourist destination and
increases the quantity of Victorian
tourism product featured in travel
wholesale programs and itineraries.
Almost 840 international travel agents
took part in structured activities under
Tourism Victoria’s familiarisations program
in 2007–08, which was heavily supported
by the Victorian tourism industry.
More than 10,000 international
wholesale and retail staff learned
about Victoria’s tourism product
in structured educational sessions,
including presentations and workshops
throughout the year. Tourism Victoria staff
made 2,773 sales calls to travel trade
partners in all international markets.
Another important aspect of Tourism
Victoria’s international marketing
role is informing the industry of the
latest international market intelligence.
Victoria’s International Exchange,
held each November, was attended
by 150 industry representatives.
Trade Shows &
Trade Missions
Tourism Victoria worked closely
throughout the year with Australianbased
inbound tour operators,
conducting workshops and undertaking
sales calls, familiarisations and trade
missions. Much of this work was
undertaken in partnership with the
Australian Tourism Export Council.
Tourism Victoria led Victorian industry
participation at trade and consumer
shows and trade missions in primary
and secondary markets. These activities
included major industry missions to
the United States, United Kingdom,
New Zealand and China, the National
Association of Travel Agents of
Singapore Travel Fair, India Travel
Mission, the Arabian Travel Market,
Japan Australia Mission and Oz Talk
in the USA and New Zealand.
MARKETING
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