Australian Tourism Exchange attracts 2300 delegates to Gold Coast 

The 43rd edition of Tourism Australia’s largest annual trade event, the Australian Tourism Exchange 2023 (ATE23) is currently being held on the Gold Coast with around 2,300 delegates from 30 countries taking part in the event at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre.

ATE23 opened on 30th April and will run until 4th May 2023, with delegates including around 650 international buyers and 80 international media who are also participating in pre and post event familiarisations.

ATE23 is delivered by Tourism Australia in partnership with Tourism and Events Queensland and supported by Destination Gold Coast.

This year ATE has returned to its traditional format for the first time since 2019, with four days of appointments. The tourism travel show has taken place in a condensed hybrid format over the past two years.

Tourism Australia Managing Director Phillipa Harrison said the first full ATE in years is an important milestone for the Australian tourism industry as it continues to rebuild off the back of the most challenging few years in its history.

Harrison noted “International travellers are returning to our shores but the competition for the global tourism dollar is now greater than ever before which is why business-to-business events, such as ATE, are so important.

“ATE brings together tourism businesses, tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world for four days of appointments as well as networking events, while our international buyers get the chance to experience our world class tourism offerings first hand.

“The delegates visit from more than 30 countries and we know once they have seen what Australia has to offer for themselves they will be well placed to tell travellers why Australia is the best place in the world for their next holiday.”

A 133-strong delegation of Chinese travel agency bosses and industry wholesalers are participating in  ATE23 with Tourism Australia seeing the Chinese powerbrokers as key to reviving an international tourist market worth $12.4 billion to the Australian economy each year.

The Chinese VIPs are being entertained and granted exclusive access to the country's premier tourism experiences, attractions, and destinations over the course of the five-day junket.

The host city's sales pitch includes 25 ‘familiarisations’, giving buyers the chance to take surfing lessons or shape their own board, go jet boating, hot air ballooning, or visit the region's best wineries and craft breweries.

Harrison noted that Chinese visitors were desperately needed to offset the number of Australians who were "travelling outbound in droves".

"It remains a critical market for us," she said.

"It is worth $12.4 billion so we are looking forward to that returning. The tourism industry will not recover fully until China comes back."

Tourism Australia's internal projections suggest the numbers will not recover until 2026.

Tourism and Events Queensland Chief Executive Patricia O’Callaghan added “rebuilding Queensland’s $6 billion international market is critical to the future of tourism for this country.”

Executives from Tourism Australia and each of the state's peak tourism bodies will travel to Chengdu next month for the Chinese launch of the Come and Say G'day advertising campaign, which was unveiled to the rest of the world in October last year.

(The promotion of ATE23 doesn’t appear to have received extensive coverage on social media channels such as Facebook from Destination Gold Coast (supporter of the event); Tourism and Events Queensland and Tourism Australia (partners of the event); host venue - Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre. ED)