Melbourne secures hosting of Australian Tourism Exchange 2024

Melbourne has secured the Australian Tourism Exchange 2024 - a four-day trade program and Australia’s most important annual travel and tourism marketing event.

Held in a different host city each year - this year in the Gold Coast - ATE attracts tourism businesses and buyers from around the world. It will be held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 19th to 23rd May in 2024.

ATE 2024 will connect Victorian businesses with tourism buyers and media partners from around the world through a combination of scheduled business appointments and networking events held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

It is anticipated at least 50% of buyers attending ATE will travel to regional Victoria as part of their itinerary, adding further economic benefit to local hotels, restaurants, and tourism attractions.

Visit Victoria and Tourism Australia will cooperatively host ATE 2024 which is expected to deliver an immediate injection of around $9 million into the Victorian economy and create invaluable opportunities for tourism operators across the state.

Visit Victoria Chief Executive, Brendan McClements noted “we’re proud to be partnering with Tourism Australia to host ATE in Melbourne because it will attract international buyers here and showcase some of our best tourism experiences on offer across the state.”

Support from the Victorian Government was critical to securing the hosting rights for ATE 2024 – showcasing the importance of the tourism industry to the state’s economy. The latest figures show Victoria’s visitor economy has reached $31.5 billion as at December 2022 – 97% of pre-pandemic levels.

The business transactions secured at ATE are expected to boost the value of international tourism to the Victorian economy for years to come.

Federal Minister for Trade and Tourism, Don Farrell noted “Australia’s largest annual tourism event will return to Melbourne next year for the first time since 2015 next year, attracting more than 2,000 delegates from Australia and around the world to Victoria.

“The event, to be held next May, will bring together tourism businesses, tourism wholesalers and retailers from key markets for days of face-to-face, business-to-business appointments.”

Image. Moomba Festival Melbourne. Credit: Visit Melbourne