Sydney welcomes more than 2,500 tourism industry delegates for ATE 2017

Tourism Australia's 38th annual business-to-business event for building future tourism opportunities for Australia - the 2017 Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE17) - returns to Sydney this week, bringing together more than 2,500 tourism industry delegates from more than 30 countries.

Starting today (Monday 15th May), ATE 17 will see more than 700 tourism wholesalers and retailers (buyers) from 548 companies from Asia-Pacific, the Americas, continental Europe and the United Kingdom meet and do business 555 Australian tourism businesses.

In presenting what is expected to be the biggest ATE event in nearly a decade, Tourism Australia has worked with host-state partner, Destination NSW, supported by airline partners Virgin Australia and Etihad Airways.

Looking forward to the event and the current state of Australian tourism, Tourism Australia Managing Director John O'Sullivan stated “the economic impact of ATE is significant and will directly help to bolster Australia's inbound tourism sector, which is already experiencing record growth in international visitor numbers as they exceed more than 8 million in 2016 and $39 billion in visitor expenditure.

"As many as 50,000 business appointments are held during ATE, providing an invaluable opportunity for Australian tourism businesses to connect with key international travel wholesalers and retailers responsible for putting Australian holidays in the hands of consumers in our key overseas markets.

"The connections made at ATE help deliver around three million visitors each year, spending up to $8.5 billion whilst they are here, thereby helping to further grow our visitor economy.

"This year's ATE is particularly timely as it coincides with the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Tourism Australia's predecessor, the Australian Tourist Commission – the Australian government's first agency solely dedicated to marketing Australia to the rest of the world.

"Holding ATE at the newly opened $1.5 billion ICC Sydney is also timely as it is one of many new infrastructure developments that is encouraging unprecedented investment in the city's hotel sector - further bolstering Sydney's and Australia's credentials as a world-class tourism destination.”

The immediate economic benefits of hosting ATE in Sydney is set to see an immediate injection of $10 million in to the local economy during the week of the event. In the longer term, ATE will assist the Australian tourism industry to reach its Tourism 2020 goal of growing overnight expenditure to more than $115 billion annually by the end of the decade.

The Australian Tourism Exchange is being held at ICC Sydney until Thursday 18th May. 

30th November 2016 - SHOWTIME AT NEW ICC SYDNEY 

9th September 2016 - VIVID SYDNEY INJECTS $110 MILLION INTO THE NSW ECONOMY 

15th May 2016 - QUEENSLAND READY TO SHINE AT AUSTRALIAN TOURISM EXCHANGE 2016 

13th April 2016 - EVENTS A MAGNET FOR OVERSEAS VISITORS

6th April 2016 - ATEC LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAM TO BOOST INBOUND TOURISM

8th March 2016 - TOURISM REPRESENTATIVES HIGHLIGHT VALUE OF THE VISITOR ECONOMY TO GOVERNMENT

24th June 2015 - AUSTRALIAN TOURISM EXCHANGE OPENS IN MELBOURNE

22nd June 2015 - RECORD 6.4 MILLION VISITORS TO AUSTRALIA SPEND $31 BILLION IN 2014

2nd May 2015 - ATE 2016 TO BE STAGED ON THE GOLD COAST

1st May 2015 - ATE 2014 LEGACY BOOSTS CAIRNS TOURISM