The Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) has today announced South Australia will play host to the inaugural ATEC Wine Tourism Conference, a program of activities to assist wine businesses across the country to engage with the growing international tourist market.
The conference, held 19–21 June 2019, will feature tourism and wine industry thought leaders, commercially focused business meetings between international tourism buyers and wine companies, educational workshops, social networking events and pre or post famil opportunities.
“Food and wine has become a major motivator for international travel and Australia has some of the best wine experiences on offer, so it’s the perfect time to build the capacity of our wineries to engage with international visitors,” ATEC Managing Director, Peter Shelley said.
“South Australia is renowned for its strong wine industry and will provide the perfect backdrop for operators to learn and share knowledge and experience.
“We are very pleased to have secured great support from the South Australian Tourism Commission and the South Australian Convention Bureau in hosting the event in Adelaide.”
South Australia was chosen to host the conference after an extensive expression of interest (EOI) process. The EOI process was convened after ATEC secured a $35,000 grant to host the conference through the International Wine Tourism Competitive Grants program – a component of the Australian Government’s $50 million Export and Regional Wine Support Package (the $50m Package).
Acting South Australian Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Tim Whetstone said South Australia was delighted to be hosting the inaugural Wine Tourism Conference.
“South Australia is renowned for its world-class food and wine, and this conference will shine a spotlight on the best our state has to offer,” said Minister Whetstone.
“International wine tourism generates around $64 million in economic benefit for the state each year, and the conference will provide significant opportunity to help further grow this market.’’
The funding enables ATEC to work with the many, very successful, wine businesses working to create a quality wine tourism experiences as well as new wine businesses seeking to take advantage of the growing interest by international visitors in wine and winery experiences.
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