Tourism Australia’s premier annual business-to-business event for promoting Australia’s tourism experiences to the international travel trade has drawn to a close after celebrating its 40th year in Perth this week.
Organised by Tourism Australia in partnership with host‐state partner, Tourism WA, this year’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) has seen more than 2,000 delegates from 30 countries meet and do business to further grow the tourism opportunity for Australia.
Tourism Australia Managing Director, John O’Sullivan said Perth and Western Australia had provided the perfect setting to demonstrate first-hand Australia’s continually evolving world-class tourism product.
“With unprecedented levels of investment in new hotels and infrastructure since ATE was last held here in Perth in 2012, this week has given delegates the chance to experience the city’s evolution as an exciting western gateway to Australia,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“Giving our international travel buyers first-hand experience of Australia’s unique combination of natural beauty, great culinary experiences, modern infrastructure and friendly locals during ATE is a great way to create advocacy for our tourism offering – and in turn providing further inspiration for visitors to travel here.
“In particular, I would like to thank our host-state partner, Tourism WA for their incredible support in delivering our 40th ATE – ATE19 – in Perth as well as all of the buyers and sellers for their involvement in showcasing Australian tourism to the world.”
Mr O’Sullivan added that in the 40 years since its inception ATE had grown from strength-to-strength in building the tourism opportunity for Australia.
“ATE has been instrumental in supporting the growth in tourism to Australia since its start in 1979, when we had just 40 North American travel buyers meeting with 50 Australian tourism sellers and were welcoming 700,000 international visitors annually,” Mr O’Sullivan said.
“Today, ATE attracts more than 2,000 delegates and we have an inbound tourism sector that welcomes 9.2 million international visitors annually and contributes $44 billion to the economy.
“We know that buyers attending ATE alone bring between 2.7 and 4 million passengers each year with an estimated pre‐departure spend between $6 and $9 billion plus on the ground spend – so providing the face-to-face connectivity between international buyers and Australia sellers at ATE remains vital.”
The more than 2,000 delegates attending ATE19 has included 600 travel wholesalers and retailers, representing 500 companies from more than 30 countries to meet and do business with 1,400 Australian tourism seller delegates from 546 different companies. This year has seen 85 new Australian tourism products also making their debut at ATE.
This is the fourth time ATE has been hosted in Perth at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre. It was first held in Perth in 2005, and again in 2008 and 2012.
A total of 74 international and Australian based consumer journalists, editors, broadcasters and 74 Australian sellers also participated in the ATE19 Media Program, from 6 to 9 April.
ATE will move to Melbourne in 2020, where Tourism Australia will host the event in partnership with host state partner Visit Victoria.
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