TA ramps up incentive focus
Australia’s biennial business events showcase, Dreamtime was declared the largest yet as it opened this morning at Adelaide’s renovated Convention Centre.
The second Dreamtime to be held in Adelaide, the event welcomed 95 buyers from 10 key markets, all ready to do business with over 70 Australian sellers.
“Dreamtime is basically the way to show the world that there really is nothing like Australia for business events,” FrancesAnne Keeler, deputy ceo Tourism Australia told BEN
Tourism Australia has the spotlight on incentive travel and are consequently ramping up their efforts in three key markets: NZ, China and the US - which is doing “particularly well”.
“There’s a lot of potential. We always get a steady stream out of New Zealand and...there’s a lot of big incentives being won for Australia out of China at the moment.”
Keeler said food and wine is a huge drawcard for events coming into Australia.
In New Zealand, where delegates can often be more familiar with Australia than other markets, TA’s strategy is to bring the unexpected and constantly reinvent their messages.
“Kiwis tend to sometimes think they’ve been there, done that, so it’s very much about new news. Our content strategy in NZ is more information heavy rather than just beautiful images,” Keeler told BEN
“The US market the food and wine is very important but we’re also going to be launching aquatic and coastal messaging next year and really capitalising on Australia’s great assets.”
Selling Australia’s food and wine experiences to China is slightly different, with a heavier focus on “paddock to plate” experiences, Keeler says.
“For them it’s more about fresh produce rather than the restaurants because they really appreciate that blue sky, fresh quality.”
Each month Business Manager for in Place Recruitment, Ben Carnegie, writes his observations from the recruiter’s perspective to help job hunters find the perfect job. Ben has over 15 years working in five star hotels and the MICE industry and has worked on some of Australia’s biggest events.