DARWIN TURBOCHARGES AHEAD

A $13 million stimulus package awarded to NT Major Events has started to pay dividends with Darwin gearing up to host the 2018 Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) Meeting Place.

The event will take place 19-21 Nov and is expected to attract 85 international travel trade buyers and 300 Australian travel sellers to the city.

The Northern Territory Government launched its Turbocharging Tourism Action Plan earlier this year to help lure large scale events to the Territory.

“Securing the lucrative 2018 ATEC Meeting Place travel trade event is a great early win for the industry under ‘Turbocharging’ Tourism,” said Acting Minister for Tourism and Culture Eva Lawler.

“Conference delegates spend more on average than other visitors, this is why we are aggressively pursuing business events both domestically and from Asia,” she added.

Preceding the three-day event, attendees are scheduled to be taken on tours of the Top End to help them sell the region as a destination of choice for conference & event organisers.

ATEC managing director Peter Shelley believes Darwin will prove to be a great location for the conference.

“Our members indicated a strong demand to hold Meeting Place in the Northern Territory and ATEC is excited to be taking the event to Darwin in November,” Shelley said.

“This year we have seen a revival of the Crocodile Dundee legend as part of a concerted effort to engage international visitors, highlighting the rugged beauty of the Australian outback,” he added.

Pictured: The Darwin Convention Centre.