Adelaide to host ATE ‘18

SOUTH Australia will host next year’s Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE), bringing 2,500 industry delegates to Adelaide in an event worth around $10 million to the local economy.

The show will be staged in Apr at the city’s newly redeveloped Adelaide Convention Centre, the third time the SA capital has hosted the event since 2006.

Announcing the choice of Adelaide as host city, Federal Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo said buyers from more than 30 countries were expected to attend ATE in 2018.

“Collectively, the 700 international travel wholesalers and retailers who attend ATE bring close to three million visitors to our country each year with an estimated pre-booked spend between $5.5 and $8.5 billion, as well as their on-ground spend in Australia,” Ciobo said.

“More than 550 Australian tourism businesses will have the chance to showcase their products and services directly to the agents who sell Australian holidays internationally during the more than 50,000 business appointments held at ATE.”

SA Tourism Minister Leon Bignell said the event would provide an opportunity to showcase the state’s food and wine regions.

“Securing the hosting rights for the 2018 ATE is a massive coup and will deliver a huge return for South Australia by putting the very best of what we have to offer in the tourism sector, in the international spotlight,” he said.