Cairns is the place to be for tourism leaders and decision-makers this November for the nation’s inbound international tourism industry flagship business event, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) Meeting Place.
Member for Cairns and Assistant Tourism Minister Michael Healy said the ATEC Meeting Place was estimated to generate $1.5 million for the Far North’s visitor economy.
“I can’t think of better place than the tropical paradise of Cairns to bring together more than 300 tourism industry leaders and decision-makers,” Mr Healy said.
“Backing the ATEC Meeting Place brings business visitors to FNQ who fill hotel rooms, restaurants and sample tour experiences you can only find in Queensland.
“We’re seeing the green shoots of recovery in our business events industry with the three-day Australian Indigenous Tourism Conference starting today at the Pullman International.
“The ATEC Meeting Place is another win for the Cairns Convention and Exhibition Centre.
“Inbound tour operators and business managers are an important connection for restarting international tourism to Cairns after Covid-19.
“Hosting the ATEC Meeting Place in the Cairns is a great opportunity to remind decision-makers of the amazing world-class tourism experiences in the Far North.
“We know there is pent-up demand for inbound international travel to Australia.
“The ATEC Meeting Place is an important opportunity to put Queensland visitor experiences at the top of international buyers’ lists.”
The Palaszczuk Government has invested $7 million to assist Queensland exhibition spaces like the Cairns Convention and Exhibition Centre to attract more conferences to support jobs and economic recovery.
Held from 21 to 23 November 2022, the ATEC Meeting Place conference event has been secured for Cairns in partnership between Tourism and Events Queensland, the Australian Tourism Export Council (ATEC) and Tourism Tropical North Queensland.
Managing Director of the Australian Tourism Export Council Peter Shelley said Meeting Place is a vital part of the industry supply chain.
“Meeting Place has a long and well-established history as the place for tourism suppliers to showcase their products to influential tourism distributors who promote their offering to the international markets,” Mr Shelly said.
“As we begin the road back to industry success, Meeting Place provides an important platform for tourism products to profile what’s new and what’s changed in the two years our borders were closed.
“It is important for all suppliers seeking to re-engage with the high value international market, to understand how markets have changed and importantly, work to establish relationships within the trade distribution partners to help drive future growth and to support the rebuild of our $45 billion export industry”. Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Mark Olsen said hosting ATEC Meeting Place 2022 would be a great opportunity to showcase the destination to inbound tour operators.
“We have more than 30 new experiences in Cairns and the Great Barrier Reef including city walks, reef tours, Indigenous operators and rainforest experiences,” he said.
“The inbound tour operators will be wowed by the transformation of Cairns with the stunning Esplanade dining precinct, new city hotels and vibrant bar and food scene.
“Having them experience the region first-hand will be integral to rebuilding our key international markets and reclaiming our $1 billion a year export industry for this region.”
The ATEC Meeting Place will include business-to-business workshops, a full day conference, pre and post familiarisation programs for buyers and networking opportunities.
Tourism businesses can register for the event through ATEC.
