The reef begins in Bundaberg and the region’s tourism industry is ensuring the world knows after Bundaberg Tourism led a delegation of tourism operators to the nation’s largest tourism export marketplace, Australian Tourism Exchange.
Across six days from Saturday 26 April – Thursday 1 May, Bundaberg Tourism and industry representatives met with more than 700 travel buyers and media from around the world to promote the destination and secure international business opportunities.
The event, held in Brisbane, commenced with two days of media engagements from where Bundaberg Tourism and Lady Musgrave Experience pitched stories about the destination to 68 Australian and international journalists across 21 one-on-one meetings and networking functions.
Monday 28 April saw the commencement of four days of business-to-business meetings with trade buyers, as Bundaberg Tourism, Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort, Lady Musgrave Experience, Splitters Farm, Taribelang Bunda Cultural Tours and Turtle Sands promote the region while locking in contracts that will see domestic and international travellers booking holidays in the region in the coming years.
The Bundaberg Region was issued an exclusive invitation by Tourism Australia to participate in a national Agritourism activation within ATE on Wednesday 30 April and Thursday 1 May.
Highlighting the top Australian regions for agricultural-aligned tourism experiences, the Bundaberg Tourism team will met with buyers interested in opening new holiday opportunities to their markets to showcase the egion’s emerging culinary experiences across our food bowl.
Katherine Reid, CEO of Bundaberg Tourism said tourism was a major employer, a vital regional industry, and a high-value export earner, pumping considerable economic value back into the community.
“Export events like ATE are an important part of expanding Bundaberg’s profile and desirability as a holiday destination across Australia and the world, and BT is proud to again lead a delegation of industry to the event,” she said.
“ATE is just one part of BT’s annual trade development program, which includes sales missions and events, partnerships, training and mentoring, in-region famils and marketing opportunities for our members.”
Vicki Mullins, Sales/Marketing Manager of Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort said international distribution was vital to the success of Lady Elliot Island Eco Resort—not only for driving visitation, but also for raising global awareness of the Southern Great Barrier Reef and the importance of protecting this unique ecosystem.
“Events like ATE are key to establishing and strengthening partnerships that help put our SGBR region on the world stage, and we’re proud to showcase the Bundaberg Region’s incredible natural assets to international markets,” she said.
Bundaberg’s participation in ATE is supported by in-region visits by multiple buyer delegations before and after the event, hosted by industry and Bundaberg Tourism in partnership with Tourism Australia and Tourism & Events Queensland.
Bundaberg has participated in ATE thanks to funding from Austrade’s Export Market Development Grants (EMDG) program, a fund that supports Australian businesses to grow their exports in international markets, through our SGBR partnership.
These grants encourage small to medium enterprises to market and promote their goods and services globally.
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