Travel Daily | European travel specialists to descend on Cairns

Tourism Tropical North Queensland Chief Executive Officer Rob Giason said the Aussie Specialist travel agents attended the exclusive Australian training workshop in Cairns and joined familiarisation tours throughout the region.

“TTNQ and our members have worked hard to secure the bid to host Corroboree Europe ’13 as it will bring an enormous benefit by showcasing our region to the top sellers in our key Western markets,” he said.

“We are very conscious of our region’s need to stay connected with this extremely important market and worked tirelessly to secure the event for Cairns & Great Barrier Reef.

“The UK and Europe are our traditional bread and butter markets which are growing again after a period of decline.

“Last year, Germany experienced double digit growth to 46,375, while the UK and France showed signs of stabilising with 76,806 and 19,435 visitors respectively and we are confident we can grow these markets further.

“Highlighting our region at top trade events like Corroboree and ATE, which we have secured for 2014, will go a long way towards keeping Cairns & Great Barrier Reef front of mind for the key decision makers in our international markets.

“The region’s tourism industry and the Local Tourism Organisations have given enthusiastic support for the famil program which has resulted in a comprehensive itinerary taking in the Great Barrier Reef, Cape Tribulation, Mossman Gorge, Kuranda, the Atherton Tablelands, Mission Beach, Cooktown, Undara, Port Douglas and Palm Cove.

“I sincerely thank Tourism Australia, Tourism and Events Queensland, Cairns Regional Council and Qantas for their support in staging the event which will have multiple flow-on effects for our community.”

Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games Jann Stuckey said the opportunity to hold Corroboree Europe ’13 in Cairns was another tourism triumph for the region.

“This event is fantastic news for Tropical North Queensland with hundreds of travel agents expected to attend the training workshop in Cairns and almost 150 of these agents planning to go on post-event familiarisation tours across Queensland,” Ms Stuckey said.

“Events such as Corroboree help our industry to build their international networks and provide an opportunity to educate and give our travel agent partners a first-hand taste of the various tourism experiences Queensland has to offer.

“The Queensland Government has supported this event through Tourism and Events Queensland and its $20 million Tourism Investment Strategy, helping to drive visitors to Queensland and support our tourism industry.”

A joint initiative between Tourism Australia and the State and Territory Tourism Organisations in the European markets, Corroboree Europe ’13 is designed to educate, train, motivate and facilitate awareness of Australian experiences and generate agent confidence and understanding on what Australia has to offer to assist them in selling more Australian holidays.