Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) 2017 witnesses 2500 travel industry delegates

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Mumbai: Tourism Australia, in partnership with Destination New South Wales, marked the 38^th year of its annual travel and tourism business-to-business event – the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) at the brand new ICC (International Convention Centre) in Sydney. The event that kicked off on May 15 and concluded on May 18, witnessed an attendance of over 2,500 travel industry delegates from over 30 countries with participation from 20 Indian travel companies. ATE17 has carved a mark for itself as one of the biggest ATE events in nearly a decade given the tremendous rate of participation.
This is also a momentous occasion for Tourism Australia as it celebrates its 50^th anniversary in 2017. In the last five decades, Tourism Australia has elevated Australia to become one of the most popular destinations across the world through its numerous initiatives for business and leisure travellers.
Commenting on the occasion, Nishant Kashikar, Country Manager, India & Gulf, Tourism Australia, said, “ATE plays a critical role in facilitating productive links between Australia’s tourism providers and the global distribution network and has an enormous economic impact. Arrivals from India have seen a significant hike in the last few years and platforms such as the ATE play a huge role in making that happen. Over 20 buyers representing as many companies from India attended ATE17 providing them an incredible opportunity to connect with Australian tourism businesses. We believe this platform will help them curate the best of Australian holiday experiences for our Indian travel enthusiasts. We’re confident that ATE will continue to bolster Australia’s inbound tourism sector and grow visitor economy.”
Companies such as Ascon Travels, Cox & Kings, Cutting Edge, Discover your World, FCM Travel Solutions, Grand Travel Planners, Pathfinders Holidays, Peekay Holidays, Pristine Travels, SOTC, Vibrant Holidays, Voyageur Lifestyles, among others, represented India at ATE17, a testimony to the growing popularity of Australia as a tourism destination for Indians. ATE is Australia’s annual business-to-business tourism travel trade event, focussed on building future tourism opportunities for the country. The event kicked off with an objective of showcasing products directly to tourism wholesalers and retailers from around the world, through a combination of scheduled business appointments and networking events.
India is currently Australia’s 9^th largest inbound tourism market, with over 260,000 visitors spending A$ 1.24 bn as at December 2016. Tourism Australia has recorded a strong double-digit growth in tourist arrivals over the past three years, a reflection of Australia being one of the most preferred travel destinations for Indian.
The immediate economic benefits of hosting ATE in Sydney include an immediate injection of AUD10 million in to the local economy during the week of the event. In the longer term, ATE will assist the Australian tourism industry to reach its Tourism 2020 goal of growing overnight expenditure to more than AUD 115 billion annually by the end of the decade.