Tourism Tropical North Queensland’s members are front and centre of our engagement with tourism trade partners around the world this month through webinars and face-to-face appointments as we approach the end of our Federally funded campaign activity.
This intense trade engagement is upweighting our campaign activity in New Zealand, North America, the United Kingdom, German-speaking European countries, France and the Netherlands.
This work and the economic benefit brought to Tropical North Queensland, where one in five jobs depend on tourism, was made possible by the Federal Government’s $15 million investment over two years into accelerating the post-pandemic return of international visitors.
By the end of 2024 it had generated $164 million in direct sales from more than 140,000 extra visitors and engaged some 200 businesses, including 30 Indigenous experiences, to increase Australia’s presence globally. TTNQ is actively advocating for another three years of funding to support the industry and keep our region connected globally.
Western Sales and Marketing Manager Katherine Cutler hosted nine trade webinars last week with a mix of live and pre-recorded formats featuring nine members who gave product presentations. European trade representative Annette Kalthoff and PR representative Peter Mierzwiak have just attended ITB Berlin.
The live webinar presentations had strong attendance, especially the North American one conducted through the TA Connect platform which attracted more than 500 high-end North American travel advisors well above the typical 80-100 attendees at their other events. The agents will also receive a recording of the webinar.
Several of the webinars targeted wholesale tour partners giving TTNQ unparalleled education opportunities to remind the trade about each of our regions and teach them about the product there.
This week Katherine and Asia Sales and Marketing Manager Sam Sakamoto will join TTNQ members in Sydney at Queensland Showcase 2025, a trade event presented by ATEC and Tourism and Events Queensland which will help with strong conversion for the region, leading to inquiries for packaging.
Wholesalers are working on broadening their packages to meet the longer average length of stay that we are generating from our campaign activity. This helps to drive visitation to broader areas such as the Atherton Tablelands, the Outback, Daintree and the Cassowary Coast that we have been showcasing internationally.
We are seeing members included in extended packages like the 14-day East Coast Icons of Australia as well as traditional tours such as the 12-day Reef, Rock and City with wholesaler anzcro. Members are also showcased in new wholesale packages built around family, luxury, nature, wildlife, and drive.
We are encouraging more members to work with trade through workshops and programs. Three TTNQ members – Daintree Siesta, King Reef Resort and Wildside Adventures – are attending Queensland Showcase 2025 with partial funding support from TEQ. Ahead of the event, Pinnacle Tourism Marketing hosted a new product workshop and welcome networking opportunity to help the new operators have one-on-one time with inbound tour operators representing a range of international markets and segments.
The three operators are among more than 20 who entered trade ready programs through TTNQ in 2023 and 2024. These included operators of all sizes, from all over the Tropical North. Sea experiences, land touring, activities, attractions and accommodation are all well represented.
A further 10 operators have just commenced this journey in the 2025 intake and are already working with the experts at Pinnacle Tourism Marketing. These programs assist new operators, or those without experience in engaging the global and domestic tourism trade to understand how it works and to get prepared to participate efficiently.
Mark Olsen
TTNQ CEO