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One
of Australia's premier incentive travel trade events, Dreamtime, will be held in
Sydney this year, Australian Tourist Commission (ATC) Managing Director,
Ken Boundy announced today.
"Dreamtime, a biennial event, is an important event for Australia tourism,
showcasing the country to the world's top incentive buyers," Mr Boundy said.
"The event provides an opportunity for Australian incentive travel products to
meet with 140 international travel buyers, helping to increase the awareness
of incentive travel product across Australia.
"Dreamtime 2002 delivered more than $40 million in incentive business for
Australia, with companies including Citibank, Pfizer, Nokia and Prudential
choosing to travel to Australia as a result of meetings held at Dreamtime. We
are looking to continue the success of Dreamtime this year, and to further
build Australia's share of the incentive travel market. "
ATC Executive General Manager, Marketing, Stephen O'Neill said Dreamtime is
a unique event and is the only opportunity for Australian tourism products to
meet with international businesses from all key markets, including the US,
Europe and Asia.
"There are indications that there is increased interest in Australia as an
incentive destination from companies in North America, particularly for travel
in the second half of 2004 and early 2005," Mr O'Neill said.
"We have already received interest from buyers in the UK and Europe to
attend Dreamtime this year. We will be looking to capitalise on this interest
from Europe and North America to attract top incentive buyers from these
important markets.
"There is also strong potential for Australia to grow its share of the incentive
travel market, particularly from countries like Thailand, Taiwan and China in
Asia and we will be targeting key buyers from these sectors."
Dreamtime will run from 28 October to 2 November, including a trade show at
Sydney Olympic Park (from Friday 29 October to Saturday 30 October) and a
two day famil program for buyers showcasing Sydney's capability as an incentive destination.
Mr O'Neill said the ATC was also targeting organisations interested in
incentive travel to participate in familiarisation trips to Australia, which would
provide an opportunity to experience first hand the range of options for an
incentive trip in Australia.
"By targeting both organisations through the famil program and the incentive
buyers at Dreamtime, we will maximise the exposure and reach the key decision makers."
Dreamtime was first held in 1992 and has previously been held in Sydney, the
Gold Coast, Alice Springs and Uluru. Qantas is the official airline sponsor for
the event, and has been a partner in all Dreamtime events. |
