Steve Wroe is a keynote speaker at the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Conference, Hobart, Tasmania, 21-23 November. Steve is the Director of Customer Experience and Destination Planning at Parks Australia. He has been in the role for a year, having moved across from his role as GM of Marketing at the Intrepid Group, managing brands such as Intrepid Travel and Peregrine. Steve has a degree in Tourism Management and Marketing and began his career as a Tour Leader for Peregrine Adventures before moving into the office and spending his time in Product/Operations and Marketing.

Discover more about Steve Wroe and our other Keynote Speakers at:
http://www.globaleco.com.au/program-speakers-keynote.php

The second season of the Northern Territory’s Million Dollar Fish competition has kicked off with 101 prize tagged barramundi in Top End waters. This year there is a million dollar fish up for grabs plus 100 barramundi worth $10,000, as well as sponsor prizes worth $96,000. More than 22,000 local, interstate and overseas anglers have registered for the competition online with a Free Fishing app (NT Fishing Mate) also available to help recreational fishers know the rules and which areas are open to fish.

Further information: http://www.milliondollarfish.com.au

A new indoor waterpark, the largest amusement and health complex of its kind, will open next year in Russia and aims to accommodate as many as a million residents a year from Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Yekaterinburg and Northern Okurgov. The developer, Polin Waterparks, was founded in Istanbul in 1976 and is a world leader in the design, production and installation of waterparks, waterslides and water-play attractions. It has completed 2,500 waterpark projects in 100 countries around the world and is the biggest waterslide supplier in Eurasia.

Further information: http://www.polin.com.tr/

Warner Bros Movie World has launched the Southern Hemisphere’s first Virtual Reality rollercoaster experience. The park’s iconic Arkham Asylum coaster is now powered by VR technology transforming the ride into a 360-degree experience that takes guests on a multi-dimensional journey while reaching speeds of up to 85km/h and
pulling 4.2Gs.

Further information: http://movieworld.com.au/rides-and-attractions/thrill-rides/arkham-asylum.aspx

A collective of ski areas in New Zealand’s South Island launched an innovative content-led campaign to drive awareness of the region’s world-class snow experience. The ‘Snow Addicts’ campaign was promoted via PR and social amplification and filmed on location in New Zealand’s Southern Alps.

Further information: http://www.skiandride.nz/snowaddicts/a

The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) has launched a new corporate website to give tourism operators greater online presence through marketing exposure across 150 web channels. The site is mobile responsive and primarily targets Tourism Operators and Distributors sharing their success stories and case study examples of how they have successfully partnered with ATDW.

Further information:
http://atdw.com.au/

Israel-based app Kompl encourages tourists to explore urban spaces by navigating them via landmarks and popular attractions, rather than direct routes or maps. The navigation app is aimed at travellers looking for unique experiences and works both online and offline to access multiple sources including Foursquare and Wikipedia. The app now spans 22 cities and is looking to expand to New York and Tokyo.

Further information:
http://komplapp.com/

TalkTalkbnb is a free peer-to-peer language and accommodation exchange which enables hosts to trade food and lodging for conversation in their guest’s mother tongue. Hosts and travellers create a profile detailing their first language and where they would like to travel to and what language they want to practice. Once a match has been made, the host offers free lodging and food in exchange for their guest spending time with them during their stay, speaking in their native language.

Further information: http://www.talktalkbnb.com/

The $50 million roll out of SmartGates has been completed with all 83 gates now in operation across Australia's eight international airports. The departure SmartGate uses state-of-the-art biometric facial recognition technology to confirm the identity of the traveller, with one SmartGate having the ability to process as many as 150 people per hour during busy periods. Gates are operational in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Darwin and Cairns.

Further information: http://www.minister.border.gov.au/peterdutton/
Pages/Completion-of-departures-SmartGate-roll-out.aspxsection=responsible_travel&id=2208046

Velocity Frequent Flyer and BP Australia have announced Pay with Points, an Australian-first initiative that will revolutionise the way members use the program by enabling BP customers to pay with Velocity Points at the point of sale for fuel and in-store purchases at participating BP service stations. It is the first time an Australian airline loyalty program has allowed its members to use their frequent flyer points as currency in a retail store.

Further information: http://bp.velocityfrequentflyer.com/#

The world’s biggest stationary wave will be at Munich Airport giving passengers a chance to surf between the terminals. The surfing installation will provide the perfect surf conditions with a wave measuring 10 metres wide and 1.5 metres high. It will be open to visitors whether beginner, advanced or pros aged eight years and over.

Further information:
http://www.munichairport.com/en/consumer/erlebnis/
events/mac_forum/surf_style_16/index.jsp

The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) focused on Accessible Tourism for All on World Tourism Day. It has produced a set of best practice reports on improving accessible tourism experiences for people with mobility, vision, hearing and learning disabilities.

Further information: http://cf.cdn.unwto.org/sites/all/files/docpdf/
goodpracticesintheaccessibletourismsupplychain
en20162web.pdf

The South Pacific Tourism Organisation has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation to promote tourism and private sector development in the South Pacific in a manner that is sustainable while bringing economic growth and social benefits to the region. The organisations will combine resources, networks and experiences to develop a joint strategic way forward for the region..

Further information: http://spto.org/

The Australian Government has established special funding from the Northern Australia Development Fund for tourism operators situated north of the Tropic of Capricorn in Queensland, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. The Entrepreneur’s Program is designed to support tourism businesses by offering a free business evaluation service to identify opportunities for growth and improvement.

Further information: https://www.business.gov.au/Assistance/Northern-Australia-Tourism-Initiative

Horizon Travel Press has released a new travel guide, supported by Intrepid Travel on World Elephant Day, calling tourists to think before they ride. A range of conservation experts, non-profit advocates and industry professionals have contributed essays to the guidebook with the aim of highlighting the issues in elephant tourism particularly in Thailand.

Further information: http://www.horizontravelpress.com/store/elephants-in-asia-ethically-2016

According to a new study published by Visa, in conjunction with Oxford Economics, more than 280 million households globally will make at least one international trip per year by 2025. Factors driving the increase include technology advances and heightened competition in the global tourism marketplace including the construction of 340 new airports over the next decade making it easier, faster and affordable for people to access
more destinations.

Further information:
https://usa.visa.com/partner-with-us/visa-performance-solutions/global-travel-and-tourism-insights.html

Tourism Australia has conducted new international research that examines the ‘path to purchase’ behaviour of potential international association conference delegates and reveals the best channels and messages to use in order to convince them to travel to Australia for their event. A key insight showed that the conference website is the most important channel for delegates and plays an integral role throughout the decision
making process.

Further information:
http://www.tourism.australia.com/documents/
corporate/1617_Final_Delegate_Research_
Document_Web.pdf

According to The Tourism Investment Monitor 2016 released by Tourism Research Australia, continued investor appetite for Australian tourism infrastructure investment projects is supporting the current strength of the pipeline. Demand for tourism services is also going from strength to strength, further increasing the importance of the industry to Australia’s economy.

Further information:
http://tra.gov.au/research/Tourism-Investment-Monitor-2016.html

Expedia has launched a new report that provides insights for marketers on the travel trends of the millennial generation. The Millennial Traveller Report compared millennials (defined as people born between 1982 and 1999) to Generation X (1961-1981) and Baby-Boomers (1945-1960). The report compiled by the Future Foundation used a sample size of 1,000 consumers aged 18–64 across a number of markets.

Further information:
http://www.ittn.ie/news/expedia-unveils-global-millennial-traveller-report/

Applications are open for the 2017 World Travel and Tourism Council Tourism for Tomorrow Awards that are open to anyone working towards a more responsible, sustainable tourism industry across five categories - Environment, Community, People, Innovation and Destination. Applications close 14th November 2016.

Further information: http://www.wttc.org/tourism-for-tomorrow-awards/apply/

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) has announced the winners of the 2016 Grand and Gold Awards. Supported by the Macao Government Tourism Office the awards recognise the achievements of 26 separate organisations and individuals in four principal categories.

Further information: https://www.pata.org/pata-gold-awards/

Ecotourism Australia is staging the 24th Global Eco Asia-Pacific conference at the award winning MONA (Museum of Old and New Art) in Hobart. The world’s leading ecotourism conference is being held 21-23 November 2016. The conference will celebrate 25 years of Ecotourism Australia and 20 years of Eco Certification.

It’s no coincidence that Global Eco attracts the world's leading ecotourism operators, protected area managers and tourism professionals.

This year the theme is Ecotourism: Fostering Innovation – Sustaining Excellence - pushing the boundaries to provide travellers with outstanding tourism experiences in a way that respects the environment, the local community and the culture of the destination.

Further information: http://www.globaleco.com.au/

The Sustainable Economic Development for Regional Australia (SEGRA) Conference will be held at the Albany Entertainment Centre from 26-28 October.

The conference is celebrating its 20th year with a progressive, future driven agenda. It will be focusing on the natural strength of regions and how they can be increased or concentrated to ensure future prosperity and good growth.The theme for 2016 is Naturally Stronger Regions: realising the potential.

The SEGRA conference provides a single forum in which people with a deep commitment to regional Australia can discuss issues and advance options and solutions for the future. Drawing over 200 delegates from across Australia, it is now recognised as the nation’s most credible and independent voice on issues affecting regional Australia.

Further information: http://2016.segra.com.au/

The Australian Tourism Export Council’s Meeting Place will take place in Canberra from 29-30 November 2016. This annual conference is an important platform for travel buyers and sellers, as well as discussions around issues and opportunities impacting the growth of the tourism export industry.

Further information: http://www.atec.net.au/ATEC/Meeting_Place/
ATEC/Meeting_Place_20162/Meeting_Place
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