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Australian Regional Tourism Convention heads to Port Stephens

Tourism leaders head to the Hunter Region in a bid to promote regional tourism in Australia.

Tourism leaders head to the Hunter Region in a bid to promote regional tourism in Australia.

The Hunter Region’s picturesque Port Stephens will play host to Australia’s peak tourism event this week.

The Australian Regional Tourism Convention, a four-day event which starts today, will attract hundreds of tourism industry leaders and inject up to $150,000 into the local economy.

The prime objective for this year’s convention is to focus on means to draw more tourists beyond the capital cities to regional areas.
Nature and indigenous tourism, improving customer service, regional branding, refreshing tourism attractions and the growing importance of digital marketing will also be canvassed.

“We are confident our 2014 convention in Port Stephens will prove a great success and lead to bigger successes for players in our vital regional tourism industry which drives the economies of so many destinations such as Port Stephens itself,” ARTN Chairman, Steve Rosa, said.
Rural Tourism - karryon

Government promotion needed to boost regional tourism in Australia.

While the falling Australian dollar is set to play a role in coaxing domestic travellers to take holidays in Australia, Australian Regional Tourism Network Chairman David Sheldon said it will take promotion by all levels of government to stimulate regional tourism.

“If Australia wants to reach its goal of doubling the overnight expenditure by 2020 I think regional Australia and domestic travel is the key to that,” he told the ABC.

“If we look at Australia we have the world in our own coastline, we just don’t sell it well at home.”

Sheldon also claimed that the cost of domestic travel was also hampering efforts to promote regional tourism.

“It’s a very contentious issue considering when you look around the vastness of our nation and some of our airports and some of the planes that can actually land at different airports around Australia, in regional Australia I should say, and the cost,” he said.

Have your say: what do you think will help boost regional tourism stats?