Tourism Australia is making ‘critical changes’ to its Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) to give the industry ‘one voice’ and increase sales around the world.
Revealed at the Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) in Melbourne, the relaunch follows a review of the online training program.
During the review the tourism bureau found changes were necessary to meet 2020 goals.
According to Tourism Australia Managing Director John O’Sullivan, a key principle behind the relaunch had been securing the support of all state and territory tourism bodies, enabling Australia to speak with “one voice” when promoting the country and its tourism product to the world.
“Whilst our Aussie Specialist Program is still recognised as one of the world’s leading destination training programs, it has now been in existence for 26 years and we feel could benefit from a bit of reshaping to keep us ahead of the competition.”
John O’Sullivan, Tourism Australia Managing Director
Rolling out progressively in 11 languages over the next six months, the revamped program will see the introduction a new digital platform.
This includes a new website which will feature additional training resources as well as new itinerary suggestions, fact sheets, latest industry updates, destination FAQs and an interactive map.
The ASP website relaunch will also see the Tourism Australia’s Premier Aussie Specialist program extended to all key markets. The program, which incorporates the very top sellers within the Aussie Specialist Program, was previously only available in four key markets.
“Our research and experience tells us that traditional distribution channels remain critically important when it comes to selling Australia.”
John O’Sullivan, Tourism Australia Managing Director
“Through these changes we are better equipping travel sellers with the knowledge and the skills to promote and sell Australia more effectively,” he added.
“This is a significant investment in how we take our tourism experiences to market internationally and will result, I firmly believe, in very real benefits when it comes to converting new business and improving yield.”
ATE15 is taking place at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in Melbourne, Victoria, from 21-25 June 2015.
