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29 October 2008
Registrations now open for OZTalk Travel Expo 2009
For Australian tourism operators looking to optimise business opportunities in the lucrative short-haul New Zealand travel market, registrations are now open for the OZTalk Travel Expo 2009, being held in Auckland from 17 - 19 April.
The largest travel show of its kind in New Zealand, OZTalk presents Australian tourism operators an opportunity to inspire more than 200 travel agents from New Zealand and the Pacific, plus 6000 consumers who are expected to attend.
Geoff Buckley, Managing Director of Tourism Australia said, “I encourage Australian tourism operators who would like to raise their profile in New Zealand and strengthen their market share to join us as we educate an estimated 230 frontline travel agents from across New Zealand and the Pacific. These agents are committed to selling Australian tourism experiences and a strong presence from our industry will assist in boosting agents’ product knowledge and motivations to up-sell.”
The event will be staged at ASB Showgrounds, New Zealand's premier exhibition centre and offers pre-planned appointment schedules and networking opportunities. For the second year in a row, Australian operators will receive the added value of being part of the consumer travel expo on day three, for the same participation cost as the trade expo on days one and two.
“Increased aviation costs and an economic slowdown are leading to New Zealanders looking closer to home for holiday options,” said Jenny Aitken, Regional Manager in New Zealand for Tourism Australia.
“New Zealanders also continue to demonstrate a strong reliance on travel agents, either as influencers or as booking agents, making OZTalk the single most effective and cost efficient forum to inspire both travel agents and consumers.
“The highest repeat visitation market for Australia (approximately 92%), New Zealanders are constantly looking for new travel experiences to make their holidays memorable. Combined with the expected heightened awareness following the release of Baz Luhrmann’s film Australia, OZTalk Travel Expo is an ideal opportunity for sellers to stimulate demand for Australian holidays,” continued Aitken.
New Zealand is the largest international visitation market for Australia with an estimated 1.124 million visitor arrivals from New Zealand for the year ending July 2008, an increase of 1% from July 2007.
OZTalk Travel Expo will be free for consumers and will include entertainment, competitions and opportunities to trial unique Australian travel experiences on both the trade and consumer days. With significant marketing and publicity support from Tourism Australia, this is slated to be the biggest OZTalk Travel Expo yet.
OZTalk Travel Expo is open only to Australian tourism products. Applications for registration are available on www.tradeevents.australia.com Registrations for sellers (Australian tourism operators) close 3 December 2008.
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